Back to School (or not!)

Rachel's First Blog Posting...enjoy!

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As you may have read in my recent post for Papier Gourmet, I graduated from college this past May. For over sixteen years, I attuned myself to the paradox of summer vacation: a regimented three months of freedom. I always tried to fill my Junes, Julys and Augusts with a mixture of exploration, work and relaxation. However much of a success or disaster my summer turned out to be, though, I knew that early September would bring it all to a close. I found a certain comfort in that deadline; regardless of what I did during my time off from school, after a week of small talk it faded into memory while my friends and I recalibrated ourselves to our familiar school ways. Now, as I face the summer vacation of the rest of my life, I feel a certain melancholy in knowing that September is just as arbitrary a month as any other. How strange to know that my day-to-day schedule will not dramatically change as the temperature shifts!

Working at Papier Gourmet has kept me in the whirl of back to school spirit even as I have no plans to head back to school. We just received our 2011 planners from variety of companies, including Moleskine, Exacompta, Filofax, Letts of London, MomAgenda and WhoMi. I couldn't resist a Moleskine that started in academic year 2010 (aka this July). Along with all of the other Moleskine planners, it has a calendar on the left (I chose weekly, though we carry daily and monthly as well) and lined paper for notes on the right. I love writing down various details about my week on the right side, which has become littered with to-do lists and addresses that correspond with appointments on the left. Moleskines are famous for housing the scribbles of the likes of Picasso and Chatwin (and more recently, every hipster worth her weight in skinny jeans) and have lovely faux-leather covers and an accordion folder for important scraps. I feel like an analog girl in a digital world, but I have such an easier time using my tangible Moleskine than a computer or phone program to organize my hours.

For those more interested in scribbling than arranging, we also have a humongous selection of notebooks, filled with blank, graph or lined paper. Their crisp pages remind me of the joys of September; I always cherished the feel of a pen on a fresh notebook. With Clairefontaine and Rhodia, you can pick between various sizes to suit your needs. If I were a private investigator, for example, I would surely pick up a slim Rhodia black pad to jot down my observations.

I’ve also noticed an upswing in wrapping paper purchases, which people use to cover their textbooks. I wish that I had thought to use Kate & Birdie’s Grey Forest gift wrap to protect all of my books. It’s a creative way to add cheer to academic settings, particularly when children learn visually. I love Grey Forest in particular because, unlike most gift wrap, the sheet portrays one forest scene instead of exhibiting a repeating pattern. The continuous treescape would look lovely wrapped around an oft-read text. Please come in and check it out. I would love to live vicariously through your back to school purchases!