There's no such thing as being overprepared when it comes to school or the office. So, make sure you offer your customers the best choice of stationery and accessories to help them get off to a good start for the year ahead.
Function and style combine in our lineup of 12 independent brands doing their bit to ease us all into the 9-5. Whether WFH, hybrid, on-site, or still studying — these small businesses specialise in accessories for the office, school, and beyond, to help people stay stylish and organised wherever they get their best work done.
1. Fin Studio
Based in: London, UK
Shop Wholesale: Fin Studio
Having opened its virtual doors not long ago in 2020, Fin is an online shop and creative studio based in North London. Selling high-quality stationery featuring playful shapes and geometric designs, Fin products have a colourful, minimal, and eclectic style. They aim for ease of use, simplicity, and quality.
All of the cardboard they use for packaging and shipping is made from FSC-certified card or recycled paper, with biodegradable and compostable bags to preserve their notebooks. Up to 90% of their range is made in the UK using small manufacturers. Fin also recycle leftover paper cuts for use in packaging, and even developed their "Little Things" notebooks by reassembling and sewing offcuts of their bigger notebooks. How cool is that? A commitment to recycling indeed.
2. Aventura Editions
Based in: Castries, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Shop Wholesale: Aventura Editions
It all started in the summer of 2017, after two years of touring the world. Inspired by a passion for travel, the creators of Aventura Editions started working on a prototype travel diary with a structure designed to facilitate their notes.
Initially setting themselves a target to sell 50 books, they sold over 400, which exceeded all of their expectations. Since then, the Carnet d'Aventures has become their hero product, and the reason many people know of Aventura Editions. Their catalogue of creations has since grown, ready to accompany their customers on any adventure.
3. Paper High
Based in: Brighton, UK
Shop Wholesale: Paper High
Paper High is a Fair Trade company that sells handmade leather bags, stationery, and homeware products. Its mission is to design and source good quality ethical and sustainable fair trade products that also make a difference in people's lives by providing them with continued work.
Paper High works exclusively with small producers in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, with founders Mark and Claire travelling out to visit the fair trade businesses, suppliers and organisations they work with once a year (Covid permitting). The brand has a vast array of products, with new items added each season.
4. Ziparoos
Based in: Georgia, US
Shop Wholesale: Ziparoos
Ziparoos is owned by a mom who wants to make a difference in the environment by helping reduce the number of disposable bags entering our landfills and waterways. Ziparoos are an eco-friendly alternative to disposable bags. Their multi-purpose bags have unique designs that are fun for the entire family.
Great for storing everything from lunches to school supplies, as well as for use while camping or travelling. Each Ziparoos bag set comes in eco-friendly packaging ready to be displayed in your store. What's more, Ziparoos are freezer safe, as well as airtight and leakproof, each coming with a double zip seal.
5. Tabitha Eve
Based in: Wales, UK
Tabitha Eve creates beautiful reusable homeware, beauty products, gifts, and more to help you live a more eco-friendly and zero-waste lifestyle. They provide stylish, sustainable alternatives to single-use household items, helping to reduce plastic waste. The Tabitha Eve range includes everything you might need for a greener life, including vegan leather bags, snack packs and sandwich wraps — perfect for use on the go.
6. Neon Kactus
Based in: Bavaria, Germany
Shop Wholesale: Neon Kactus
Neil Tombs and Charlotte Gornall founded Neon Kactus in 2018. With over 20 years of working in the food and drink industry, experiencing first-hand the environmental impact of single-use plastic, they knew they had to create a positive change. Combining two of their great passions; their love for the planet and great-tasting coffee, they decided to embark on this journey together.
After trialling several reusable coffee cups, they realised the solution was to design and make their own, to create a cup that mirrored the coffee shop experience with no compromise on taste. They knew it would be important to create a reusable cup that combined style, design, and perfect performance in order to encourage others to ditch the disposable. The result was the Neon Kactus glass coffee cup. A modern and stylish product designed to mirror the convenience and drinking pleasure of the coffee shop, while eradicating the need for single-use cups.
7. Cherith Harrison
Based in: UK
Shop Wholesale: Cherith Harrison
Drawing inspiration from popular wildlife and pets, Cherith Harrison creates illustrative and distinctive stationery and home products. Made in the UK, her bold and artistically designed animal-inspired gifts are sold across the globe.
The illustrative designs adorn a range of stationery products such as weekly planners and greetings cards, as well as homeware gifts ranging from dish towels to aprons, bone china mugs, and canvas shopper bags.
8. Três Paper Co.
Based in: UK
Shop Wholesale: Três Paper Co.
Três Paper Co. make beautifully designed gratitude journals, greeting cards, and stationery, thoughtfully designed in-house by founder Danielle.
Their products are always printed locally, on recycled and FSC-Certified paper to avoid any unnecessary damage to the planet.
9. Studio Wald
Based in: Leeds, UK
Shop Wholesale: Studio Wald
Founded by husband and wife team Freya and Jakob, Studio Wald's collection of paper goods and prints are made in England with care and attention to ideas, patterns, and process. All their paper products are printed and finished in their home county of Yorkshire using either recycled or FSC-certified paper. Wherever possible, components such as envelopes, cork, and even hooks are sourced from manufacturers in either England or Europe. They work closely with local producers, and all products pass through their studio for printing or compiling, before heading out to stockists.
Studio Wald's main focus is working with fantastic independent shops in the UK and abroad. However, you may also spot their work in larger retailers & prestigious stores such as the V&A, RA and Anthropologie.
10. The Design Palette
Based In: Hertfordshire, UK
Shop Wholesale: The Design Palette
Founded in 2019, The Design Palette is a colourful stationery brand that sells high-quality items featuring a blend of bold and colourful patterns. Their notebooks and cards are designed to brighten up any workspace. Everything is designed and printed in the UK by founder Komal, a self-taught Pattern Designer and Illustrator based in the leafy suburbs of Hertfordshire. After a decade in Analytics and HR, she decided to change careers and try her hand at something different (what is more different than the world of design?!).
Inspired by the latest in print and pattern, The Design Palette's products are thoughtfully developed entirely in-house, with 10% of their proceeds donated to charitable causes.
11. Coconut Lane
Based In: UK
Shop Wholesale: Coconut Lane
Coconut Lane brings the ultimate in chic homeware and fashion accessories — with class, sass, and a bit of Mean Girls bad-ass along the way. With pop culture and social media at the heart of the brand, Coconut Lane has merged modern-day fun into classy products that customers are sure to love (longtime).
Founded by a pair of best friends who always wanted to have a business together, their focus starting out wasn't so much about what they were selling, it was about what the brand represented. As two young women, they wanted to inspire and motivate young girls to follow their dreams. Creating a platform on socials which would help spread positivity and encourage this was their ultimate goal!
Their products are created for the dreamers of the world — for those who dare to believe and then make it happen.
12. Mada in Lisbon
Based In: Lisbon, Portugal
Shop Wholesale: Mada in Lisbon
Mada In Lisbon was born in 2015, dreamed up by Inês Gil Forte, and created from her home in Lisbon, Portugal. All of their products are 100% handmade in Portugal in small quantities to avoid textile waste.
Specialising in baby swings to keep the babes of busy parents entertained, they have since branched out to sell handy fabric pencil cases and bags made from the same natural 100% cotton base fabric, as well as super soft towels in a variety of playful patterns.
