Oh so sweet! San-x Stationery

A little girlish squeal escaped my mouth when I first laid eyes on Japanese stationery brand San-X's Palette's Sweet Street collection. It's feminine opulent and delectable sweetness sugared up with baby pink and pastel colors and delicate, miniature renditions of pastries and pretty paraphernalia make it almost too sweet to stomach. An aficionado of the rich decadence of the patisserie and all things frivolous and adorable, I had at long last found a stationery theme that spoke to my loves and indulged my senses.

Palette's Sweet Street notebook with transparent shop window cover and letter set (40 sheets, 20 envelopes)

My Palette's Sweet Street sticker collection, useful for embellishing my diary and letters.

Close up of Palette's Sweet Street stickers

Palette's Sweet Street die-cut letter set (24 sheets, 8 envelopes, + memo sheets to place in window), Sentimental Circus memo sheets, envelope, and theatre die-cut letter set (my favorite!) addressed to Fran R. :p

Sentimental Circus sticker sheets (I adore the tarot/playing cards at the bottom of the left sheet)

I love kawaii stationery!!!
Alas, having found the perfect stationery was not merely enough--- it was another matter actually getting my hands on the collection for most of the products have sold out over the years and are extremely rare to find outside of Japan. Furthermore, its rarity has encouraged greedy Etsy sellers to sell Palette's Sweet Street items at exorbitant prices.

I did, however, find a San-X partner store based in the USA that sells a wide range of Palette's Sweet Street merchandise (http://www.shopkawaii.com/Default.asp)-- success! This store is a bit pricey but no more expensive than your average kawaii stationery store, and besides which, it offers buyers a ton of rare merchandise you just can't find anywhere else.
History: I first came across San-X stationery when a wonderful Swiss pen pal of mine sent me an adorable Sentimental Circus-themed letter set. Full of admiration for the whimsical, vintage-inspired design, I immediately searched for the kawaii stationery online and found a number of stores selling San-X letter sets. Needless to say, since discovering Japanese stationery (I had previously used Korean stationery) I have become a serious addict and now relish even more than before writing letters to my friends. A letter written on beautiful stationery is like a gift in itself.

Cute Korean diary travel stickers: phrases, Germany, and France. I can't wait to use them! Love the kawaii Mona Lisa!

Korean diary travel stickers for the UK and Italy

Romantic Korean diary stickers

Kawaii bundle that my sister, Jennifer, gave me. She's the sweetest! Sweetie World Alice sticker flakes, Hello Kitty and Mamegoma sticker flakes, pink ribbon deco tape, and Sanrio Sugarbunnies letter set.

List of Online Kawaii Shops:
1. Kawaiiya, http://kawaiiya.com/ 
Super cheap kawaii stationery and low shipping fees for US buyers. Does not have a very wide selection of kawaii goods but sometimes you can find the rare Sentimental Circus or Mamegoma item for a mere $4 or less! Beware, items sell out quickly. With every purchase $25 or more, you get THREE sticker stacks. Pas mal!

2. Kawaii Fancy Goods and Gifts, http://www.shopkawaii.com/Default.asp
Prices are double the Japanese retail price but that's fair considering their shipping costs and import taxes, right? What I love about this online store is that as San-X's partner shop, they sell the widest range of San-X goods and rare items not sold anywhere else online. You will also find at this shop other kawaii themes such as Sentimental Circus, San-X's newest range. Very friendly service--every time I have ordered from them, they included free gifts in my package.

3. Janet Store, http://www.janetstore.url.tw/
Stationery is fairly cheap compared to #2 and #4, but shipping fees are high since items are shipped from Taiwan. Janet Store has an unbelievable selection of kawaii goods and you can find all sorts of treasures here.
4. Big Key Lee Store, http://www.bigkeyleestore.com/store.php
Very expensive shop but offers rare items and a ton of Korean stationery and diary stickers. Shipping is also high as items are shipped from Hong Kong. I would only shop here if you absolutely need to buy something from their store that you can't find any where else.