After posting a short piece on a London paper goods shop (Present and Correct), I suddenly remembered the Gmund Papier und Druck shop I visited early this year in Munich. The Gmund store is located on the Prannerstrasse next to the Bayerischer Hof hotel. Gmund is a Bavarian paper making firm that dates back to 1829. It is named after Gmund am Tegernsee, the town where the firm was born. They make paper for invitations, cards, letters, envelopes and blank notebooks. When you visit the store, you can feel the varieties of paper — the luxurious textures and colors that make their paper an absolute joy to write on.

It’s very unfashionable in my industry (tech) to write on paper using a fountain pen, which I still do, out of habit. When I was at school (run by Belgian nuns), we had to write with fountain pens. The thing I realized over the years is that unless the paper I’m writing on high quality paper, the ink does not dry immediately and all of my words end up in a bleeding mess. If the paper is too thin, the ink ends up on the back page. If it’s too fibrous, little bits clog up the fountain pen. I know, very eccentric. Maybe that’s why I love paper goods: little note cards, blank notebooks, envelopes and letter pages.

I am amazed at how popular Moleskine notebooks have become. I have used them over the years but I find the paper to be of inferior quality to that used by Gmund and other notebook makers such as Richard Painter, another German brand. It’s not just the paper, but the binding and the cover of the notebook itself. Gmund is superior to anything I’ve every had.

I am certain that my tech friends are laughing right now, making fun of my fetish for dead tree products, but for me, there is something meditative about writing on paper, especially on beautiful blank notebooks. I write about anything: my ideas for new web applications, short stories, poetry. It seems to me that something so creative deserves an aesthetic home and the act of writing itself becomes fulfilling. It’s part of the “slow” movement, like Slow Food, where people take the time to enjoy the everyday things in life.

If you are ever in Munich, visit the Gmund shop for all your paper needs, and stop by a good pen store, too. For fountain pens, I use a Pelikan Souveraen M800. For ball pens, I find the quality and elegance of Faber-Castell ball pens to be unbeatable (as are their fountain pens).

Gmund
Prannerstrasse 5
80333 Munich
Germany
+49 89 2102 0984
www.gmund.com

I love stationery: blank and lined notebooks, note cards, letter sets, calendars, agendas, pencils. Present and Correct is an online store in London started by graphic designers who love quiry design. They source many of their products from Japan, South Korea and Germany. Here are my favorites.

Present and Correct
42 Melbourne Grove
London, SE22 8QZ
United Kingdom
Call: +44 (0)20 8299 5823

Looking for a cool messenger bag that’s made locally in San Francisco and inspired by the urban cycling culture? Check out Rickshaw Bagworks. They have messenger bags of varying sizes and colors with efficiently divided pockets and slots, perfect for gadget freaks. They also have baby bags that don’t make you look like a Stepford mum. Their B2B collection has exterior fabric made out of post-consumer recycled beverage bottles. Very green.

You can order online at www.rickshawbags.com or visit their factory-store in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco.

Rickshaw Bagworks
904 22nd Street,
San Francisco, CA 94107
+1 415 904 8368
www.rickshawbags.com

Space NK, one of my favorite beauty stores in London, has just opened a mini-shop in Bloomingdales’s downtown San Francisco location. Space NK was founded by Nicky Kinnaird in the mid-1990s in London. They specialize in hard-to-find skin care products and fragrances (including candles).

I’ve been to Space NK’s lovely Nottinghill Gate spa many times for Eve Lom facials. Now, they are in San Francisco, selling many of the brands that are difficult to find in the US.

Recommended products:

(1) Eve Lom cleanser: this is a gooey balm that, when applied on the face, turns into an oily emulsion which removes all makeup including the most stubborn waterproof mascara. You use the muslin cloth (wet) that comes with the cleanser to wipe your face, then wash. The oily emulsion turns into a milky fluid that comes off completely. The most effective cleanser I have ever used and it does not leave your skin feeling tight. The smell is somewhat disgusting for many people but you get used to it.

(2) Eve Lom rescue mask: an off-white mask that you leave on for 20 minutes. It does take out impurities and leaves your skin looking very toned.

Eve Lom began doing facials in a tiny London shop and over time, she became the person to go to for skin care needs. Later she launched a line of skin care products. Eve strikes most people as eccentric and outspoken. I read an interview where she complained that her clients, many of whom are spoiled rich women, want her to “fix” their faces for an evening gala after they’ve been smoking, drinking, staying up late. When asked by one of her clients how to look good for the evening party, Eve said, “Put a paper bag over your head.”

Space NK
Bloomingdales
845 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

In the winter, I like using Clarins Raffermisante Nuit (Extra Firming Night Cream) because my skin is drier. The cream sells for $85 at Nordstroms. So on the advice of a good friend, I decided to shop for it on Ebay. I bought it on Ebay for $38.50 including shipping. That’s 50% less than the retail price.

As I mentioned in an earlier post about buying luxury skin care products on Ebay, many companies, especially beauty salons, are trying to get rid of excess inventory. Some salons, which are going out of business, are placing entire lots of Kerastase products, a high-end hair care brand, on Ebay. Take advantage of it to get major savings.

Looking for a truly special gift? Why not give someone a Blurb Book? Better yet, you can make your own beautiful personal book on Blurb and give it to someone for Christmas. Go to the Blurb website, download the Blurb software, create your book and have Blurb ship it. You can also sell your book on Blurb. It’s great for photographers who want to showcase their work. If you prefer to buy someone else’s Blurb book, the site makes it easy for you to preview books and select the ones you want to send.

www.blurb.com