When your smartphone runs out of power, or when you’re bored in a meeting and your iPhone Doodle app won’t load, you’ll realize that there are just some situations when nothing’s quite as reliable as pen and paper. Instead of settling for flimsy jotter book material, check out these inspiring stationery stores that go where QWERTY keypads can’t.

Cityluxe

A great place for colorful fountain pens, leather-bound journals and classy desktop accessories. The Renaissance-style leather-covered notebooks ($34-69) come in a variety of rich colors, pens ($225-450) are handcrafted out of solid aluminum blocks. We also like the chic lizard print namecard holders by Luxo ($36), and the Axel BETA inkless pen ($38), which writes on both regular and glossy paper, and doesn’t smudge.

Prints

With two outlets in the CBD, Prints is a hit with corporate types. The gorgeous range of fabric hardcover journals ($19.40-29.90) is well worth a look—they’re thick enough to last you through the year. The store also scores points for its chic, minimalist décor—think floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves stacked according to color. Scrapbooking options (albums costs $41.90-79.90) are also set up on an island display like a mini paper market.

Kikki.K

This classy Swedish establishment stocks diaries and planners for just about everything—fashion, moments of inspiration, meals, chores and habits. It also carries an impressive variety of folders ($12.90 upwards) for sorting important documents, letters and recipes, ready-made wedding invitations and menu cards, among many others.

Smiggle

The Australian brand’s first Asian franchise opened here just three months ago and offers an assortment of colorful pens (Rainbow ballpoint scribblers, anyone?), notebooks with wacky illustrated hard covers ($9.95 each) and quirkier items like egg-shaped speakers ($24.95). Predictably, the store draws a fair number of squealing school kids so enter at your own risk.

Woodwould

This store is all dark parquet flooring, lacquered brown shelves and row upon row of paper accessories. There’s an interesting variety of journals, albums and sketchbooks, as well as 60s-inspired accessories ($8.90-14.90 for their vintage music range) like a tape dispenser and memo holder shaped like a vinyl record. Also worth a look are their planners ($20-28)—particularly good for inspiring you to keep that journal you’ve always talked about.