After the carefree summer months, everything goes back to normal – or at least we hope so. The previous schoolyear was sabotaged by the coronavirus, then came online education, but now it’s really time for the school bells to finally ring. To help you start the fall more smoothly, we looked around on the Hungarian design market to see what to put in our schoolbags or what to freshen up our desks with.
Notebooks & and others
Paper-maniacs, the scribblers, the note keepers and the stationery freaks rarely check on the calendar: they don’t care which month we’re in, notebooks are a must! What we would get our hands on instantly are the hand-made notebooks of kismaska. The notebooks of Kornélia Csikós stole our hearts at first glance: no overthinking, only clean design, true craft at its best.
Of course what we love the best (because yes, we are one of the paper-maniacs – the Ed.) is if we can get lost amidst the shelves of a stationery store, and we can touch each and every notebook, notepad, pen and every other item. Luckily, we know a few cool places where you can do just that: in addition to the products of Papetri Paperworks, the brand of Noémi Mónus, the shelves of Lúd Labor in Klauzál utca are full of all the good things in this world. Here we desire the gorgeous wrapping papers and Kaweco pens the most.
Another hot tip we have is Fiók near Szent Gellért tér, a tried and true place of university students, where one can find everything from brush pens through modeling clay to binder clips. In addition to several foreign brands, they also offer Hungarian design goods, including the products of Malinovka or YKRA, but one can also find the goofy notepads of Redheads in the store, too.
Our all-time favorite, Bomo Art is on sort of a no-no list for us, because any time we enter their store, we cannot leave without purchasing something. We can hardly imagine our table without their weekly table planner and their notepad, but we also like their collection made with contemporary visual artists very much – right now we would be very happy to get our hands on the bullet journal designed by Aliz Buzás. In addition to cool stationary stuff, you can also shop the temporary tattoo collection of Temporary Designer Tattoos custom-designed for Bomo Art.
And of course when it comes to bullet journal notebooks, we must mention DOT for You. We have been using their classic IRKA calendar for years, and we recommend the IRKA BLANK dateless planner for people who’d like to start their year now. There are still some pieces available in black.
For the lovers of bujo and for those who love to decorate their notebooks with all kinds of stickers, washi tape and others, an (or several) ArtiStamp stamp is a “must have” piece. In addition to the figurine stamps, you can also buy Ex Librisstamps in Judit Káposztás’s online store, which might be useful for bookworms and serial book lenders, too.
Pencil cases, not just for students
The tools indispensable for creation always take on a life of their own, every mother knows that. Even though the box or empty yogurt container dedicated for pens and pencils is a good solution, if you’d like to create nice order in the chaos, we have a better idea. The hand-printed products of HeppHabit made of calico include practical containers such as a crayon holder, a roll-up pencil case capable of storing up to 40 pencils or the brush holder also qualifying as the must-have item of painters.
Pencil cases are a dime a dozen: here are the already mentioned monochrome or patterned YKRA pieces, or RePityke‘s simple pencil cases with zippers representing sustainable design – so we have plenty to choose from. For the already introduced Bomo Art, for example, Judit Ducsai, the founder of the brand Ducsai. Leather. Goods designed pencil cases in three styles: the ones named „Sketch” and „Collage” are made of linen, while „Etching” is made of red or black leather.
Snacks
With the expansion of the zero waste way of life, we are paying much more attention not only to what we eat, but to what our food is packed into. You can find fresh-keeping beeswax cloth in the palette of Shamobags, made together with Evuska. Consciously eating adults can also choose their spoon, fork and knife made of wood, which they can then wrap into a lovely, striped cutlery holder.
The sandwich and fruit packed as snacks will have a safe place in Kivibag’s funny and cheerful baggies, too: you can choose from several sizes in their selection, and can pack not only sandwiches but a complete lunch into them, too. It’s a perfect solution not only for parents with kids, but also for those buying pastries in the metro underground while rushing to work.
For kindergarten & school
HeppHabit offers many kindergarten sacks and gym bags with a wide variety of patterns, but one can also order the pieces desired with a custom pattern. If you were to equip your kids with something vivid instead of the natural stuff, you should take a look around at BIMBA design.
The lovely pillows of Printa have been a favorite of us for years, even though we don’t have a kid of kindergarten age, out of which we vote for the Alpacca version at the moment.
If you are fed up with Disney, Star Wars and Marvel schoolbags, and have enough stamina to convince your kids, too, then you are sure to find something nice in the repertory of Medence ReConcept. The PILO designs are 10 liter, made of recycled ad banners and textile, and are also outfitted with a reflective stripe on the back– they are truly unique and durable pieces. The TESO backpack is a size bigger, of 12 liters, and closes with a watertight zipper.
Think of Hungarian designers when the school bells are about to ring. If you shop from them, you’ll gain unique and special pieces, and also support a Hungarian small business in the meantime.
Indulj el! | Danube Bend
Surreal spaces | Andrea Koporova
