Present & Correct have been one of my favouritefavourite brands for a few years now. Neal and Mark (Mark's from NZ!) are curators of the coolest stationery - including genuine vintage office ephemera like old Hello tags, plastic desk calendars, wall prints... These guys have seriously good taste.
Until a few months ago, Present & Correct only existed online. But the first Present & Correct store has just opened in London - photos below - and I wish I could dorothy my ankles together and go there right now. Let's do a Fancy field trip.
Anywhoodle, I had an email chatathon with Neal and asked him a few questions...
Who's behind Present & Correct?
It is mainly me, Neal Whittington and also Mark Smith (he's a Kiwi - from Waihi Beach) helps out a great deal with packing, workshopping, ideas and washing up when I'm feeling lazy.
How did Present & Correct come about?
The origin is really simple in that I just wanted to be able to make stationery and share stationery which I love and have collected. It is something i have always done and having worked in design agencies for 6 years I wanted to be doing it for myself all the time! It was an itch which I scratched.
The name came from my final project at college, which was a concept for a gift wrapping store. I bought the domain then and always had it in my mind that I would do something with it.
Present & Correct was a real dream, just to create something for myself which made me happy, as well as other people hopefully!
Shelves of delight
Your styling is spot on – do you have double lives as designers/in the creative industries?
We both work/worked in branding and studied graphic design so there is definitely a background and lots of years working for various clients. I guess we just like arranging things and showing off our work and other peoples in the nicest way possible. It gives everything personality and makes them even more precious, whilst also putting the objects into a context which can be missed with online stores.
Seriously good styling
I'm a freak for office sundries. What's your favourite item in the shop at the moment?
Im in love with the 1970s german stamp sets which we picked up in Berlin. A set of 16 wooden stamps, in solid colours, all of which print a single geometric shape. So simple and so attractive!
"In our mythical rubber stamp awards this vintage box set takes gold."
What brands/designers in the broader design world excite and inspire you lately?
There are so many people doing amazing things! We are both obsessed with Jaime Hayon and also Peter Nencini. Esther Stewart is making some really wonderful work inspired by packaging nets. Lo Siento, Hey & Happy are graphic design agencies who are producing really fun stuff. Omar Sosa does some lovely styling and of course Carl Kleiner who is genius. And finally Raw Color in the Netherlands are prolific in their colourful, witty products and graphics. I can't get enough of them. Oh and Karel Martens. Amazing!! I could go on forever and i am addicted to look for things on the internet. You will see on the P&C blog that I like a bit of mid century illustration/design - that provides an enormous amount of inspiration too. As well as every day ephemera like old labels, food wrappers and postal items.
I love a good recommendation – tell us something we should know about...
I love recommendations too! So here are a few books worth checking out: The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of A Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. It's brilliant. Also Own Label which showcase 1970s packaging from Sainsburys - it sounds dull but it is choc full of lovely graphics. Usefulness In Small Things is also a great celebration of good, everyday design from around the world.
And it is imperative that you all know about Mel & Kim and the back catalogue of Stock Aitken & Waterman.
Boyfriends are boring.
What's next for Present & Correct?
I always have a list of things I want to make and thats always pinned on the wall to spur me on.
I would love to finally do a newspaper this year, sharing ideas, fun cut outs and ephemera in printed format. A new pencil case in on the list and also some fun envelopes. The shop is an ongoing joy, online and the bricks and mortar. So it will be fun to do window displays and I am always seeking new products on trips. Another idea is a P&C breakfast cereal, in the shape of paperclips.
Present & Correct is like Willy Wonka's factory and I'm Augustus Gloop.
Shop online here.
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