Scriptum in Oxford

There is a store in Oxford I love more than anything else.It's called Scriptum, and it is a writer's dream.You find it at the end of a small lane and if you didn't know it's there, you'd walk right by it.Because there's only a very small front window and an unassuming wooden door, but inside there's a narrow, two story, funny shaped space full of fantasy and whimsy.There is so much imagination there that I could spend a week discovering new things and still not see everything.Among the fine stationery, ink wells, feather quills and hand crafted papers are the most unexpected things like scruffy, loved-to-death teddy bears, stuffed owls and Venetian masks.But the things which bring me back every year are the most exquisite leather bound journals and notebooks, many with gilded edges and marbled papers.This summer I found this! A working praxinoscope! (Wonder if I can make one...how hard can that be?)There are also books. Not just ordinary books. Scriptum carries the most beautiful, special editions of the most beloved books.But the real reason I come here is for my most favourite journals. I love these larger leather strap wrapped beauties in the rich, dark brown leather. I love these to pieces. They are filled with beautiful paper which is an absolute pleasure to draw and write on. You know how some journals grab the ink and the pen scrapes over the paper? These papers are so smooth and the pen/ink/pencil just glides making each important mark just perfect.