The Filofax Organiser

In 1921, a London based company was formed to market personal organisation systems in the UK by mail order. In 1930 they registered the trademark "Filofax", the name derived from the description "file of facts".

The Filofax personal organiser had developed from a simple loose-leaf diary and notebook into an indispensable organiser and status symbol for the 80s. A diary, a notebook, a sketchbook, a memo pad, a folder, a pen holder, a holder for business cards, a neat hideaway for personal ephemera. Either way it is a design icon that celebrates the use of paper.

Blackwing 602 Pencil

The Eberhard Faber Pencil Company began production of the Blackwing 602 pencil in 1934. The slogan "Half the Pressure, Twice the Speed" was stamped on the side of the pencil opposite the brand mark, which was meant to appeal to stenographers, since the 602 possessed the unique softness and smoothness of a 3B/4B lead but with the rate-of-wear of an HB.

Today, Blackwing has become a culture that encourages and empowers creativity in all forms, with sales of Blackwing products supporting music and arts education. The pencil continues to attract rave reviews from users and national media attention, with the 602 even featuring on the object-obsessed multi-award winning television series, Mad Men.

Mont Blanc Meisterstuck (Masterpiece) 149

Launched in 1924, this stylish 'writing instrument' has had a long association with paper, prestige and design.

James Bond used one - in the "Man with the Golden Gun" Bond uses an adapted Meisterstuck to shoot Scaramanga, and again it appeared in Octopussy. It has been used by Presidents, John F Kennedy famously signed a treaty in 1962. Also by writers such as Ernest Hemingway who used one to scribble notes. It has indeed become a design classic being on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Caran d'Ache Pencil Sharpener

Practical and ornamental, the Caran d'Ache pencil sharpening machine is, without doubt, an iconic piece of stationery design. Originally created by the Geneva based company in 1933, the machine's robust metal construction means that it is built to last, whilst always maintaining a presence of style and sophistication fit to grace any study, office or studio setting.

Pencil sharpening becomes a ritual with this design icon, ably preparing artists, architects, designers and engineers alike with a highly accurate pencil point with which to use on paper, possibly creating some of the design classics for the future.