Reviewed by
Mary
Japanese stationery is known for combining the cute, beautiful, and practical, and the ZenPop Stationery box is a wonderful example!
Each month you get a box of seven or eight assorted stationery items from Japan, which complement each other and are all useful. It’s a terrific box for any stationery lover.
The box shows the little rabbit mascot, and has a different card design theme for each month. there’s also a QR code to scan which tells you all about each item in the box. This month’s theme showcases the Japanese love of cute animals!
Smart Fit PuniLabo Book Band Pencase from LIHIT LAB, Immersion Ball Pen 0.7mm from Zebra Blen, ILMILY Two-color marker from Pilot
These pencil/pen cases are a very neat idea. They have a band on the back that slides around the cover of your notebook so you always have a pen handy when writing notes. I actually used to have something similar a long time ago, though it wasn’t particularly good. This one is semi-rigid and fits several pens inside, and the strap is adjustable from A6 to B5 sizes, which covers most notebook dimensions. It’s also a very cute design, with either a little cat or, as here, a cute Shiba.
Zebra makes all kinds of incredible pens, and this one is unusual in that it’s designed to solve a problem you didn’t know you had! The refill is gripped inside the pen so there is no movement when you press down to write. This may seem like a small detail, but if you write a lot, especially small characters like in Japanese, this movement, or rather the lack of it, is actually quite noticeable. The pen itself is also very comfortable to hold, slightly rubberised and very easy to hold, and altogether a very pleasant writing experience.
The two-colour marker is a fun item. The marker itself and uses ink that changes with heat. Rather than using a hairdryer or similar to heat the ink, the pen contains a special rubber rubber top that you rub the writing with, and the heat from the friction makes it change colour. It’s a cute idea, and works well for things like to-do lists or even little drawings.
Futamata Fusen from King Jim, Pastello A6 Notebook from LIHIT LAB, Mini Letter set from Nihon Hallmark
Sticky notes are generally not so interesting, but the King Jim company has released a cute series of sticky notes that are decorative as well as practical. They show a little animal scene (dog or cat) with space to write a note, and the base can be folded to make the notes stand up.
The Pastello Notebook doesn’t do anything super special, but it’s simple and practical. The cover is a nice bright colour, and the lined paper inside is high quality and very nice to write on. The pencil case above fits perfectly on this too!
Stationery includes note and letter sets, which are so much better than electronic communication! This is an adorable set of notepaper in different patters, with envelopes with cut-out shapes. You can change the pattern in the cutouts depending on what paper you use. It’s definitely an extra cute dimension to writing a letter.
Animal design daily use seal from Midori, FriXion Stamp Pad from Pilot, Flake Seal from World Craft
These little ‘seal’ stickers are pictures of all different animals in various cute dancing positions. They’re small and can be used to decorate all kind of things, from notebooks to artwork. They’re made from wash-type paper, so you can peel and restock as well.
The tiny stamp is another super cute and clever item. The stamp itself comes in lots of different varieties – mine is a paw print! – and it works very well for decorating your calendar. I can definitely imagine using this shape in my journal. It also has a clever trick – the ink is heat sensitive, and will actually erase using the rubber on the opposite end of the stamp.
The flake seals are another set of stickers, this time with an assortment of adorable Shiba dogs. Flake seals are another popular Japanese decorative item, and I like all the different designs for decorating my journals and scrapbooking.
