The Scriptum Blog
Scriptum is featured in Luxury Lifestyle Mag!
Some really sumptuous photography of our newly refurbished shop is on show in this great article from Luxury Lifestyle Mag. It goes in-depth with Azeem in a wide-ranging interview about the many aspects of Scriptum - definitely worth a read for our old and new customers alike! You can find it here.
Santa Maria Novella - Now available at Scriptum!
In 1221, monks from the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella in Florence began using their home-grown herbs to create various medicinal products for use in their infirmary. These products, and their impressive healing properties, soon gained a reputation in Italy, leading to Catherine de' Medici commissioning a unique perfume for her wedding day from the pharmacy in 1533. This came to be known as the 'Aqua della Regina' - meaning 'The Queen's Water' - an iteration of which is still available to this day.
This commission proved fortuitous, as Santa Maria Novella - which by 1612 was trading very successfully on Via Della Scala - was awarded the title of 'His Royal Highness' Foundry' by Ferdinando II de' Medici in 1659, helping to cement it as the household name it is today.
The craftsmanship and quality of these products simply cannot be overstated, and so we are thrilled to be able to bring Florence's finest export to our Turl Street shop. Whether you are searching for your signature scent, or wish to try out some new soap to add a little bit of luxury to your mornings, we would love to talk to you about all of these marvellous products, and advise you on any questions you may have.
Santa Maria Novella's products are available in-store, or over the telephone if you would like us to post them to you. Our full range is listed below - please contact us for availability, or if you have any other questions.
Soaps
Jasmine Milk Soap 100g — £12
Gardenia Milk Soap 100g — £12
Rose Milk Soap 100g — £12
Verbena Milk Soap 100g— £12
Violetta Milk Soap 100g - £12
Pomegranate Soap 100g — £12
Pomegranate Soap 200g — £18
Pomegranate Soap Box (3 pieces) 400g — £42
Olive Oil Soap 100g — £14
Tuscan Tobacco Soap 150g — £28
Vellutina Soap 150g — £32
Aritea Lavender Soap Box (4 pieces) — £32
Floral Cologne Soap Box (4 pieces) — £32
Home Fragrances
Rose Water Room Spray 250ml — £24
Orange Blossom Water Room Spray 250ml — £24
Pot Pourri 100g — £24
Carta d'Armenia - £18
Scented Terracotta Pomegranate — £60
Bathroom
Bath Salts 500g — £41
Fragrances
Freesia Acqua di Colonia Cologne 100ml — £125
Rosa Novella Acqua di Colonia Cologne 100ml — £125
Colonia Russa Cologne 100ml — £125
Angeli di Firenze Cologne 100ml — £125
Tuscan Tobacco (Tobacco Toscano) Cologne 100ml — £125
Pomegranate (Melograno) Cologne 100ml — £125
Acqua di Santa Maria Novella Cologne 100ml — £125
Orange Blossom (Zagara) Acqua di Colonia Cologne 100ml — £125
Acqua di Sicilia Cologne 100ml — £125
Acqua Della Regina Cologne 100ml - £125
Patchouli Cologne 100ml - £125
Vetiver Cologne 100ml - £125
Scented Candles
Rose Scented Candle 300g — £25
Relax Scented Candle 300g — £25
Angeli di Firenze Scented Candle 300g — £25
Tobacco Toscano Scented Candle 300g — £25
Iris Scented Candle 540g — £55
Pomegranate Scented Candle 540g — £55
Natale (Christmas) Scented Candle 540g — £55
Accessories
Pill Box Gold Plated — £54
Pill Box Silver Plated — £54
Pot Pourri Holder Gold Plated Small Heart — £60
Pot Pourri Holder Gold Plated Large Heart — £80
Pot Pourri Holder Gold Plated Large Round — £80
Candle Holder Gold Plated — £80
Compact Mirror Gold Plated — £84
Soap Dish Gold Plated — £84
Scriptum wins a Stationery Award!
We’re over the moon to have recently won the best window display award at the Stationery Awards in London. We love creating displays in the shop and we were especially proud of our opera-themed effort, which you may have seen gracing our window around this time last year. The name of our winning display, "Vincerò", aptly means “I will win”! Here's a picture of Holly and Azeem grinning away outside the shop with our award.
How to use sealing wax: a step-by-step video guide
We sell everything you need to get started on making your own beautiful wax seals, but we are often asked how to actually use a seal, so we have made a short video tutorial to show how easy it is!
Opera and Calligraphy
We love opera. As soon as you step into Scriptum, you undergo a sensory assault of the best kind: colourful and complicated objects throng your vision, the scent of leather and paper envelops you, and a wave of soaring operatic sound washes over you. Azeem is a dedicated Rossini and Puccini fan, so on sunny Oxford afternoons we enjoy brightly cheerful melodies and gracefully tragic arias in turn, while on grey and gloomy mornings I wrest control of the music to revel in the dismal splendour of both Wagner's moments of brilliance and his terrible half hours*. Customers, catching a half-remembered strain as they browse, frequently ask us what is playing. Some music buffs don't actually ask, they announce "Lovely recording; this is Callas, of course... La Scala, 1953, wasn't it?" Yes, it was, we answer, a little awestruck.
The other thing we love, naturally, is writing. Everyone here is moderately obsessed with penmanship (how could we not be?) and I am decidedly the worst. As well as working at Scriptum, I do a lot of freelance calligraphy, and Azeem wanted to combine this with his own opera fanaticism to make some beautiful cards with our ten favourite arias. There was much lively discussion - some things were said about Wagner which I shall never forgive nor forget - but the final list was:
- E lucevan le stelle from Tosca
- Addio del passato from La Traviata
- Un bel dì vedremo from Madama Butterfly
- Che farò senza Eurydice? from Orfeo ed Eurydice
- Ombra mai fu from Serse
- O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi
- Vissi d'arte from Tosca
- Casta diva from Norma
- Sempre libera from La Traviata
- Nessun dorma from Turandot
We wanted a classic, old-manuscript look to the cards, so we decided on a gothic style for the script, and a simple colour scheme of black and red, enhanced with gold-lined envelopes. It took several days of intensive writing to complete the calligraphy. The lyrics were written out first, then I broke up the lines by adding the C clef symbol, which used to be used in musical notation for vocal music before the treble and bass clefs became standard in the 19th century.
When the main aria was done, I gave each card a bright red inset first letter illustrated with a floral background, as a nod to medieval manuscript illumination. I also bookended each aria with interesting facts about each opera's premiere and role originators (the best name to write, without a doubt, was the superbly monikered Giuditta Pasta, who was the first to sing Casta Diva). Finally, we designed the box to include my favourite musical phrase from Tosca; test out your sight-reading by having a look at the notes and seeing if you can sing it!
You can now buy the cards here on our website or in store.
* If you are wondering whether Rossini actually said this about Wagner, the answer is... probably. It's by far the most accurate description of Wagner I've ever come across, in any case.
International Women's Day
Happy International Women's Day! It's wonderful to see so many people celebrating the achievements of amazing women, but we must also remember that despite some progress we've still a long way to go, even in the seemingly genderless world of stationery... remember this idiocy from Bic?
May our tiny lady hands wield our tiny lady pens more mightily than swords in the continuing fight for equality!
Victorian Valentine's Cards
Some truly terrible poetry for your delectation this Valentine's day; on this Victorian Valentine's card, the poet presses their suit by trying to convince their beloved that they are more worthy of love than a nest of birds. Okay. Only really a legitimate comparison if the recipient is an ornithologist, but nonsensical blather seems to be a key component of most Valentine's cards even now. This prime specimen of sentimental verse, however excruciatingly twee by today's standards, is at least saved by the restrained and rather sweet illustration by Kate Greenaway (though the card itself hasn't got away without lacy edging. The Victorians really loved their lacy edging). The card was printed 1876 and can be seen in the Early and Fine Printing Collection at the Library of Birmingham. So, if you are stuck for a Valentine's day verse and happen to be dating a bird lover, try winning them over with this little gem:
Five blue eggs in a nest,
Two brown birds on a tree,
And which do you think is best,
The eggs, or the birds, or me?
The eggs may sing in time,
I sing to you to-day;
The birds are in singing prime,
But who knows what they say?
The eggs may fall and break,
The birds may fly away,
If winds the tree should shake,
But I shall always stay.
Then say you love me dear!
And whatsoever weather
May come, I shall not fear,
We'll brave the worst together!
