Ryman Stationery

It’s like the severed arm of an Office Depot. They offer a fraction of the selection, but it’s probably the closest it gets to a one-​stop-​shop for office supplies.
While I was glad that my ten-​minute walk down here resulted in a successful hunt for Post-​It Notes, I was thrown for a loop by the prices. Almost £10 for a little pack of 600 sheets? That seems a bit extreme to me.
Still, Ryman gets the job done — even if I can’t walk away saying, «That was easy…»

What is with this weather we are having at the moment? When I was out yesterday I was stuck in a monsoon — with no umbrella. It was terrible and I can’t believe it’s mid July — what’s going on Weather Man?
Actually, yesterday I was rather thankful of the rain as to shelter whilst waiting on the bus I decided to pop into this branch of Ryman stationary on Union Street. Not a lot of things excite me more than stationery, I just love buying new folders, paper and pens and with a huge sale on in Ryman at the moment, it’s exactly what I did.
My last year of Uni starts in September so now I’m fully stocked up for whatever is thrown at me. I’m currently writing (read thinking about writing) my dissertation and so bought a whole bunch of folders and highlighters to make me feel like I’m actually doing some work for it.
The cream of the crop was a mini Sharpie pen that was on sale for 49p! What a bargain! They had a whole tub of different colours and I decided to go for a nice teal one.
This branch is well stocked and is very convenient as it’s right across the road from Central Station.

Although Rymans was once the classier option to WH Smiths for my school protractor needs, it feels a little low rent these days. It does not have the glamour of Paperchase or the piles of stock in Staples. Still, I pop in on my way home sometimes, usually when I want to note down something more than will fit on the back of a cigarette packet, which will be why I have a cupboard full of notebooks.
They even sell office furniture and the like, although I am not sure that this is the best location– middle of the city, far away from car parks– if you are carrying a desk, that is. The parking isn’t ideal, either, since this is a street full of bus stops.

It saddens me that stationary shops seem to be a thing of the past — when you think about there are very few stores which are just stationers. Some might have a stationary section but it’s not usually their priority. That’s why I like Ryman’s — it specialises in stationary and I rather like stationary.
I’m oddly fussy about stationary — my notebooks have to have a specific type of paper and cover and be suitable for whatever I am using them for and so I like to have choice. Ryman’s provides that choice. This was where I stocked up on my shorthand notebooks all last year (and I was actually using them for shorthand) and they were by far the best for me — I couldn’t revert back to a WH Smith shorthand notebook.
Good for offering an alternative.

Stationery shops are hard to review, so, I shall leave this short and simple.
I needed a pen, they had a choice of hundreds. 3 over-​keen staff asked me if I was looking something in particular. «a pen?!» Two walked away, one stayed to nag. Apparently that does not suffice, and nor does colour. They need to know if it’s ball point, gel, soft grip, flexible,…I don’t know! A pen, that will scribble as I scribble.
«Do you need 1 or more… we have great deals on bulk buys…» A pen. 1 pen. I don’t feel the need to buy 50 pens right now. Did I mention I was in a hurry?
«Right, you’ll probably enjoy using…» I don’t care! I just need a pen, now! A Bic ballpoint will do great.
«You sure? For 50p more you can…» ARGH!
Frustratingly helpful, yes. I suppose they’re just doing their job, but I just wanted a pen. Next time I might just jump into the 24 hr shop next door and fork out £1 for 1 pen. It’ll save me the hassle.