Do you love to write? Me too. Earlier this year I started journalling, an exercise that helps me to feel more grounded and find contentment in my day-to-day life. Now with autumn on our doorstep, I’m excited to continue this practice in a more cosy setting, and share a little glimpse into my personal practice with nez living.
nez living is a small, sustainable stationery brand, creating beautiful notebooks designed for intentional living. With the launch of their STARK collection, I decided to upgrade my scribble-filled notebook and start a more purposeful journalling practice. Here’s why their stationery is perfect for a more organised life…
Why I Love Writing
I love writing. Putting pen to paper helps me to process how I’m feeling, to note down what’s on my mind, to stay organised. It’s a practice that I started when I was a teenager – when I was 15 I wrote an 80,000 novel, full of teenage angst and seriously cringeworthy characters. I didn’t realise it at the time, but channelling my thoughts and dreams into a piece of writing helped me to cope with the pressure of exams and life at the time.
In 2014, I started Curiously Conscious, as another way to process the world I was experiencing. I was living in Paris at the time, on a placement year during my undergraduate degree, and wanted to note down the best sustainable swaps and foodie finds I was encountering.
Cut to today, and I write professionally about sustainable fashion and conscious living. It’s a joy! But, it also leaves out the more intentional practice of writing to stay in touch with my emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Journalling has given me a new place where I can pour out my heart and soul, and move through life more intentionally.
Journalling With nez living
nez living puts intentional living at the heart of its stationery, and it’s why I jumped at the chance to try the Lilly Notebook in Ruby Red. With a sturdy cover and straight spine (perfect for a left-hander like me), it feels luxurious to make a little time for myself each time I decide to journal. The pages are soft, wide, and enjoyable to write on. Within the front and back covers are prompts for what to write, too: goal setting, how to improve on time management, gratitude journal examples, and affirmations.
I tend to follow two types of journalling practice:
- A daily outpouring of my ideas at the start of the day, outlining my to-do list alongside daydreamed ideas, important dates, and anything else that’s clouding my mind, or
- A small note at the end of the day, commenting on something that made me feel contented. Over time, this practice has helped me to appreciate small acts of kindness and find a glimpse of good even after a bad day.
The Lilly notebook handily comes with three fabric bookmarks, meaning I can keep track of both of these activities in separate areas in the book, as well as a small pen holder, and bands to keep the notebook secure (and keep all my secrets hidden inside!)
And, of course, it’s made sustainably too.
Style & Sustainability
nez living features in my guide to sustainable stationery, and for good reason. The brand focuses on being socially responsible, collaborating with local, family-run businesses, providing fair rates of pay to all vendors in its supply chain. By making their stationery locally, they can also keep transportation to a minimum and reduce their carbon footprint (with the rest of their emissions being calculated and offset annually).
For their products, nez living chooses to use vegan materials, with their notebooks being bound with covers made from VEGEA textile, a plant-based alternative to leather and oil-based textiles. For their paper, nez living chooses Blue Angel Ecolabel certified paper, which is both high quality and sourced with a focus on nature preservation, ensuring no chlorine, no optical brighteners, and no halogenated bleaching agents are used. Even the gold foil detailing on their notebook covers is done in an eco-friendly way, ensuring it is applied in the most efficient way possible, creating the lowest-possible carbon footprint.
For both the Lilly and Luisa notebooks, there is full transparency around materials and practices too.
Get 20% Off At nez living
If you’re interested in journalling, or would simply like to treat yourself or a friend to a beautiful notebook, nez living’s STARK collection is the perfect option. Readers of Curiously Conscious can get 20% off the collection with the code: BESMA20
Happy journalling!
