Culture of Papyrophilia
The world has many things to fall in love with and it is interesting to explore how stationery products can enhance people’s lives.
Adulthood is hard, but I wouldn't go so far as to define it as an inevitable end. In fact, generations are becoming more playful and, they definitely can’t get enough of products and services with a few nostalgia and fulfilment vibes.
Stationery products have been existing for a long time, but never before have goods been showing off as pretty as today. Playful pens and markers conquer people’s hearts after having watched the first video of swatches on social media. From my point of view, trends like lettering and practising Hangul have impacted the global culture, and Stabilo ink is a perfect match for this learning journey.
The pleasure of taking cute notes is not only a habit of little girls but it’s also an opportunity for adult people who want to detach themselves from the pressures of modern life. Nowadays, turning 20, 30 or older is not a restriction to feel the will to have a naive experience.
According to the Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, creative activities prove to be meaningful as they give a human being the opportunity to fill in the necessity of creation and it’s a way of self-expression and reflection. Also, a vehicle to drive relaxation. On top of that, benefits go beyond leisure activities, the activity makes a positive contribution to emotional intelligence, boosts confidence, autonomy, and help to develop social skills and self-esteem.
But what is happening on the supply side…
Options to immerse into the colouring world is diverse from premium products like Copic, Tombow or Mildliner to supermarket offerings to one-dollar shops with a good quality assortment as well. It shows us an interesting consumer path in this decade. According to Business Wire, the global stationary market value is expected to reach a compound growth of over 9% from 2020- 2024 and US$148,830m by 2024.
However, there is a clear onward situation, for months this industry has been hit by the pandemic. Euromonitor reports travel bans, closure of stores and weakened consumer spending as some reasons for significant decremental sales and more consequences, impacting brands like Paperchase in the UK and Papyrus in the US, which have made public statements regarding their financial situation. However, there is a silver lining: emerging e-commerce outlets provide better experiences to merge analogue activities and digitally enriched layers. Moreover, some consumers still minded to gift luxury writing products for special occasions, some markets report a flat but concise value, and some people have found these instruments for work and play in this WFH reality.
In a nutshell, any kind of art expression is a highly recommended way to improve our mental health. Creation makes us feel alive and conscious about ourselves. Keep using that amazing highlighter!
Sources:
H.B.W. (2020, June 18). A concept analysis of creative activities as intervention in occupational therapy.
Global Stationery Market Insights & Forecast with Potential Impact of COVID-19, 2020–2024 — ResearchAndMarkets.com. (2021, January 7). Businesswire.
Luxury writing instruments and stationery. (n.d.). Euromonitor. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
