It may be a digital age where, instead of paper, notes are taken on a scribble pad app on our smartphones, but a true stationery-nerd knows to keep a pen and notepad in their bags. Taking notes is never the sole purpose, it is the satisfaction and thrill of buying a new notebook and matching set of pens to go with that which gives us the thrill we seek. If you get an unmatched satisfaction after finally finding a mechanical pen that lasts a whole year, or get excited about school starting because you get to create an entirely new hoard of stationery, or love holding onto cards instead of actually sending them out, because let's be honest, some are just too pretty to be scribbled on — congratulations, you too are one of us!

The School Loving Nerd

If you are headed back to school, college or university and are in need (or simply want to because why not) of bulk stationery purchases, Nilkhet and New Market stationery shops are the ones to hit. While these are the traditional places, they hold all kinds of pens, bags, files, pencil cases and washi tapes you could want, and more. You just have to dig deep.

The secret to Nilkhet — the more you go in, the more affordable it gets. If you want something cute and funky that children will love, Notebored (https://www.facebook.com/notebored.bd.ac/) is an online store with lots of bright and colourful goodies, fun paperclips, cute eraser sets and a lot of pencil cases.

Although every superstore has a stationery section, the ones at Lavender and Unimart are worth mentioning for their great collection of some of the brightest, most colourful and unique items.

The Minimalist Nerd

You like stationery, but nothing too crazy. You like to hoard, but only the simple stuff. Lots of stores now have varieties of the standard stationery. From sketched notebook covers to matte wrapping papers to black scrapbooks, and even gold and silver pens to go on them, and Talisman (https://www.facebook.com/talisman.bd/) is a store that can provide you with these simple but unique stationery items.

The Classy Nerd

You have graduated university and are moving into a cubicle instead of a bench and the funky multi-coloured sticky notes and markers and just do not feel right anymore. Fret not, for improvisation is what being a stationery lover is all about.

First and foremost, stick to a colour family. This could be black, white and gold, mixtures of pastels, or even shades of green. For times you cannot find goodies in your colour family, grab a can of spray paint to coat your pens, pencils, paperclips and everything else that needs recolouring. For organisation, instead of hitting stationery stores, hit a home organisation store instead where you can get small ceramic trays and bowls to hold onto your pens and paperclips, acrylic desk organisers, and maybe even some file/magazine holders in textured fabric instead of the plain paper prints. Made with Love (https://www.facebook.com/MadewithLoveBD/) is a brilliant online store that holds a lot of calendars, planners, notebooks and more that will appeal to you if the prior styles did.

The Fandom Fanatic Nerd

A true fandom fanatic is one who loves to express their love through their clothes, accessories, and yes, stationery! While it was hard to get our hands-on fandom goodies when we were kids, thanks to the Internet and online stores, it is easier than ever today to showcase what our fandoms mean to us. Kraftz (https://www.facebook.com/Kraftzbd/) is a store that will cater to your fandom merch needs with their creative bookmarks. From magnetic bookmarks depicting your favourite shows to cut out Hogwarts House bookmarks to help your showcase where you belong; it is a hub for bookmark lovers and collectors.

The Artistic Nerd

If you love stationery and art, you know the struggle is double for there are too many cool things to buy. But the plus side — you get to collect and express your love of art all through the same stationery sets. Also, you might actually get some use out of the 50 notebooks instead of leaving them blank. Luminous crafts and stuff (https://www.facebook.com/luminouscraftbd/) is an online store which carries loads of art supplies as well as stationery which will help you meet both your artist and stationery hoarder needs in one place. From calligraphy tools to black notebooks to paint markers, you will find it all. Modern Stationery at new Market is another old gem of a store if you want a one-stop shop for everything art and stationery.

The Notebook Nerd

We all know a person who hoards notebooks of all kinds and shapes and sizes. Over time, because of the fun and interesting designs, notebooks have become a sort of collectible. They allow us to express ourselves through the fun covers portraying our favourite shows, characters, quotes, or art pieces and is simply lovely to carry around.

Tapestry (https://www.facebook.com/tapestrybd.net/) is an online store that holds numerous designs that cover a lot of our favourite TV shows such as Friends, Joker, The Justice league, Spirited Away or a classic Van Gogh art piece. They also carry some unique bookmarks in tassels and metal that make your notebook standout from the rest.

Caderno Bangladesh (https://www.facebook.com/cadernobd/) is another such store with lots of notebook designs covering Game of Thrones, PUBG, KPop, Football, Marvels and many more. They also carry pocket pads in just as cool designs for you to quickly grab when on the run.

No matter which category of stationery nerd you fall under, or wish to fall under, the numerous options of online and offline stores make it super easy for us to own all these fantastic stationeries today.

Photo: LS Archive/ Sazzad Ibne Sayed