Stationery Crazes

This is my second attempt to write this post. As happens every so often, when I finished the first version, I was rather unhappy with it. Since you’re reading this now, it’s safe to say that this second iteration was much more to my liking.

Over the time I’ve been part of the pen world, I’ve watched several stationery crazes hit. Sometimes, the hype is strong enough to sweep everyone along. The new “it” thing will sell out continuously, with many more left desperately searching for one to buy. Other times, that hype is just a steady hum, inspiring interest and conversation, but not many purchases.

Sometimes, those crazes are a one-hit-wonder akin to a fad — fading away as quickly as it appeared. But, there have also been plenty of cyclical crazes, with the hype peaking with each release. Still others have settled after an initial hype wave, leaving dedicated enthusiasts.

Hobonichi Planners

To me, the best-known cyclical craze item is the Hobonichi planner family Their planners hit the U.S. years ago, but they have a dedicated following that continues to inspire new users. The hype is real with each release, and many products sell out. And we all know it’s not just the planners. The Hobonichi accessories and Hobonichi-adjacent markets are strong, too.

Not being an avid adherent — I don’t use Hobonichi at all, actually — I can’t say if interest is increasing, decreasing, or holding steady overall, but it’s definitely still making waves.

Pilot Vanishing Point

Another cyclical craze is the yearly Pilot Vanishing Point limited edition release. While not every release generates the hype that this year’s Seashore has, it’s certainly something that gets everyone talking every year.

Brooks Materials

Brooks materials are an interesting phenomenon in the pen world. I don’t know when Johnathon released his first Primary Manipulation blank, but it, and all of its successor swirly materials have been major hits.

I know some people who own drawers of pens made of a specific Brooks material. And lately, there have been more and more mainstream brands making pens with them.

Beyond Jonathon’s own success, it certainly seems — to me — like he inspired a rise in blank makers. Can we credit him with the rise of indie blanks? Maybe?

Mini Pens

I don’t know if mini pens (pens under 5 inches when posted) have historically sparked any crazes, but they’ve been successful enough to stick around for decades. One only has to look at ventage pen tables at a show to see how long mini pens have existed.

But, the Moonman/Majohn Wancai Mini certainly seemed to get the mini-pen craze going. And, while it technically doesn’t count as a mini pen at 5.28 inches posted, the Q1 helped fuel that craze. It could have been because the Wancai is so small, but I’m guessing the low price played a significant part, too.

That craze, though, didn’t seem to last very long. While it felt like 80%-90% of the people in my corner of the pen world bought one, many seemed to quickly decide the tiny size wasn’t for them.

Plotter

The Plotter craze has already abated a bit. I don’t know if it’s the price or the small rings, but it seems like people decided pretty quickly whether or not Plotter was for them.

As should have been obvious from my Plotter Alternatives series, I’m not Team Plotter — although I will acknowledge that their paper is nice. But, I was surprised by how quickly Plotter hype died down. It will be interesting to see if the hype grows again as Plotter attends pen shows this summer.

Toyooka Craft

I didn’t pay much attention to Toyooka Craft until just before the DC Show last year — a pen friend told me she’d ordered one for DC pick up. So, I don’t know how long they’ve been of interest. But, they virtually sold out at the DC Show last year, so the hype was real.

Since the show, though, I’ve heard very little. I suppose it’s possible that they’re primarily a “show brand” for U.S. customers since they don’t seem to have a U.S. distributor. Not having ordered from them, I can’t say what the delivery time or customer service is like. It’s possible they’re significantly easier to purchase from at shows, even if they don’t bring their full range with them.

Traveler’s Notebook

To me, Traveler’s Notebook is the OG stationery craze, since it was the first craze I was part of the community for. If you were part of the pen/stationery community at the time, you likely bought one, seriously considered doing so, or knew someone who had one that you could check out and decided it wasn’t for you.

While Traveler’s Notebook doesn’t seem to have the same universal hype today, there is still a significant user base, and special editions in the U.S. can sell out pretty quickly.

Allow me a short digression to mention it’s just now occurred to me that Traveler’s Notebook is the antithesis of Plotter. Traveler’s Notebook is meant to hold everything, while Plotter is meant just for essentials. Interesting, given they’re made by the same parent company.

Toyo Toolboxes

I don’t have much to say about Toyo. They seem to be the current craze, likely because they’re fairly new in the U.S. I don’t really understand the interest, though. As open-hole boxes, they aren’t pen cases, so it’s interesting that the fountain pen community has embraced them so quickly.

Toyo toolboxes seem like something more useful to stationery folks. The boxes would probably be really good for storing ephemera.

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There are plenty of other crazes of various intensities that have hit the pen world in the past few years. But, if I covered them all, this post would be ridiculously long.

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Do you feel I missed any major crazes? Or do you disagree with me about any of these? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. Make sure to subscribe to my blog or follow me on Instagram so you don’t miss any posts. I generally post at least once a week.

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Attribution: The image I used in the share images for Instagram and Facebook is “Sold Out” by Jeremy Brooks, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.