What’s new in 2014 in the world of stationery? Well…not much. But it doesn’t hurt to look at a number of the key elements of your stationery cupboard and what you can change, add in or take away in the New Year.
In particular, any students, office workers or people who work from home will appreciate any of these fantastic stationary gifts. Or you can always treat yourself!
- For the forgetful, post it notes are the ideal way to leave yourself and others reminders. Although a lot of information is communicated digitally these days, nothing beats a bit of bright, unavoidable paper.
- You’ll be the talking point of the office if you’ve got a stapler that stands out amongst the crowd. Just be warned, you might suddenly see an influx of colleagues looking to borrow it from you.
- Keep all of your pens ordered, tidy and looking good in a new pen pot. There’s nothing worse than losing your pens – if you’ve got somewhere to keep them, where you can easily see what you’ve got, then you massively reduce the chance of one of them going walkies.
- If your job involves doing a lot of filing, there’s nothing worse than having to use faulty equipment. A good hole punch can cut through whatever you throw at it – they’ll often have adjustable parts so you can punch holes through various sizes of paper.
- So you’ve got yourself sorted out with a lovely new pen pot, well how about something to put in it? Pens go missing all the time, so it’s never a bad idea to get someone a selection of good quality biros, ballpoints or pencils to give their collection a much-needed boost.
- Although it seems like an obvious choice, there’s nothing quite like receiving a good pad of paper or notebook. A nice notebook can become an essential piece of kit, with its appearance (and the content inside) saying a lot about the person who owns it.
- This might seem like a dull option, but cards and sticker sheets for printing on to are hard to come by in the workplace. They allow for fantastic customising opportunities, with people making some brilliant customised work stationary. Perhaps couple this option with some other bits and bobs for the user to make personalised gifts and gifts with themselves.
- To leave your mark on the other bits of essential stationary you received, nothing works as well as a hand-held label printer. Print any word or phrase you like using the digital display, and it will print off in the form of an adhesive strip – very handy indeed.
- Customise your office area, by sticking up some photographs with some Blu-Tack. The soft durable material can stick almost any two items together, without leaving any nasty, lasting marks or making any holes as nails would.
- For the office worker or student who likes to stay organised, there’s always the option of a good folder. Coming in many different sizes and shapes, folders can be used to store important documents, create readable briefs for other colleagues, or just to build up a usable set of revision notes before an important exam.
About the Author: Roger Underhill has been an office manager for 7 years. He regularly blogs about quirky aspects of his life and helpful tips.
Cover photo credit: Lasse Ritakumpu
