Taipei is a pretty small city, and yet so many interesting stores are crammed in its limited space! What I love about weekends is that I’m able to hop into a bus and go on an adventure of exploring new cafe and stores. A friend’s recommendation brought me to Vision Stationery 明進文房具.

Vision Stationery is tucked in a small alley near MRT Liuzhangli Station 捷運六張犛站. The brassy sign is next to the brightly lit glass wall of the shop itself. The warm yellow light is very inviting to stationery addicts like us.

The owner, Mr. Chen, is a stationery addict himself. He is very selective about his products, and he took the effort to try out all the items he sells before putting it on the shelf. He is very particular about paper items and notebooks, because he believe that good quality paper and system can help people achieve great things. Behind the small cashier is a small stack of recent notebooks that he is test writing before he starts selling them.

Vision Stationery is open from 16:00 – 20:00. However if you happen to pop by in the morning and see people moving around in the store, you are more than welcome to enter and shop. That is because the owner manages the online end of his stationery business during the day, and would often run errands on delivery and inventory.

Mr. Chen is passionate about everything related to pen and paper. He studies in depth all kinds of paper, pens, and inks. It is no surprise that he also carries a variety of ink selections. He stock quality paper fit for all sorts of fountain pen ink. If you are interested in fountain pen ink, Mr. Chen would not hesitate to introduce to you his collection of fountain pen in the glass cabinet by the cashier.  He is also an expert on different kind of notebooks, and if you ask, he can definitely give you pointers on take-note techniques.

In his store, he also carry small novelties such as quality stamps and leather cases. I especially love the wooden stamps by Mizushima. They are famous for their quality icon stamps. You can use it in your planner, or to decorate cards. I find the clock stamps and to-do stamps to be useful if you are looking for a GTD system in your planner. The cute Sumo character is hilarious.

Although many shops in Taipei now carries Traveler’s Notebook items and accessories, I believe that you can find the most valuable price in Vision Stationery. They are also one of the more famous online shops that provides pre-order for the famous Blue Edition Traveler’s Notebook!

The homey interior of Vision Stationery will make you want to linger. I spent a full hour browsing every item available.

Before you leave the shop, don’t forget to whip out your notebook and collect the store stamp that is at the Cashier. If Mr. Chen is not too busy, you can also ask him to leave some inspirational quotes in your pages. His handwriting is unique enough to be consider art!