Categories / Books

Lisa Stickley Stationery

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You may already be familiar with Lisa Stickley, heralded as the new Cath Kidston, but on the basis of this range, she goes way beyond shabby chic. Adding to her ceramics and textiles ranges, she now has a new line in stationery, consisting of notebooks, pencils and notecards.

Pictured here is an A5 notebook, with a cover design of two glamorous ladies which was inspired by 1960s vogue pattern books and “ladies who wear good hats” (although neither lady is wearing hat). The inside cover is decorated with a 1930s square print based on a wallpaper design of that period, which is used often across the range. Other designs include a wavy stripe pattern inspired by a round-collared coat, a parquet stripe print taken from classic floor tiling and a floral design taken from the type of hankies waved at steam trains - certainly an eclectic range of influences.

Prices start at £5 for a pack of pencils, up to £10 for the notecards and day books, with the notebook pictured here in between at £9. Visit Lisa Stickley’s website to view the whole collection.

Categories / Design and Interiors, Food and Drink

1950s apple-patterned notebook from V&A Shop

Joyce apples

This apple-patterned notebook from the V&A Shop is a pretty piece of stationery as it stands and is made more remarkable once you've realised it's adapted from a dress fabric design from the 1950s. 

The pattern is part of the vast archives of the V&A Museum and, in this case, it's drawn from the work of Joyce Badrocke. She was one of the textile designers for Horrockses Fashions, who inspired a range at the V&A shop earlier this year. This design is every bit as fresh and colourful as you'd expect from their dresses and works well on this A5 notebook. 

There's also a smaller notebook available that uses a pattern featuring rabbits, based on one of Badrocke's designs for children.  

The notebook costs £3.25. 

Buy it from the V&A Shop

Categories / Art and Photography, Bags, Gadgets and Tech

Modesty Blaise laptop case by ChiLidog Design

Modesty1

You might recall the very cool Modesty Blaise suitcases we featured earlier this year. Well, there's now a matching piece for your portable PC – the Modesty Blaise laptop case by ChiLidog Design.

Like the cases, the laptop bag is inspired by artwork from cult 1960s comic strip Modesty Blaise, the work of Peter O'Donnell, although it was illustrated by Jim Holdaway. I say 'inspired' because the signature actually says 'Romero', which is more than a little confusing. Anyway, the retro-styled artwork is front and back, as well forming the design of the lining.

Choose from two sizes of bag, both made of highly durable neoprene to keep your computer safe. It's priced from £33.48. See over the page for the reverse image.

Find out more at the Scandinavian Design Center website

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Categories / Gadgets and Tech

1970s Style Laptop Notebook

1970s style laptop

 You know our love of retro extends across all things, including technology. So here's a 1970s style laptop. Lightweight, cheap, portable – yep, okay, it's a notebook. 

Designed for all those proud Luddites and part of the Waldo Pancake range, it exclaims its status across the front cover. Inside, it's pretty much a traditional notebook with 100 pages half blank, half lined ready for your scribbles. 

And much cheaper than your MacBook too, at a mere £6.50. 

Buy it from Utility Design

Categories / Design and Interiors

Katakana midcentury-style writing desk by Dare Studio

Desk
It looks like a piece out of the 1950s, but this Katakana midcentury-style writing desk by Dare Studio has one eye on the present.

The Katakana desk has apparently been designed for use with a laptop, so just enough room for your average notebook, with special compartments for a power supply and clever cable management for unsightly wires. Or if you fancy writing a letter, there are tapered drawers which keep your pens always at the front of the drawer.

Made from black walnut, it’s available from Liberty, but not cheap at £3,295.

Find out more at the Liberty website

Categories / Design and Interiors

Animal handprinted A6 notebooks by Nell Smith at Etsy

Hoot

Etsy is always a good source of things unique and indeed, with a retro twist – like these Animal handprinted A6 notebooks by Nell Smith.

'Hoot Owl' is above, but you can also opt for 'Hello Lion' or 'Miaow Cat', all with those retro-styled graphics and font, complete with smooth brown cardboard cover, grey spine and 30 white lined pages. A6, if you're wondering, is around 4 x 6 inches.

Available online, they sell for $7, which is just over £4.50. Alternatively, the designer has a studio on the first floor of the Manchester Craft and Design Centre.

Find out more at the Nell Smith Etsy website