My Top 4 Favorite Places to Buy Stationery
- Emily M
- Feb 26, 2023
- 4 min read
Hey lovelies! You're probably familiar with the typical big box craft stores, but did you know there's a whole world of unique and obscure stationery supplies out there? In fact, I much prefer unique and niche supplies than traditional ones. These can be found through small businesses who create their own stationery, as well as through independent websites, many of which are based in Asia. Join me as I go through my favorite stationery shops and accounts! Seriously though- I'm obsessed with these.
1. Michaels
I know, I know, there's nothing niche about Michaels. This one probably seems obvious. However, this is, in my opinion, the best craft store chain. You won't just find basic brands and supplies, unlike other chain stores. Anytime I've needed something sooner than an online store could get it to me, Michaels has had my back. If you're a beginner especially, online shopping for stationery can be overwhelming due to the sheer amount there is. At Michaels, you can sample many of the markers, highlighters, and pens to find out what you like best! I still find myself sampling them just for fun! For me, they're the perfect way to branch out and
use different brands than the ones I use all the time. Michaels products might cost you more than independent stationery shops, but not by a significant amount. I recommend just going to Michaels and wandering around to see what catches your eye. Don't be afraid to use the marker, pen, and highlighter samples they provide. Get curious!
2. Stationery Pal
The Stationery Pal online store is filled with unique and cute stationery. When exploring this site, you'll find a ton of things you never knew you needed. You'll find products you wouldn't find anywhere else and the best part? The prices are extremely cheap. This is a great place to shop if you want to try a wide selection of products for a very reasonable price! A lot of their products follow a cute pastel aesthetic, which I clearly love, but they have a good variety of other aesthetics too!
For beginners, they sell a bullet journaling starter pack. They start for as low as $11 and as high as around $40, if you want more for your money. Each set follows a different color or design pallet. They also sell sets of drawing tools they curated to follow a color pallet, that include four supplies and are around $5 to $8. When ordering markers, highlighters, or pens, you don't have to buy a whole set. Most products are sold individually as well if you're looking for a specific color! This shop also sells sets of washi tape for under $5, which is a fantastic price for tape. One of my favorite sections of the site is called the "Dollar Mall". Everything showcased there is under $1 each, and you never know what you'll find. They also always have discount codes and offers open for everyone, which makes those amazing prices even better! The one thing to watch out for is the shipping price, but in my opinion, the low prices are worth a slightly larger shipping cost. The other great thing about this site? They always include cute little freebies, especially if you order more! I could scroll on this shop for way too long, and I highly recommend you check it out!
3. Hubman and Chubgirl
Buying from chain stores and online sites is great, but it's also important to support small businesses! Hubman and Chubgirl is a Canadian based online stationery shop, focused on making their brand personal and family based. I found them on Instagram, and strongly recommend giving them a follow! All of their stationery is digitally drawn and created by them. They sell two types of monthly subscriptions. Their journal subscription costs $27/month and their sticker subscription costs $17/month. If you subscribe to either one, you get a sitewide discount for as long as you have the subscription. The journaling subscription gives you stickers to decorate your journal as a planner. It includes month and day stickers, along with tons of cute decorative ones.
I subscribed to the journal subscription for several months and loved getting my monthly stationery in the mail! The sticker subscription is a better option if you don't intend on using your journal as a planner. Examples of past themes include 'Cozy Bakery', 'Under the Sea', 'Gaming', and 'Lemonade Party'. Even after their first released, you can still buy them, for any month you want! Hubman and Chubgirl also sells tons of standalone products and themed boxes, and often have deals and promotions for freebies! They also make their own trackers, which include ones for habits, water consumption, and your period. Their art style is adorable, and I love the fact that they make all of their own washi tapes, stickers, and journals!
4. Your Local Art Store!
If online shopping isn't for you, find your local art store that isn't a big-box chain! These usually have a wide selection of all types of art supplies, so it's a great place to find new and different supplies! One of my favorite ones is called BLICK Art Materials, since it's the one im most familiar with. However, you can find art stores such as this one pretty much anywhere,
you just need to look for the one closest to you! Sometimes these are small chains, and sometimes they are family run. They tend to rely on in-person customers to keep their business running. Similar to Michaels, stores like these have markers, pens, pencils, and highlighters for you to sample and that you can buy individually! There's usually a much wider selection than in any chain store, giving you a ton more options! Many of these stores charge you less per writing utensil for the more you buy. It's also a good idea to sign up for their membership if they have one!
There you have it! I hope you enjoy exploring my favorite stationery stores! If you have any questions, want more recommendations, or have a recommendation for me, feel free to reach out. Let me know your thoughts and what you'd like to see more of from me in the future! You can find me on Instagram @sweetberry_stationery, on Pinterest @mysweetberrystationery, and by email at mysweetberrystationery@gmail.com. I'll see you next time, and have a wonderful day!
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