New Year, New Friends, New Stationery

I’m not sure about you, but 2024 was hell. From health and wellness changes to politics, things just feel like they’re on fire. Constantly.

Despite the flames, the thing that helps me get through the tough times is community. That’s why I set up the Cozy Stationery Friends Club. What started as a little discord space to share cute journal pics, aesthetically pleasing stickers, and beautiful fountain pens soon blossomed into a big community with folks eager to support each other through kindness, knowledge sharing, and friendship.

We chat on the regular, enjoy virtual meetups, write penpal letters, swap stationery goods, and even meet in IRL spaces.

Truly, the stationery club’s been a highlight of my 2024.

Today was our last IRL meetup thanks to the kindness of Paper & Pencil and Eli Tea Bar in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. Over 25 people attended and got to enjoy a private shopping hour at Paper & Pencil and then headed to Eli Tea Bar afterwards to enjoy tea and conversation.

To my absolute delight, the meetup saw a beautifully diverse group of people of all ages and genders and backgrounds and experiences! New friendships were made, journal and planner pages shared, and of course, lots of stationery supplies to de-stash.

This was, without a doubt, my favorite meetup event of the year!

That being said, there’s plenty more events to plan for 2025! I’ll be working on connecting with local and independently owned businesses all across Chicagoland for monthly meetups.

In the mean time, join the Cozy Stationery Friends Club discord server to connect with others in the community and stay tuned here for news on upcoming events. The website is a work in progress, so please pardon the mess!

Thanks for reading this far, see you in the new year!

Yours,

-A Guy Named Gnome