Far from computers displacing pen and Paper, producing and reading hard copy text serves a function that a PC or Mac can’t replicate. This is the jist of a recent New York Times article, ‘In Defense of the Power of Paper’, which surveys the views of experts on the matter. For productivity expert David Allen, […]
BIC has elicited scorn, ridicule and bemusement after launching a range of pink and purple pens just “for her”. The pens, priced 70% more than identical regular pens, have “attractive barrel design available in pink and purple…designed to fit comfortably in a woman’s hand.” This somewhat Stepford Wives approach to gendered marketing has angered some, […]
How to make string cheese more appetising? Package it like colourful crayons of course. As start of term approaches, Crayola and Kraft have teamed up for a back-to-school promotion, marrying the perfect match of stationery and cheese. ‘Crayola Crayon String Cheese’ is packaged in Crayola’s familiar colours with each string of cheese wrapped in the […]
In an age when text is both ubiquitous and utterly ephemeral – cf. emails, Twitter and SMS messaging – artist Annie Vought seeks to reclaim the importance of the “tangible handwritten letter.” She enlarges written documents she has found, received or written herself and, with a very sharp knife and a lot of time, cuts […]
Artist Dave Rittinger has proposed a public art installation in North Philadelphia city park involving giant stationery. Entitled ‘Color Pencil Tree’, the branches morph into large, roughly hewn coloured pencils. Says Rittinger, “My work is often playful, colorful and incorporates a sort of metaphorical blending of objects and function, so the fact that pencils are […]
You may have heard a story or two about someone saving the another’s life by making an incision in their throat and sticking a tube in it in order to create an emergency airway. A cricothyrotomy is a technical name for such a procedure, conducted as a last resort when the normal airways are obstructed […]
When a 76-year-old woman with complaints of weight loss and diarrhoea was reffered for further investigation, it turned out she had a pen lodged in her stomach. What’s more, the pen had been there for 25 years. When it was removed, all her symptoms disappeared. “On subsequent questioning, she recalled unintentionally swallowing a pen 25 […]
Early cuneiform, ca. 3000 BC Office supplies are humdrum. Objects around the office seem to subsist on a mundane plane of existence, interrupting our consciousness only when they are required for some necessary but fundamentally dull task. Scribbling on a Post-it Note, loading Paper into your printer, buying a multipack of biros – what could […]
Lethal: A pencil sharpener A teenage girl’s dreams were almost dashed last week when an over-cautious cashier refused to sell her a Glee stationery set because the pencil sharpener included was deemed too “dangerous”. Emily Davies, 14, tried to buy the set at a 99p Store in Boscombe, Bournemouth, but was refused on the grounds […]
As part of a campaign to promote their new InkJoy pen, Paper Mate® is encouraging office workers to expose pen thieves through its Facebook page. According to research commissioned by Paper Mate, 70 percent of American office workers report that their pen has gone missing from their office. And almost all of the 1,000 respondents […]
How to plan the office Christmas party Whether you count down the days, or desperately scrabble around for an excuse not to go, the office Christmas party is an event on almost every company’s calendar. So, how do you plan a party that everyone will enjoy? It’s a tricky balance to get Bob from Accounts […]
Top tips to improve your time management skills Despite what people say, time is not a commodity. It cannot be traded, expanded or reduced. It is fixed. Our perception of time, however, is another concept. How often do you think at 4pm “Where has the day gone?” and go into panic mode to try to […]
Planning in business is essential Everything from the monthly sales drive to a new product launch or project needs planning. It promotes joined-up thinking and good decision-making throughout the whole organisation. “A goal without a plan is just a wish”, observed the famous writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery, summing up a key business principle. Each business […]
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