Welcome to The Nanosphere. Where we collect everything that is good in the world and share it. With a focus on stationery but where we will also dip our toes in the wider world. Enjoy.
It's a small world out there
Recent Posts

Know your plastic resin codes - they make a difference Look on the bottom of almost all plastic packaging and you should see a plastic resin code - usually a number inside…

Plastic washed up on Dungeness Beach We are all used to recycling these days and most of us diligently wash out food trays and juice cartons ready for our council collection. But…

Everyone seems to love maps so I have pulled together the best of the best map themed stationery items available now. What is it about a map that gives us such pleasure?…

Maps have served us well but in the age of smartphones their days are numbered. Surely? So why is it then that many people will argue that maps are better than GPS…

What goes into our portable office? Introduction As has been mentioned already we have no dedicated office space. With our new business we have decided to keep our costs down by working…

Holborn to Euston The route This is the third walk in our series that links together the best in stationery shops with tempting cafes, interesting shops and quirky history. We set our…

How we can work from anywhere Background A question - if technology can't be used to improve your lot then what is the point of it? And if it can improve things,…

How we work on the go Since the turn of the year we have led an itinerant lifestyle. Opting to keep costs down to the bare minimum, we spend little on anything…

A museum with a difference What is the Novelty Automation? Some years back we used to visit the mad amusement arcade on Southwold Pier with its home-built machines. Never having been a…

Or why do we attempt the frankly pointless? This is a website supposedly dedicated to stationery and all things around that, so why an article all about cycling around the M25? Well…

Farringdon to Angel The route Apparently there are more designers and architects jam-packed into Clerkenwell than in any other location anywhere on the planet. That’s a lot of egos for one neighbourhood…

The question of whether the moon landings were real or a conspiracy was a regular conversation topic in the offices of our former business Bureau. It eventually became a weekly feature named…

I recently visited the Postal Museum in London to ride the Mail Train. A great place to visit if you are keen on trains or discovering bits of hidden London. Or both.…

Oxford Circus to Covent Garden Introduction We have decided to take a different approach to reviewing stationery shops. London is a big city full of unusual independent shops, hidden history and the…

J Herbin Anniversary Inks – The Complete Guide Founded in 1670 in Paris, J Herbin is the oldest ink manufacturer in the world and has supplied ink to the likes of Victor…