Europe's Oldest Stationary Brand is now Available in the UK

We might be more likely to text or email than put pen to paper these days but there’s nothing quite like receiving a proper, handwritten letter.

  Prantl, Europe’s oldest luxury stationery brand has launched – both on and offline - in the UK – www.prantl.com.

Write a better letter: Prantl

  Under the careful guidance of two highly regarded British industry stalwarts – Michael Harris, ex Aubrey Harris and Smythsons and Anthony Rawlence, ex Wren Press – Prantl, which is nearly 200 years old, is already gaining a name for itself in the luxury market.  Using the finest print techniques and materials, it is creating innovative and exquisitely designed stationery – from personal and professional correspondence paper and cards to cutting edge party and wedding invitations.  

  Prantl’s new and substantial online catalogue of social stationery allows you to create, quickly and simply, your own personalised samples – with a broad choice of typefaces, ink colours etc. on offer.  Whilst Prantl bespoke can make your wildest print dreams and designs a reality.

  Founded in Munich during the late 18th Century by Master Printer Franz Anton Prantl, the company has been trading continuously since 1797 and is now Europe‘s oldest bespoke printer of luxury stationery & wedding invitations.  From the outset, Prantl’s vision was to provide a high quality range of products. From engraved writing paper & correspondence cards to fine crafted leather goods he quickly expanded into bookbinding and bag making.  In addition he supplied complimentary products that included a premium range of writing and calligraphic accessories.  The Crest in the company Logo was awarded to Prantl during the 1830’s and was the first Royal Warrant bestowed by King Ludwig I of Bavaria. It has remained with the company ever since and is now synonymous with refinement & know how.

  By supplying the great and good of Europe with luxury stationery over the last 200 years, Prantl has now built up a strong reputation with its international clientele for being Europe’s leading bespoke printer of personal and wedding stationery.  This tradition of offering the best quality craftsmanship and design continues today at the Prantl workshops, serving discerning customers around the globe from either its Munich store or from the newly opened London office.

  Prantl London is under the guidance of Michael Harris. Harris has a long association with stationery beginning with Aubrey Harris Ltd, a company which was owned and managed by his parents and the holder of three Royal Warrants.  When the family business was acquired by the then owners of Smythson of Bond Street, two of Aubrey Harris’s Warrants were transferred to Smythson along with Michael himself!  During his twelve years with Smythson, Michael managed the Royal Household account before being head-hunted in 1996 to join the luxury stationer, The Wren Press. Now at Wren Press, Michael continued to provide stationery to the Royal Household and after 5 years was awarded two Royal Warrants in his own right.

Anderson & Sheppard new store in Clifford Street

Dapper drapery: Anderson & Sheppard's new shop

Anderson & Sheppard, bespoke Savile Row tailors, have opened a stand-alone haberdashery, Anderson & Sheppard Clifford Street. The shop, at 17 Clifford Street, just around the corner from the main shop in Old Burlington Street, offers a carefully curated collection of trousers, shirts, knitwear, swimwear, ties, belts, hats, and other accessories.

  The decision is part of a broader trend in Savile Row to move towards separates and accessories alongside traditional suits. Certainly the brand name will carry with it my existing fans as well as recruiting new customers who are not regulars on the Row.

  The 1,200-square-foot shop is overseen by Audie Charles, the longtime right-hand woman of the legendary London tailor Doug Hayward.

  “Doug lived above his shop, and, eventually, his flat sort of crept into the shop,” Charles says. “The haberdashery is meant to be like that: welcoming, like someone’s Mayfair home. The scarves and sweaters are not behind some glass front. We encourage people to pick them up and play with them, to get the full tactile experience.” 

  Trousers are available in ten different styles as developed by the trouser- cutters at Anderson & Sheppard’s bespoke shop. With waist sizes ranging from 28 to 50, and with a variety of cloth choices on offer, among them corduroys, moleskins, worsteds, flannels, and summer cottons, the Clifford Street customer may select a style - such as flat-front, pleated-front, or jean-cut—and, within hours, collect and take home a hemmed pair of Anderson & Sheppard trousers. Special orders can be placed on an even wider variety of cloths. No longer must blue jeans be the default choice for the weekender or the otherwise off-duty man, says Anderson’s.

Window shopping: Anderson & Sheppard's
trousers are a major part of the appeal

  The shop also carries eight different styles of that staple of every man’s wardrobe, the white shirt, as well as linen and polo shirts in all manner of colours for casual occasions. Colour is important at Anderson Sheppard Clifford Street— visitors to the shop will notice immediately a profusion of garments and accessories in apple green, fire-engine red, lavender, saffron, and other bright shades, at once a departure from and complement to the usual Anderson & Sheppard palette. Some cashmere sweaters have been chosen, in fact, to be worn with suits, with high armholes and a slim cut to ensure a comfortable fit under a tailored jacket.