Some of the best Mexico take-homes are vintage Mexico City stationery souvenirs. Here’s what you can expect to find and where to buy the best postcards, writing sets and notebooks if you’re as obsessed with stationery as I am. I seek it out and buy it wherever I go. Take a look at my purchases so far this year from New York, Tokyo, Venice, and Paris. I just adore postcards and notebooks and the kitschier the better.
Why? It’s a light souvenir (not as heavy as books for instance) and it’s practical. Yes, I actually use it. Sure, I do the bulk of my writing on my laptop but all day every day I’m also jotting down stuff in a good old-fashioned lined notebook, whether it’s descriptions of meals or notes from interviews. I never go anywhere without a notebook.
Mexico Take-Homes – Mexico City Stationery Souvenirs We Love
I always carry a stock of cards – postcards and greeting cards. Again, while the bulk of my communications is via email, I occasionally like to send a postcard, particularly if I’m in the mood to write to my Mum or an old friend from an atmospheric bar or café, and I always like to have personal thank you cards on hand.
Mexico City has some fantastic stationery, including very cool cards and notebooks (such as the tile-patterned Hecho en Mexico notebook above), and fun stuff like the cardboard Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera cut-out dress-up doll booklet, above.
There has been a resurgence in vintage postcards and kitschy cards and calendars inspired by Mexican folk art (everything from the Day of the Dead to Virgin Guadelupe) and popular culture. Think: icons like Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Lucha Libre wrestlers, ranchero cowboys and serenading mariachis, and stars of Mexican Cinema’s Golden Age.
Best Mexico City Stationery Shops
These are the best places to buy stationery souvenirs in Mexico City:
Museo Frida Kahlo Gift Shop
Londres 247, Coyoacan
www.museofridakahlo.org.mx
Palacio de Bellas Artes Bookshop
Ave Juarez & Eje Central, Centro
www.bellasartes.gob.mx
Museo de Arte Popular Gift Shop
Revillagigedo 11, Centro
www.map.df.gob.mx
El Pendulo Cafebreria
They have five stationery stores, but I love the following shops:
Condesa (Nuevo Leon 115)
Polanco (Alejandro Dumas 81)
Zone Rosa (Hamburgo 126)
www.pendulo.com
Kiosks/news stands in el Centro on Cinco de Mayo and Tacuba sell wonderful vintage Ranchero-themed calendars.
