Do You Have an Office Supply Fetish?
Now, I can go to Staples any time I want and because I have a reasonable amount of disposable income, I can select the office supplies that make my heart sing. Color coded folders and matching labels? Done! Post-Its in various configurations? Check! Sharpies, Sharpies, Sharpies! And my latest addition: plastic-coated paper clips that make every grouping of papers hum with vibrant togetherness. Yes!
I stopped at OfficeMax today to have new business cards printed and found myself drawn magnetically towards the pen section. I cannot resist trying new pens!
I bought a two-pack of Pentel EnerGel 0.7mm ballpoint retractable gel pens with purple ink. Oooooo, they write so smoothly… with such violet-purpleness… ahhhhh…
Are you addicted to office supplies? Which ones drive you wild? We promise we won’t tell…
My favorite “office supply” is my retractible fountain pen. It has a fine gold nib, retracts, and is really awesome. It’s the namiki vanishing point pen, I’m sure google will tell you all about it.
Why do I like it? I like the size and weight, and the fineness of the lines. I also think fountain pens are an elegant representation of what it means to be human. The combination of all human-specific traits no other animal has in combination: Fine motor skills, abstract thought, and the written language.
Oh my god. I want one of those pens. NOW. I think I’m starting to get the shakes.
I have the same sickness. I actually have 2 binders and separators for both in one of my kitchen cabinets, waiting for the day I actually organize all of the recipes I’ve printed out. I couldn’t resist them!
I’m a cheapskate… Staples & Office Max have great stuff, but Wal-Mart is less expensive. I’m into the Wal-Mart gel pens (their G2 knockoffs at 96 cents for two) and plastic crates and tubs…
Ooooooh, this is office supply pr0n! did they have the pens in .5mm? I don’t like the thick lines but purple is the only color pen I use.
I don’t get out of office supply stores easily. My spouse has had to lead an intervention to remove me before I spend the annual budget in one visit. Mmmmmm.
I knew I couldn’t be the only one – pilot g2 and g2 mini, i buy them almost as often as i buy coffee…
Wow I thought I was the only one with that weird craving to go visit the office store.
My favourites:
My two shopping fetishes: Office Supplies and Books. Unfortunately for me, the local Staples is adjacent to the local Barnes & Noble.
For me its gotta be the Pilot Vpen disposable fountain pen. Every conventional fountain pen I’ve had has leaked at some time or another, these babies never do!
For me it’s pens and books as well, just like Angela. I used to try every pen there was. Now that I’ve discovered the Uniball Jetstream (in capped and clicker) and the Uniball 207 pen (it’s the one that keeps your checks from being pirated because the ink won’t wash off the check) I just buy lots of the same pen. I do like unique pens (ones shaped like hearts or stars) and multifunction pens (it’s a flash light, it’s a pen, it’s a laser pointer, no – it’s super pen).
Thanks for the shout out, WWD! I knew there were more pen, paper, and office supply fetishists in the world. I think the Levenger catalog should come in a plain brown wrapper, my interest in pens and lovely papers is that prurient.
After reading these comments, I think I need to go pen shopping…NOW!
Hi. My name is Molly and I am an office supply addict. Writing instruments and paper…there isn’t time or space to go into the texture issues involved.
Current favorite: Bic Velocity Pencils and to a lesser degree the bic Velocity pen-in purple ink. I see a purple pen, i must own it. it’s rather sad really.
And now, I have to go find these Disposable fountian pens that Scott mentioned..appeals to my inner 1940’s chick.
i’m obsessive compulsive about buying office stationary. i just can’t stop myself buying pens though i hardly use them these days. i’ve spent my entire school and college years searching for a perfect pen but couldn’t find one (it actually depends a lot upon the quality of the paper too) my favorite? an old pilot pen that still sell here in india and rotring mechanical pencils. i also like to pick up hiliters and sketch pens a lot. i wish there was a monthly subscription in any of the stationary stores :D off to my favorite stationary store now.
My name is Stephen, and I have a problem.
I have more notebooks, pencils and pens than any human could use in a lifetime. I emptied everything that was duplicated and unused from my bag and desk, and I filled a one-gallon ziplock baggie.
I have enough notebooks to document the apocalypse for many years.
I am in control of my problem, but I live with it every day.
Karoli – I didn’t see if they had these gel pens in a thinner width. I have a hard time writing with fine point pens; it comes out like chicken scratches for some reason.
Guess I’m not the only one with a purple pen thing! :)
Thanks for sharing everyone, I have some new pens to try now.
The other nice thing about fountain pens in my office is that no-one else seems to like them so mine never get stolen :)
My wife is as bad as I am. We can go to Staples on a date and be happy. I feel like I’m cheating on her if I have to go without her.
I LOVE office supplies. There is a huge chain here in Australia called Officeworks, which I suppose is like a Staples, and it’s amazing. Aisles & aisles of stationary and office equipment, furniture, electronics… all the things that make you WANT to get organised. I can spend hours in stores like that, not to mention spending money! Pens & notepads/notebooks are always amongst my favourite things to get.
I have a terrible fetish for office supplies! I have under-bed plastic storage boxes full or various things! Pens, notepads, post it notes (of every imaginable size), post it flags, labels, paper of every variety for any occasion (photos, glossy, matte, card stock both 1/2 fold, and 1/4 fold), etc. I am glad to finally learn I am not the only freaky person with this fetish!
Office supplys as commodity fetish? I’m there too, pens being my item of choice. Luckily theres a mom and pop office supply store right downtown near me so I can get my fix and support a locally owned buisness at the same time. Recently I bought a great Papermate Liqiud Expresso xtra fine point there which is a bit of a throwback to the felt tips from back in the day. It writes well and the tip hasn’t frayed at all, plus it rocks for doodling. Whats a good pen if it doesn’t make for some fun doodles?
This is my baby.. http://www.zebrapen.com/ball-f301.html couldn’t live without it.
People think I’m crazy for having so many linds of writing utensils on my desk. I really like to use ultra fine point art and technical markers (Pigma, Zig, Staedler, etc.) for precision work. And I really like Levenger’s 3×5 cards and letter-size pads (graph paper especially, but now they have an assortment of papers including ruled, grid, isometric, visualiztion, and stroyboard.
I want one of those pens! I thought I was the only one who loves to buy office supplies. Thanks for posting this! Great to hear that others have the same fetish.
Hello everyone,
I found a new website that I fell in love with. If you want to purchase office supplies please go to http://www.mfgdirect.com. They always have free ground shipping and they have below msrp pricing. I called them and the advised me that they are growing and they will be adding new manufactures all the time! They have a very good customer service department as well (which is always a plus!). I hope you will take the time to check them out!
It’s nice to see all of the other office supply freaks coming out of the closet! I have — at home — four different brands of stapler, multiple types of pairs of scissors, and hundreds of pens — this includes eighty-odd fountain pens, as well as the Pilot Hi-Tec-C pens (my preferred non-fountain-pen type), and the last of the Uniball Neons from the 1990s in captivity. You never know which will be the perfect pen/paper combination, so why not try them all?
Oh boy, the number of replies is overwhelming!
And I like…ah.. cotton candy.
I want to produce and market scented and flavoured erasers, of all types. And yes, chewable. Ohhhh and I want those Scratch-n-sniff stickers from when I was a kid… Should I start a webring for people with a stationary fetish? and you can talk about it all day and trade stationary, and all those other activities they have on fetish sites?
Stationary symbolises perfection and purity, so it is easily addictive I guess? I would like to know more about this private and relatively untouched fetish!
OMG! I’m not alone sigh of relief Everytime I go to WalMart I end up buying a bunch of Composition books. I also love the Pilot Precise v5 rollerball pens – so smooth and loverly! But now I have to go find these disposable fountain pens *drool When I was younger I went to a private school and had to use real fountain pens and gods I loved! I go crazy whenever we go to Staples or OfficeMax or anything – My eyes get huge and I start drooling and get really excited, hehe. My mom thinks it’s funny and my husband thinks I’m weird, but I love it! So glad to find other…. stationaryphiles? XD
Mmmmmmmm…..stationery. I would rather wander around a big stationery store than I would a clothes shop. When my kids were small, and all their contemporaries would be given a bit of cash to spend as they liked in the local sweetshop we would be heading off with a fiver each towards the nearest stationers. Folders, stickers, highlighting pens…..
When you are talking office supplies you are talking Shoplet.com. They have the largest selection office supplies (over 200,000 items) in stock and the best price on the web. If you are a small business and are looking to to set budgets and approval policies they are offering a free e-procurement application. Try this outfit before you try anything else:
Sholet.com
Cheers
Anyone know if there is any other mini gel pens out there besides the G2? I would love to find something like a combination of the OfficeMax Retractable gel pen and the Mini G2. I like the size of the Mini but I also like the clip mechanism that keeps the pen from clicking into the open position.
hi, i also have a thing for pens…. sharpies… and franklin covey planners hahahaa here at my town we have office max and office depot. and i like to buy the energel thingies… but on black… and a lot of sharpies… haha i also thought that i was the only one …
I am so glad to know that I am not he only person in this world with a purple gel pen fetish.
I like uni-ball .5 micro pens. I think they are a Japanese brand.
We got the freakzone here, sign me up for your next meeting :-)
I have an office paper fetish too. I use myndology and atoma disc bound and fountain pens.
My fetish began in Jr High, when I started taking drawing seriously (future career-wise). My preference from Dixon Ticonderogas evolved to Staedtler drafting pencils which eventually led me to mechanical pencils. That’s when the doors opened. Right now my portable brainstorming kit consists of an Ohto Super Promecha .05 and a pocket Moleskin notebook. For a while I used a Palm T2 for all of my organizational needs. I have since retired it in favor of the old school approach of the moleskin and an over engineered japanese mechanical drafting pencil. It’s like yin and yang, a perfect harmony of complex and simple.
The uniball Jetstream is heaven in plastic and ink.
I can’t begin to say how at home I felt reading all these comments. Even for a bookish society like Singapore, my penchant for post-its (3M), pens (Pilot), markers (Mr Sketch) and all things stationery is somewhat of an oddity. Someone, set up a support group please!
I can’t walk by the stationary isle in the grocery store without pausing to take a look.
My predilection began in middle school when they came out with those groovy gel pens. I had sparkly pens, neon pens, metallic pens, and pens that wrote in different colors depending on the tilt and pressure on the ball point.
My favorite pen is purple and has a bright pink plume of feathers. I don’t write with this one–it’s just to look at! :-)
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