Stationery Freaks

Beautiful Japanese Stationery, Typewritten Commonplace Notes and the Return of Analogue

After a few months away — and a very welcome "petition of one" from Stacy in Florida — Rob and Helen are back. Rob has been building a public commonplace: twenty-five ye

Scrap Notes & Desk Pads: Capturing Ideas Fast (Post-its, Legal Pads, Apple Notes + Voice Memos)

In this episode of Stationery Freaks, Rob and Helen dig into the messy, essential world of scrap notes: desk pads, Post-its, legal pads, envelopes, voice memos, and the “

The 2026 Planning Episode: Painted Pictures, Todoist, Obsidian & Too Many Notebooks

It’s our first Stationery Freaks episode of 2026, and we’re going deep on goal setting, as we usually do for the first cast of the year.  Rob and Helen compare two diffe

Stationery Advent Calendars, SmartPlanner Time Blocking & getting ready for 2026 (Stationery Freaks)

It’s the last Stationery Freaks episode before Christmas, and after a slightly chaotic month we’re back with a free-form catch-up full of notebook temptation, planning ex

Live From Brick Lane: Mark+Fold’s 10th Anniversary & The Stationery Freaks Origin Story

In this special on-the-road episode, Rob and Helen meet in person for the first time in almost six years — to celebrate Mark+Fold’s 10-year anniversary at their Brick Lan

Household Stationery That Actually Helps: Labels, Whiteboards, Junk Drawers & Kitchen Kanban | Stationery Freaks Podcast

Household stationery isn’t “our precious pens and paper in our study” — it’s the everyday tools that keep a home ticking. We talk freezer-proof labels, kitchen whiteboard

Rituals, Routines & Stationery: Why the tactile nature of stationery can help us with rituals

In this episode of Stationery Freaks, Rob and Helen dive into the world of rituals and routines, exploring how our favourite stationery tools (along with time and space)

Stationery Hauls, Fountain Pen Finds & Writing Success – Sailor, Tom’s Studio & More

In this episode Rob and Helen dive deep into their latest stationery hauls — from Japanese Sailor pens and Tom’s Studio Wren to Martha Brooks advent calendars and Zebra l

The Art of Commonplacing : Curating a Life – Richard Barnard on Collage & Commonplace books

In this episode of the podcast, Rob & Helen chat to Richard Barnard; collage enthusiast and commonplacer.  Have you ever wondered what a Commonplace book is, and what it

The Art, Craft & Purpose of Travellers Journals with Frank from Yokogaki

Join Rob and Helen in this edition of Stationery Freaks as they welcome special guest Frank, from Yokogaki, for a deep dive into the fascinating world of travel journals

An interview with author Jenny Kane - prolific writer, collector of notebooks, desert island stationery specialist

Stationery Freaks: A Deep Dive into the Prolific World of Author Jenny Kane (and Her Emotional Support Pencil Case!) In this very special episode Rob and Helen are joine

From Paper Obsession to Published Pages - How we write books as Stationery Freaks

How do two writers, bound by their devotion to beautiful stationery, actually write books? In this episode, Helen and Rob reveal their individual paths, uncovering the

When did you become a Stationery Freak?

In this episode Helen and Rob talk about whether there was a defining moment, or time, when they became Stationery Freaks. They start with Stationery Stories: Helen has

Hoarding notebooks and when to use a new one - Stationery Freaks Podcast

In this episode we explore why we both have huge hoards of unused and partially used notebooks, and what makes us crack open a new notebook. You can find videos, photos

The perfect mechanical pencil

In this episode we chat about all things pencil related.  We cover: Why Rob has so many notebooks he cannot move his writing deskHelen's latest Vinted stationery haul -

The Hobonichi switch revisited - a year of using the system

In this episode Helen shares how she’s getting on with her Hobonichi system, a year after making the switch from Bullet Journaling.  We did an episode on this switch in

In pursuit of the perfect structure - a stationery freaks eternal quest

In this episode we chat about why we've been missing for a few months, our stationery purchases and how we're always in pursuit of the perfect structure. You can find im

Friction, Reward and Productivity Systems

In this episode Rob introduces his new productivity system of coloured military-style print out. Rob and Helen ponder why it's hard to find a system that works. And that

The magic of whiteboards

In this episode we chat about the magic of whiteboards. We cover: How we used them at work How Helen's daughter uses them for learning and revision How Rob's son uses

Vinted - Not just for clothes - our stationery hauls

In this episode Helen and Rob chat about buying stationery hauls from Vinted (other platforms and services are available). We cover: Our surprise at the variety of stat