About Blue Stiggy
Hand made, eco conscious notebooks and stationery,
personalised on my vintage typewriter named Dorothy.
Made in the UK in my Lincolnshire studio
Personalised notebooks and journals are what we do best!
Blue Stiggy makes personalised hand made eco-conscious stationery. For truly personal and thoughtful gifts.
Each notebook cover is painted by hand
Your chosen words are typed using my vintage typewriter Dorothy so that each one has real meaning between the giver and reciever.
Each book is hand stitched together using traditional linen thread
Blue Stiggy Stationery is made from innovative eco conscious materials - Helping you to find more planet friendly gifts
Blue Stiggy HQ is a solar powered studio in Lincolnshire UK - Another reason to feel good about asking us to make personalised stationery just for you.
Meet the team
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Hi, I'm Michaela
I have a lifelong passion for making things and learning new stuff. I’m fuelled by a pretty expensive tea habit - (loose leaf only from Imperial Teas of Lincoln.)
I drive a 1969 VW camper and love dancing (street dance and ballet)
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Dorothy
Dorothy is a 1970’s Baby Hermes. She was given to me by a friend who was a forensic scientist, specialising in document fraud.
Typewriter’s aren’t commonly used for fraud these days, so Dorothy has a new home and life at Blue Stiggy HQ -
Daisy
Daisy is a vintage letterpress machine. Using traditionally set lead type, painstakingly placed by hand in a composing stick and then locked in place, she prints some of my eco conscious notecards.
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Studio Doggo
This is Bonnie,studio superviser and all round cute fluffball. she’s a 12 year old cavapoo who loves sitting in that chair in the corner of my workshop looking out of the window . Other favourite past times are curling up in front of a fire and throwing her fluffy pink bone to herself.
What’s with the name?
tHE NAME ‘bLUE sTIGGY’ IS A NONSENSE NAME FROM A GAME
THAT mE AND MY SISTER PLAYED
If you were all dressed in blue you were a Blue Stiggy and honestly that’s actually all I can remember about it!
Hi, I’m Michaela, I design, make, pack, market and absolutely everything else here at Blue Stiggy HQ in the lovely Lincolnshire countryside. Here I am all dressed in blue :)
Blue Stiggy started in 2015 when I needed something that would work around caring for my young family and my husband who had to leave his career to have a battle with cancer which he won :)
I have always had a thing for making by hand, old machines and traditional methods. Keeping these old machines and traditional techniques alive to make beautiful stationery for you to use today, means that Dorothy, Daisy and the bookmaking tools and techniques that haven’t changed for hundreds of years can continue to thrive and be relevant.
Putting a little bit of history in to each handmade notebook or card.
Follow Blue Stiggy on Socials
Blue Stiggy has collaborated with celebs! :)
Starting and running a creative business is a roller coaster of doing all the things and spinning all the plates, but also an opportunity for fabulous fun and proud moments.
When I first started making books with my typewriter Dorothy, I never dreamed that I’d one day collaborate with the fabulous Tan France and Etsy. Or that I’d make books for large companies and people that I’d heard of from the telly!
I’m also a big believer in community over competition and so took the opportunity to join the Nottingham Etsy team and eventually to lead it for a time. I’m super proud of all the help and support that I and the team were able to give other makers to help to grow their businesses. I feel like a proud mum when I see a business that had joined a support session for help and advice, begin to flourish!
For a truly personal and thoughtful gift. Tell them what they mean to you in your own words
and I will type them using my vintage typewriter Dorothy.
A Poem
A Favourite Quote
An 'In Joke' that only they will understand
Wedding Vows
How many words can I have?
Your wall hanging will be typed on a vintage typewriter which means that I can’t change the font size.
I can fit 42 characters per line including spaces. ( I may need to split some of your lines if they are over this but will always do it in a way that makes sense to the flow of the text)
I can fit 12 lines on to this size of hanging including line breaks (eg if you need an empty line between verses of a poem)
The text will be left aligned but the text block will be centered (If you particularly need your text centered, please message me for a revised price and custom listing)
If your text won't fit on to the regular size and you just need extra length, Please choose the long option and I will make it as long as is necessary to fit your text.
I have a larger A4 size available in my shop here which fits more characters per line and more lines in total.
Please do message me if you have any questions. I'll be very happy to help you choose the best option.
michaelabere@bluestiggy.co.uk
Size?
Your wall hanging will be Approx A5 in size at around 20 x 14 cm . The size can vary very slightly depending on the size of offcuts available but are never very far off this size. If you’re buying a second one to hang with one that you already own, message me and I’ll make sure they match for you :)
Sustainability
Everything I do for my business is put through the lens of trying to my best to minimise my impact on the planet. You can find a more detailed information about how I try to do this here
Materials
Paper - Your Personalised Wall Hanging will be individually typed on beautifully textured cotton paper that has been made from textile industry waste in a UK paper mill.
Aaaaaaaaand - I will be using offcuts from my other products to make your wall hanging, so double eco points - YAY!!
Wooden Hanger - Your wall hanging will come with a wooden print hanger that has been lovingly made in the UK from sustainably sourced wood
Energy
The power to type your wall hanging comes only from my nimble fingers. They are fuelled by tea and biscuits and the rest of my studio is powered by the sun
Packaging
All of my products are beautifully wrapped in eco conscious materials such as recycled tissue paper and sent in cardboard boxes. I love to and write a little note to each of my customers on recycled paper and mostly use Royal Mail who deliver on foot :)
Eco - Conscious
Blue Stiggy Handmade stationery is made with the planet in mind.
Take this Personalised Wall hanging for example. It has been typed on cotton paper, made from textile industry waste. Aaaaaaaaand I use offcuts from my books to type them on so double extra bonus eco points (yay)! Aaaaaaaaand, A tree is planted for each order.
See all the other ways I work with the planet in mind.
Learn With Me
There’s something special about taking a pile of paper and leaving with your own journal, sketchbook or photo book. I will guide you through stitching up your own notebook with this most ancient of book binding methods.
Book Binding workshop dates throughout the year
Make your own journal or sketchbook
Best selling Personalised Stationery and gifts
My absolute fave personalised items to make are those where the words I’m asked to type are complete nonsense to me. Often they are bought as gifts so there is a really personal connection between the giver and receiver. An ‘in joke’ or phrase that only they will understand. I LOVE IT! more of those please :)
An invitation to take a moment for your self - to write, draw, paint or sketch. The textured cotton paper makes it so ‘feely’ and will take any medium you throw at it. Choose some really meaningful words for the front cover and I will type them using my vintage typewriter Dorothy. A truly gorgeous treat for your self or the most thoughtful gift for a creative friend. Tied with a recycled silk sari ribbon to make it just that bit more tempting and gorgeous.
Comes in a choice of all handmade cotton paper or a mix of cotton paper and recycled cartridge paper
FAQ’s
Can I use a fountain pen or watercolours in it?
Absolutely - The all cotton paper in these is so strong that it’s totally suitable for watercolour and if you go for a mixed book, the recycled cartridge paper is pretty strong too. l use fountain paper on this paper every day. it doesn’t feather or bleed. you can use a wide range of artist media too, including marker and brush pens, charcoal, pencil and even a light wash of watercolour
How long should the personalised text be?
Your notebook will be typed on a vintage typewriter which means that I can’t change the font size.
These books look best with one or two words and I love to space the letters out for a modern contemporary look - but you can fit a couple of lines on if you wish [spacing between the characters will be standard if you have more than a couple of words. ]
Character limit for spaced out letters is 10 characters for A6 books and 15 characters for A5
If you’re happy to have regular spacing then you can fit up to 56 characters on the A6 and 80 on the A5
Please do message me if you have any questions.
michaelabere@bluestiggy.co.uk
Size?
There is a choice of A6 or A5 for this style of book
All cotton books contain 72 pages of handmade cotton rag paper
Mixed books contain 120 pages and are a mix of handmade cotton rag paper recycled cartridge paper
The Paper
Cotton Paper: 320gsm pre-sized handmade cotton rag paper that has been made from textile industry waste.
Cartridge Paper: 140gsm recycled cartridge paper made from post consumer waste
Sustainability
Materials
Your chunky sketchbook is made from handmade cotton paper [made from t shirt industry waste and is tied with a silk sari ribbon also from textile industry waste
Cartridge paper in the mixed books is made from 100% post consumer paper waste.
Your book will be sewn together with traditional linen thread.
Energy
The power to type your notebook comes only from my nimble fingers. They are fuelled by tea and biscuits and the rest of my studio is powered by the sun
Everything I do at Blue Stiggy HQ is put through the lens of trying to do my best to minimise my impact on the planet. You can find more detailed information about the materials and processes I use and how I try to minimise my impact on the planet here
Packaging
All of my products are beautifully wrapped in eco conscious materials such as recycled wrapping paper and sent in cardboard boxes. I love to and write a little note to each of my customers on recycled paper and I mostly use Royal Mail who will usually deliver your order on foot :)
Delivery + Returns
Personalised Products take 3-5 working days for me to make and press for you.
Standard UK delivery is Second Class Royal Mail and typically takes 2 days to arrive after I dispatch your order. You can upgrade to First Class at the checkout if you wish.
Express Shipping UK is Royal Mail Special Delivery Next Day Guaranteed - Please use this postage upgrade if you are in a hurry. although I may still need 3-5 days to make and press your order I will dispatch it to you as quickly as I can.
Standard Overseas Delivery - Royal Mail International Tracked (transit time depends on the destination country)
Express Overseas Delivery - I will use a courier to send your order to you for speed. transit time depends on the destination country.
Delivery times are estimates but please do message me if you any questions about delivery - michaelabere@bluestiggy.co.uk
Returns - Unfortunately I can’t accept returns for personalised items unless there is a problem with the order. for all other items please contact me within 14 days of delivery to arrange a return - my full Delivery + Returns policy can be found here