Scotland – The Low Down Adventure
I’m not much of a phone person. I don’t listen to messages (even before texting was a thing) and I dread making calls. Doesn’t matter if it’s to check up on my parents or to catch up with a friend, I hate it. My calls are always full of awkward pauses, and every call feels like I’m bustin’ out the clumsiest dance moves. But sometimes makin’ a phone call is magic.
During our stop in Edinburgh, we discovered a small office-supply shop run by the sweetest person, Mae. The Write Stuff was the only independent office-supply shop we found in Edinburgh (probably the last one!). Total mom-and-pop vibe, and I loved watching Mae help all her customers. Didn’t matter what her customers needed – no request was too small.
When I walked through Mae’s shop, everything green called out to me – from notebooks to pencils to treasury tags and more. It all felt very Scottish. I spied a pack of scrapbooking paper that included sheets of various tartan patterns. I asked Mae if the company makin’ the packs had notebooks with the same tartan designs. She wasn’t sure – asked if I’d like her to contact them. Mae grabbed her phone and made the call. Seconds later, I’m speaking with a gal at Southfield Stationers. We wrapped up our order of pencils and treasury tags with Mae and set off for Southfield.
Just like Mae goin’ out of her way to help us, Derek and his crew at Southfield Stationers were the same. They gave us a factory tour worthy of any rock star (Travel Short about the tour later this month!), but the best part of hookin’ up with Southfield? They created exclusive RAD AND HUNGRY notepads for our STMT X Scotland Kit!! We loved their writing pads from the start – super-dreamy paper, great with with fountain pens, sharpies – but I was still holdin’ out for tartan-patterned notebooks. Derek understood my struggle and like a champ, he offered to create custom covers for us. BOOM! Celebratin’ our 50th STMT Kit just got a whole lot bigger.
I have so much love for Scotland and everyone we met during our sourcing trip. From the barista who loves Americans because “they’re all so polite and have the best accent”, to Mae who connected us to Derek, to every single person we interacted with. Scotland reinforced why I love what I do. I connect with people and we work the old-school way. Reviewin’ print catalogs, takin’ notes, and yes, makin’ phone calls.
oxxo, Hen
