Stationery Shopping: Monami in Seoul, South Korea

 

I just got back from a short trip to Seoul and wanted to share my experience at the Monami store in Seongsu. 

The store is outside exit 4 of Seongsu station on line 2 of the Seoul Metro. 

Monami is a south korean stationery brand, they make everything from pens to office supplies to calligraphy tools and are widely available due to their affordable prices. 

The store has been at this location for a while not and it's pretty big for a standalone brand store in the area. 

When you walk in, you're greeted by the custom ink mixing station called ink lab next to the payment counter. I think the ink lab requires a reservation but I had dropped in casually and didn't make one. 

The store sells a wide variety of items including souvenir cards...

...apparel....

...stickers, tape and paper for journalling. 

There's also a wide range of their pens, markers, pencils and calligraphy tools. 

At the back of the store, you'll find a DIY pen station, you can pick the ink refill, body, and cap to make your own pen! 

There's also a vending machine if the store is crowded and you'd like something in a hurry. 

Also, vending machines are always fun so give it a try anyway! 

It's not really a stationery store without notebooks, they had some custom notebook options and they also carried other brands. 

Like this moleskine collab with Harry Potter, which I thought was very pretty. 

I had a fun time browsing the store, I already own some of their pens and markers so deciding what to buy turned out to be more difficult than I thought. 

Tune in next week for my review on what I purchased in the store. 

If you're in the Seongsu area, and you most likely will as it's one of the trending areas in Seoul, definitely drop by the Monami store! 

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Review : Yamada Sticky Notes Case with Clip

Recently I have discovered a new way to carry my sticky notes [fusen] around.

This is the Sticky notes case made by Yamada.

The case is made of a semi clear plastic making the design reminiscent of the products made by MUJI.

The case slides open and you can store your sticky notes on the inside.

It comes with a clip on the back for easy attachment to your journal or diary, making it easier to carry around.

You can probably use it to store other small items like paperclips as well.

Overall thoughts

I used to store my sticky notes inside my pen case and that resulted in them getting folded, dirty or detached from the stack. It is also difficult to find it quickly at times and I don't carry a pen case everywhere i go.

This protects the sticky notes, keeping it clean and much easier to locate. The clear design makes it easy to match things I already own and its a design style I personally like.

What do you think?

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September 2024 Printable

 

September printable! 

Download here: link

For netprint and ibon information, please see our instagram

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Review: SERIA デザインテンプレート Schedule

Here at TN5C we are always on the hunt for useful stationery. And today we will be sharing a design template to use in our planners and diaries!

Design template: Schedule

The size is approximately 120mm x 80 mm

So its easy to use, store and bring on the go.

It contains two sheets: an "icon" on the right and a "frame" on the left.

They are made of a thin durable plastic.

Here's how they look like traced with a highlighter.

The "icon" section is full of illustrations that are good for daily use.

The small size is also suitable for the monthly pages of a planner.

You can fill in the gaps after tracing as well. [see below]

The "frame" sheet is a collection of shapes that you will be useful and made easy because you only have to trace it.

Needless to say, it also makes a good portable ruler.

As a matter of fact, the icons sheet has a ruler with measurements printed on it.

Overall thoughts:

This template is a useful item that allows you to easily draw beautiful patterns just by tracing them with a pen. They also allow you to quickly draw simple illustrations even if you are not good at drawing.

What do you think?

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Review: Daiso Korea Masking Tape Storage Box

We've previously talked about how Daiso in Korea, whilst it shares the same name as the original Japan chain, sells quite a number of things that are specific to the Korea store. 

As a sidenote, the logo and pricing is also different. 

Items start from KRW1000 , unlike Japan where items are JPY100 (before tax) unless otherwise stated. 

On my last trip, I picked up this masking tape drawer/box. 

It was KRW1000, which is roughly USD0.74, a very good deal!

 

It has a sliding drawer with a button to secure the box and it holds about 10 rolls of standard width washi tape. 

It's also made of pp material so it's pretty sturdy, great for taking some rolls out for travel journalling. 

Also, the drawer catches on the button on the sleeve and prevents the sleeve from leaving the box completely but really makes it feel more secure. 

I managed to squeeze in 10 rolls of random washi tape but here's what I found: 

• Full rolls of MT tape are too wide and won't fit. 
• 10 regular width rolls will fit but it is a bit difficult to take them out after. 
• the button on the sleeve catches on the drawer and stops the drawer from leaving the sleeve altogether, but that leaves 2 rolls of tape from being accessible

Even with all the small issues, for KRW1000, I think this is a great item to pickup. It's also a good way to bring home more washi tape! 

and don't forget to check out out all the other cool stationery at Daiso Korea! 

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Review: Daiso Sticker Case/Storage

 

Where do you store stickers? That's the eternal conundrum. 

There's folders, boxes, books, so many ways. 

These sticker cases I picked up from Daiso might be the perfect travel option/

The case comes in 2 sizes, small (172 x 112 x 31mm) and large (153 x 103 x 22mm)

The large fits a standard long sheet sticker including any backing sheet it may come with. The small fits both the square sheets of stickers and packs of individually cut stickers. It fit all my stickers so unless it's a custom size, I think you'll be able to store any sticker sheet.

The main feature of the case is this notch at the bottom, you know how it's such a pain to take out stickers stacked and stored in boxes, this notch allows you to remove the sheets with ease. 

It also reduces damage that might caused when you remove the stickers from the case. 

Of course, the downside is that dust will go in easily so it is advisable to keep the stickers in the original packaging. 

The case has 2 more cool features, one is these bumps on the bottom and top of the case. 

These line up, allowing you to stack the cases securely, and as a bonus, the small case lines up with the large one, although it's only on one side so it's less stable. 

The last feature are these hooks, if you don't want to stack the boxes, you can hang them instead. 

I think it's great to have all these options. 

I think these boxes are a great way to store stickers, the plastic is sturdy and being able to remove the stored stickers is really a plus. 

Personally I already have a sticker storage system in place but I will definitely be bringing this on holiday, with stickers or maybe to store newly bought stickers. 

What do you think about these cases? 

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August 2024 Printable

 August is coming up and its the last summer month of 2024!

Download here: PDF

For ibon/netprint information, please see our instagram post.

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Review :Mini Book Gashapon Popular Stationery Mook Collection

Mooks are a popular item found in Japanese book stores. The word is a combination of Magazine and Book. They usually come with a fairly luxurious supplement which is the main reason why people buy them.

Recently, miniatures of the popular stationery series from Takarajimasha's Mook book has been released. Since we are interested in all things stationery, we had to pick one up for a look.

Here's what we got:

A miniature version of the "Croquis Book" A4 Multi-Case MOOK

Like the original mook, it comes with a box that contains the extra as well as a thin book detailing the history of the product and other information.

The tiny book actually contains the same pages as the original item!

Unfortuantely, the special extra which is an "A4 multi-case" from the real size mook has not been reproduced. Instead we get a plastic reproduction that does not open up.

However, it looks just like a croquis book and features cute cat illustrations by popular illustrator Midori Asano. [like the original]

Here is the full lineup.

As someone who loves miniatures and stationery, I bought it almost immediately.

I look forward to buying the rest of the collection.

What do you think?

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Zebra Delguard Mechanical Pencil: Moomin Edition

 

I love the moomin series so I was pleased to see this collab from Zebra.

The series has 6 colours but the clear one was the only one left when I spotted it. 

To be honest, I think it's the prettiest one. 

Delguard is a mechanical pencil so it's pretty straighforward. 

Let's talk about the aesthetics. 

Moomin fans will love this, the clear body of the pencil with the neutral-ness of the Moomin graphics is very pleasing. 

 

The pencil takes 0.5mm lead and is nice to hold and use. 

If you like Moomin, you should look out for this. 

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Review: Oitoco Sticky notes case

I love thin film fusen [sticky notes] over highlighting a book. However, though its small and easy to store, they end up getting dirty or damaged in my pen case.

I have tried storing them inside pockets in my diary or folder but it can be a bit troublesome to fish them out to use.

Recently, Oitoco released a case just for storing them~ 

The design is simple and sleek.

Case size: W19 x D11 X H114mm

It is shorter than a standard pen and will fit in a pencil case easily.

Since its quite long, you can fit two types next to each other [as shown in picture]

Max size of sticky notes it can fit : 9mm x 50mm with a max thickness of 1.5mm

A simple and effective solution to the problem I have been having.

What do you think?

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July 2024 Printable

 

 Green and fresh July! 

Download here: Link

See our instagram for Netprint and ibon information. 

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Review: Daiso Chopitto Stickers

 

Daiso makes great stickers. 

This is their chopitto line of compact journal stickers. 

Each set is colour and design themed. 

It comes in a little card sized sleeve and there are 5 sheets of 15 stickers each. 

The little card sleeves are also decorated which makes telling them apart easy. 

I picked up the cat, bear and panda themed sets. 

The bear set was themed towards homework and studies, perfect for students. 

The cat set was themed towards leisure such a cafe and games and the panda set was themed towards cheering or encouragement. 

I love the pastel colours chosen for the sets, it's very on trend with a lot of pastels we're seeing this year. 

All the stickers are round and easy to peel, the small size is great for journals and diaries or even as little notes. 

These are a great item to pick up from Daiso to use in your journal, especially if you're someone that journals on the move. 

What do you think, do you like these stickers from Daiso? 

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Review: MUJI Sticky Pocket Post Card Size

How do you store all your paraphernalia for your diary? 

I'm talking about tickets from travel or even just receipts in day to day life which you might want to document in your diary as well. A few brands including MIDORI has released an extra pocket which you can stick in your diary but its often too small.

Recently I came across this in MUJI and I think its perfect!

Size: Post card Size [14.8 x 10cm]

Its made of vinyl so its waterproof and can protect your items.

There is a lot of storage, ranging from postcard size to namecard pockets [x2]

And it comes with a sticky back and is ready for sticking into your diary or folder!

The possibilities are endless.

What do you think? Is this something you would use?

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