Edition 11: All About Stickers

Where to find the best in paper adornments

Greetings, friends! And welcome to Caroline Finds It: my new weekly newsletter where I reply to submissions from YOU for objects and products you need recommendations for.

This week’s newsletter is all about STICKERS. I received a submission last week about this and I am excited to do a little deep dive with y’all. From Sheryn in Fulshear, Texas:

“I purchased one of your subscription boxes way back when and loved every element. One of the things that I have enjoyed so much is a sticker set. It is from Aoz Studio and called Happy Life deco stickers 6 sheets. It had various scenes from everyday life. Can you point me to an online sticker store that has a multitude of options. I have found Jet Pens and "r atelier" already and love them both, but I need more!”

As some of you might recall, for a couple of years in my shop, we had a secret room FULL of stickers in the back. Buying stickers to fill our pegboards was a collaborative effort — we all searched high and low online and on instagram to find the widest variety of sticker sheets and artist-made die-cuts we could, and we were great at it! There was something for everyone and we learned so much about what’s out there and where to find it. And the truth is: the good ones are hard to find, and in the US, most shops tend to stock the same ones from the same distributors.

To answer Sheryn’s request: That sticker pack was awesome! We found it on AliExpress and ordered them in bulk from a supplier in China, and I can’t for the life of me track them down! In general, AliExpress is a good place to buy bulk stickers from countries in Asia with designs and brands that aren’t distributed in the US. It requires a lot of digging to find the good stuff, but it’s a fun hunt!

There are, however, several physical shops in the US and other countries that either specialize in stickers, or excel at sourcing them, who also have online store:

Stickerrific - This is an insanely fun shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I had the pleasure of visiting IRL in 2019 when I was visiting my sister and can attest to the fact that they have a VAST selection of extremely cute and specific stickers that I’ve seen nowhere else. They have an online store, which ships internationally!

Niconeco Zakkaya - In New York, we have a really tiny and wonderful shop that specializes in decorative Japanese stationery, including LOTS of sweet sticker sheets, many of which depict scenes of everyday life. If you ever find yourself in the city, I’d recommend visiting in person for the best selection!

Yoseka Stationery - Yoseka is a wonderful NYC shop known for their vast selection of pens and hard-to-find stationery items from countries in Asia. Their sticker selection is no exception. You’ll find lots deep cuts, including the full range from Yohand, which was one of our favorite small makers we stocked in our shop.

Stash World - If anyone in Australia is reading this: I recently learned about a shop dedicated entirely to stickers in Fortitude Valley! As far as online selection goes, they might have the most on the internet, especially when it comes to die-cuts and stickers for bullet journaling. Not quite what you’re looking for, but worth checking out!

Sticker Planet - This is the OG sticker shop, and is located in LA. The style you’re looking for isn’t really the vibe of this place, but it’s worth mentioning because they have comprehensive selection of classic brands and things for kids.

As far as online shops with a large variety of stickers, these options are the best and most thorough on the internet.

While we’re on the topic, I wanted to share a couple of other favorite things regarding stickers:

Making your own stickers: I’m not going to go into making your own sticker sheets (complicated!), but I can tell you that StickerApp is my favorite place to have die-cuts made. Their prices are the best on the internet, they have a super useful editing tool, and there are many out-of-the-ordinary paper options (like holographic, prismatic, prismatic, mirror, clear, and more!)

Vintage stickers without the vintage price tag: I dare you to go on eBay and search “vintage Mrs. Grossman’s”, or “vintage scratch n’ sniff stickers”. There’s a large market online for overpriced vintage stickers from the 90s, but I know where you can find current stock that’s just as good.

For scratch n’ sniffs, look no further than Chris Uphues:

Stickermagic is an old school brand in the UK that sells SO MANY nostalgic and adorable stickers, in a variety of finishes and textures (including furry stickers!)! They ship to the US, but can also be found IRL in NYC at Greenwich Letterpress or in London at Choosing Keeping. I love these furry frogs:

For the puzzle nerds, out there: Le Puzz makes an extremely fun 1000-piece monster:

A note on sticker packaging: One of my biggest pet peeves is the unnecessary cellophane sleeves that are used for sticker sheets and greeting cards. There’s no way around them, really, and so I’d just encourage you to buy responsibly, and also reuse the sleeves when you can! They’re actually great for sorting and storing sheets by type, keeping sticker flakes contained, or for organizing other paper ephemera.

And in case you’ve made it this far in this crazy newsletter, you might like to know that there was once a Stickers Magazine. Issue 1 from 1983 is available on eBay for $39.99.

Now, dive into your stash and make a sticker collage for a friend!

FAVORITE PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

Currently, I am spending three days a week walking. Like, walking 10+ miles a day around New York City to collect information for my new project. It’s basically become an endurance sport for me and as it gets hotter outside, I end up sweatier and dirtier each day. Do any other New Yorkers remember the first time they took off their sandals to discover black soot strap outlines on their feet? Imagine that same grime on your face! In an act of desperation before meeting a friend for dinner a few weeks ago, I swung by C.O. Bigelow (America’s oldest apothecary and my favorite place for buying toiletries and skincare!) thinking I’d try to buy a bag of Ursa Major face wipes, but instead I found a box of Dickinson’s Witch Hazel Face Wipes for a fraction of the cost ($7.50 for a box of 20). They’ve since become an essential in my bag and do an amazing job of removing the city dirt without stripping my skin.

Is there a product you’re looking for? Submit your request here. See you next Friday for fresh recommendations! xo Caroline