The third stationery feature people overlook.

As we complete the second month of The Outpost Stationery in Pioneer Square, I reflect on the reasons why people enjoy the experience of buying stationery. And there’s one reason that surprised me.

When you think about it, for most people, stationery is the type of tool you don’t think about until you discover enjoyable moments with it. People make do with photocopy paper and the cheapest possible paper to take some notes, but there’s that moment where they feel the softness of better paper or the smoothness of a rollerball and realize that they could have a much better experience with those tools.

Generally speaking, there are two aspects of stationery that matter: 

The first one is the feel of pen or pencil on paper. It needs to feel great for YOU. Maybe you prefer a needle-like feel on textured paper, maybe you are all about a “wetter” ink on very smooth paper. Whatever it is, if it’s not pleasurable to write with, you shouldn’t have it.

The second is looks. You want to enjoy looking at it. When it sits in your desk, when it’s in your bag. You want the item you chose to accompany you to reflect part of who you are and also to make you a bit happier when you see it around. 

Many people focus too much on the second one and end up with “nice looking” stationery they never use.

This time I want to advocate for a 3rd aspect of stationery that I think is even more important than looks. The tactility of your stationery.

How it Feels - Totems.

A few weeks back, while showing pens to a customer, I noticed something interesting. This customer would first hold the pen to feel its weight, then put it in their pocket to make sure it felt right. This was before testing the ink flow and even looking at it in more detail. What mattered the most to this customer was how it felt when they held it and kept it. They got a great brass pen, weighty with a fantastically smooth 0.7mm line. But that only happened after the feel test passed.

We didn’t discuss it at the time, but that way of buying a pen stayed with me. We keep most of our pens available for testing at the stationery bar, a large table with most of our notebooks and writing instruments so people can figure out their own combination of pen and paper. I assumed it was enough to just test the writing experience and that the pens look fine, but after that interaction, I started to see more instances of it. People asking if they could change the refill of one pen into a different one; they liked how one wrote but they preferred holding the other. Many customers decided to buy one of our metal pens after signing up to our email list using that pen (my proudest marketing moment at the shop)

It also reminded me of Christopher Nolan’s Inception. I won’t spoil this 16-year-old movie if you haven’t watched it but part of the story pertains to people keeping items: totems - small items they can hold, which reminds them that they are in the correct place. They know they are in the correct place because of how those totems feel in their hand. 

And then it clicked, both the movie and how people have been approaching many of the items at our shop. They love how it feels in their hands. I keep many items for the same reason. For a long time I didn’t use physical keys but since I opened the Pioneer Square shop, I needed actual keys for it. I cannot forget them at home. So I purchased a keyring that I can feel when I put it in my pocket, it gives me this simple reminder that I now can get in the shop.

How stationery feels when you hold it matters.

I thought of four ideas around this that can help you when you buy a new stationery item. I hope they help you as they help me.

It’s better to buy a pen that feels right in your hands and takes refills. You can always find the right refill for a great pen. But if you don’t like holding a pen even if the ink flows the way you like it, you’ll never use it.
I’ll always know if I’m holding a Lamy pen. Some people don’t like Lamy’s section (the part where you hold it) but nobody can deny how distinctive it is.
Anything can be a fidget toy. A clickety pen, a hefty rollerball, a measuring tape. If you want something to fidget with, might as well make it a tool you regularly use.
A pocket notebook needs to feel good in your pocket. To the point you know when you are NOT wearing it. 

Two quick stories about feel

A couple of customers were looking at our Craighill product selection. Funnily, we have a spinning top that looks like the one in the movie Inception, so we’ve been reminded of that movie a few times already. When checking the selection, they told us they have a name for how things feel, they call it “fizz”, and it was one of the most important parts of when they bought items. Craighill got it right on that front, you know you are holding one of their items.

An early customer, a lawyer, spent several minutes with us testing pens, not only for writing but for their click. They wanted a pen that had the right click but wasn’t too loud. They didn’t want to distract with noise at court but needed a fidgety tool they keep all the time. Purchased Drehgriffel that have a pleasant twist mechanism and Mark’s pens with a quiet and satisfying click.