The Luxury Undenied
Smythson: An honored legacy that goes on.
"Stationery and fancy articles of a high-class character" was the new boutique's label launched on 133 Bond Street in London by Frank Smythson. That was back in 1887. A couple of decades later, Queen Victoria asked Mr. Smythson to produce the stationery for each of the Queen's residences, and a long journey of expansion went forth. Mr. Smythson created the first practical, portable datebook in 1908 and the customized company's address books for Katharine Hepburn. Vivien Leigh, Grace Kelly, and Sir Hardy Amies were among the brand's elite clientele. Four royal warrants later, the 134-year-old brand has established, apart from the leather-bound datebooks and utilitarian luxury stationery, the eternal elegance and the timeless purity hidden in pieces so unique that one would consider dearest, one-of-a-kind, lifetime belonging.
Its famous light blue pages, Smythson's hallmark, have graced notebooks and diaries used from prime minister Sir Winston Churchill to world-class personality Sigmund Freud. Notebook and journals though are not the only things Smythson does best. There is a wide range of superior quality leather goods, namely bags, briefcases, cardholders, passport covers, pens, and trinket trays.
Below we are presenting you the three top picks for this year.
Smythson Grosvenor Backgammon
If we had to pick one to entitle as the standout piece among the many unique in Smythson collection, that, without any hesitation, would be Smythson Grosvenor Backgammon.
A handmade, piece-of-art creation and the result of the elevated craftsmanship offered to us after three generations of evolving Smythson family artisans' evolving techniques. This is easy to ascertain if you take a closer look at the unrivaled level of the details.
The printed, soft, calfskin leather is wisely chosen, so you get that profound sense of the smooth and gentle sliding of the pawns and chips towards the board while playing. Furthermore, you get the sheer joy of shaking the exclusively designed dice into the dice cube, while the doubling cube keeps track of the current stakes. The excessive, Nile blue color of the inside, along with the silver details, complete the picture of the rightfully most luxurious game money can buy.
Find comfort in the nostalgic, familiar way to have fun with the family on a screen-free evening, playing a board game that endorses communication, balance, and stress relief. When you don't use it, it is still a valuable, timeless investment gracing your office or a premium, elegant gift for your loved ones.
Smythson Panama Trinket Tray Navy
Among the finest Smythson-crafted accessories lies this refined triangle trinket tray. Whether it is your small jewelry-kind stuff you desire to organize on your ballgown, or you just found out it was the missing piece on your doorway furniture, Smythson's Panama Triangle Trinket Tray won't disappoint you. It is the right call to keep the keys, key holders, coins, and whatever else you wish to relieve your pockets from the moment you enter the house, all safe, sound, and gathered.
The pioneering design has it formed in a streamlined, triangle shape with snap fastenings in all three corners to allow you to fold it down flat. If you are familiar with the brand, you already know that the iconic Panama cross-grain leather was used in the first leather bond diary, a ground-breaking idea by the founder Frank Smythson in 1908. It is widely used, until today, in many of Smythson's pieces, thanks to its distinguished, embossed texture, resistant to scratches, and impressively lavish at the same time. Last but not least, the gold designer emblem leaves you with a royal feel, which is far from false.
Smythson Panama Soho notebook
Isn't it an extraordinary moment, the one that the new-born, brilliant idea strikes you? And when that happens, is there a most suitable, sophisticated home to host it, decoded into a note, rather than Smythson Panama cross-grain leather Soho notebook? The answer is objectively negative.
The glossy Panama Cross-Grain lambskin leather has firm, durable features when flexible and lightweight at the same time, making it highly functional. It has 192 classic, azure, gilt-edged pages, half the thickness and weight of normal ones, that are made from paper bound to prevent ink bleeding. These pages remain empty but ready to capture the blossoms of your creativity at the office or on-the-go. But it's more than that.
This top-notch notebook is rooted in deep heritage, and the unmistakable pale blue, featherweight paper with Smythson's signature on it, may tell tales. It's the same pale blue paper that Sir Hardy Amies, the Queen's official dressmaker, traced his appointments and noted witticisms with Lady Hulse. Vivien Leigh's recorded her tender notes when filming Gone with the Wind with Laurence Olivier on this same paper. Sir Ranulph and Ginny Fiennes expedition tales while exploring the corners of the globe were also written on a Smythson notebook. And even the burlesque icon Dita von Teese notes-to-self and rehearsals.
This is just a small part of Panama's notebook great history, starting with being the world's first portable diary. It was not by chance that it was nestled into the pockets of great minds and extraordinary people as time went by. We still have the possibility of something great in the future, and Smythsons's Soho notebook is present, winking as a reminder. Value equally yours and make each page count.
