Go Stationery - Shimmer Accents notebook review

National Stationery Week seems like the perfect time to review this gorgeous notebook I was given by Peter from Go Stationery!  It is their new A5 Shimmer Accents large polka notebook in cream and I think it is stunning!

I have a thing for gold and polka dots!

I met Peter at the Spring Fair and even though his stand was very, very busy he still spent some time with me talking about National Stationery Week, the London Stationery Show and my blog.  Afterwards he gave me this notebook to review which was lovely of him!

A5 Shimmer Accents notebook

The Shimmer range is available in a wide selection of colours including aqua, blush, copper, pearl, magenta and taupe and cost £9.50 each.  The notebooks are made from high quality, smooth cream paper and contain 192 pages.  The pages have a light dotted line in a pale grey colour which looks very classy.  The style of the lining means you can use the book for writing, diagrams or sketching as the lines are unobtrusive.  

Smooth cream paper lined in grey

The paper is a dream to write on with standard pens!  I also tested it with my fountain pen and while there was no feathering the ink did show through slightly on the other side.  This isn't a negative point though as it is the same with most standard notebooks, I am only mentioning it just in case any avid fountain pen users are reading this.  Ballpoint, rollerball and gel pens all work very well on the paper with no ghosting on the reverse side. 

The paper is lovely to write on

The notebooks come with a bow wrapped around them making them the perfect gift for any stationery addict or notebook fiend!  I, myself, am both!  It also helps them stand out when they are on display, these notebooks were one of the first things I spotted on Go Stationery's stand at the Spring Fair.  They are very eye catching!  

The perfect gift

Go Stationery have recently updated their website with the new 2016/17 ranges so if you fancy treating your self during National Stationery week why not pop over and see if anything takes your fancy?

I will be back tomorrow for the last day of #NatStatWeek, how has it gone by so quickly?

*Disclaimer - I was given this product free of charge for the purpose of this review.  As always all opinions are honest and my own.  I was not paid to write this post and I am not affiliated with Go Stationery.

The Spring Fair 2016 AKA Stationery Heaven

Back in February I spent a couple of days at the Spring Fair trade show.  I wanted to spread the word about National Stationery Week and do a bit of networking with some stationery companies.  I discovered some brands I had not heard of before as well as meeting the people behind some much loved products.  Let me tell you about them...  

Go Stationery

Go Stationery are a company based in London who have an absolutely gorgeous line of products.  I was treated to a sneek peek of their new 2016/17 range of notebooks and I think they are amazing!  Their website is being updated at the moment and these designs will be available online soon.

Shimmer & Colour Block

Shimmer

Woodland Trust

Woodland Trust

Dodo Pad

If you have been reading this blog for a while you will know I am a BIG Dodo Pad fan!  I was lucky enough to meet the humans behind Lord Dodo himself, Rebecca and Howard while I was at the show.  They showed me one of the big changes that they have introduced in the new diaries for 2016/17 onwards but I will be telling you all about that next week!

The Dodo Pad's stand

Stamford Notebooks

I discovered Stamford Notebooks on Twitter during National Stationery Week last year so when I heard they were going to be at the fair I had to stop by and say hi!  It was great to be able to see all of the lovely coloured books in person and to see their new range of leather notebook covers.  The new covers remind my of the Filofax Original binders as they are made from thick leather and have a nice simple design. They also smell fantastic!

Stamford Notebooks - hand bound in Stamford England

The Burghley & Traveller's Journal

Leuchtturm 1917

I worked with Leuchtturm 1917 last year when I reviewed and gave away one of their notebooks.  I was drawn towards their stand by the colourful display of books, though when I shared this photo on my Facebook page someone pointed out that they should have arranged the notebooks into rainbow order as they have all of the colours needed to do so!

I met a few more people and companies while I was at the fair but I didn't take photos of all of their stands.  It was quite busy in the halls so sometimes it was difficult to get a picture or two without someone being in the way.  I took some more photos once I got outside...  

My show pass & a cute bottle of water from Orange Licensing

Goodie bag

Products given to me to review & some freebies

I was given some lovely products to bring home and some to review as well. 

Penfold Card and Gifts

Penfold Card and Gifts gave me these pretty notebooks.  They are a UK based distributor of American stationery products.  I had a really nice chat with the man on their stall and he showed me their catalogue which was full of wonderful things.  If you own a shop and are looking for stock you should definitely pop over and take a look at their site. 

Penfold Card & Gifts notebooks

Waverley Scotland

I met Liz from Waverley on my first day at the show.  She showed me their brand new product, the Tartan Cloth Commonplace Notebook.  This book is available in a selection of different patterns and is made from genuine Scottish tartan cloth.  Liz very kindly let me choose a notebook to review for her and I picked the Caledonia tartan one.  I will be publishing my post during National Stationery Week if you would like to know more about it. 

Waverley Scotland Tartan Cloth Notebook

Dairy Diary

Emily from Dairy Diary gave me two of her 2016 diaries to give away for National Stationery Week.  Both have a recipe printed on each week of the year so they are perfect for any domestic goddess or the next budding Jamie Oliver! 

  

Dairy Diary and Kitchen & Home Diary

Go Stationery

Peter from Go Stationery gave me this lovely Shimmer Accents polka dot notebook to review, my post about it will be up next week.

Go Stationery Shimmer Accents A5 notebook

I met the team behind the Journals Of A Lifetime books at the show too.  We swapped business cards and Kerri contacted me afterwards to arrange for me to review one of their Dear Mum journals for Mother's Day.  You can read my post here if you missed it.

Dear Mum journal

So that was my two days in stationery heaven, I had a really fantastic time!  I have already got my pass ordered for the next show and I am looking forward to discovering more new products and companies then. 

Have you spotted anything here you like the look of?

Mother's Day gift - From you to me journal review

I mentioned the other week that I had been to the Spring Fair trade show and met some lovely new stationery suppliers, well one of them was From you to me and they make lots of gorgeous journals including their Journals of a Lifetime range.  I was asked if I would like to review one of their products for Mother's Day and of course I jumped at the chance!  

I chose their Dear Mum journal which is an ideal gift for all the wonderful mothers out there.  The idea behind this book is you give it to your Mum and then she fills the pages with all her memories and stories before passing it back to you to keep and treasure.

Dear Mum - From you to me journal

The journal is available in two different designs, this one is the sketch cover option and the other has a blossom tree on it so you can choose the one that you or your Mum would prefer.  I liked the sketch cover as I thought it was more fun and colourful but the blossom tree is pretty too.

An ideal gift for Mother's Day

The first page in the book explains the idea behind the journal, it is for your Mother's unique and amazing story!  

Capture some of life's key memories, experiences & feelings

Then there is a letter to your Mum, there is a space for you to write her name at the top and a place at the bottom of the page for you to sign it too.  The letter tells her about how to fill in the book and that you would like it back when she has finished so you can read and share her story.  

A letter to your Mum

Now if you are thinking that it would be quite hard for your Mum to fill a book full with the story of her life don't worry, the journal has over fifty questions and prompts to help her along the way.  Each one has two blank pages for the answer so your Mum would have plenty of space to write and even add a photo or drawing too.  I love that if your Mum is artistic she would have so much room to create something on each double spread or if they are wordy like me they would be able to answer in great detail without worrying about running out of space.

Two pages per question and ribbon bookmark

Each page has a little doodle in the bottom left corner

Here is a selection of questions and prompts from the journal:

• What piece of advice would you like to offer me?
• What was the first word or words you remember me saying?
• Tell me about the time and place you were born...
• Did you have an idol when you were young?  Tell me who and why...
• Describe some of the memories you have of me when I was a child...

What interesting information do you know about other
people in our family?

In the introduction to the book it says that there might be a couple of questions that your Mum won't want to or can't answer and it is ok to leave these blank, the idea is they fill out what they can when they can so eventually you will both have a book full of her memories.  

There are a few more blank pages at the end of the journal for your Mum to add anything extra that hasn't been covered by the questions and prompts and finally there a couple of pages for your Mum to fill out her personal information (name, maiden name, date of birth, eye colour etc) and one for you to write a thank you message to her for taking the time to complete the book.

I really like this journal, I think it would be a fun project to work on and a real treasure once it is complete!  I would also like to mention that the paper quality of the pages is fantastic, it is nice and smooth and thick.  It would be a pleasure to write on.

The Dear Mum journal costs £13 and it is also available in Dear Mom and Dear Mummy versions.  In fact there is a whole range of different titles for all of your relatives and friends, you can check them out here. 

Thanks for stopping by and happy Mother's Day to all of the Mums out there!  

* Disclaimer - this product was given to me free of charge for the purpose of this review.  I was not paid to write this post and as always all opinions are my own.