September is here -- the time when schoolchildren, university students, and adults return from vacation. Whether it means an end to your summer idyll, or a cure for dog-days-of-August boredom, there’s no doubt that September is a busy month for children and adults alike.

You wouldn't want your child to start the year on the wrong foot by showing up on the first day of class without a pen or a notebook. Nor would most adults want to be caught empty-handed when beginning a new job or returning to an old one. Love it or hate it, back-to-school shopping -- or back-to-work shopping -- is a necessary ritual; and, if you do it in proper style, can even be an enjoyable one. Here are some great places to shop for stationery in Istanbul. The list below has been chosen to cater to a wide variety of tastes -- male and female, young and old, serious and less so.

Kağıthane (House of Paper) is devoted to the proposition that stationery should be as eye-catching and entertaining as possible. Here, in this little store in Karaköy, you’ll be able to find all manner of stationery designed by owner Emine Tusavul as well as by her students. Forget about post-its or stacks of block notes with pharmaceutical company logos: Kağıthane's block notes come in a multitude of different designs, from tea-saucer patterns, to weekly to-do lists, to animals like cats, dogs...even fish. Among Kağıthane’s specialties are notebooks that come labeled in sets of three: rock, scissors, and paper (after the popular children’s game) or “Ist,” “An,” and “Bul.” Kağıthane also sells other miscellaneous items like coasters, fans, postcards, and wrapping paper.

One thing Kağıthane is not particularly strong on, however, is writing implements. For these, it would be a good idea to pay a visit to Muji. With branches both in Erenköy on the Anatolian side, and Nişantaşi on the European side, this Japanese store sells several dozen varieties of pens and pencils, from 6-color pens to wooden mechanical pencils to gel pens and colored markers. The store also carries a very good selection of general office supplies like staplers, clipboards, and portfolios. Muji’s beautiful notebooks, with their monochrome colors, are more austere in design than those at Kağıthane and so may appeal to a slightly older crowd. Not that Muji is all work and no play -- you can find several varieties of educationally-themed playing cards there, too.

Like Muji, Karum – with its leather-bound diaries and file-holders, and a wide range of expensive fountain pens – seems targeted towards an older, more professional clientele, Nonetheless, in addition to being a good place for office supplies, Karum sells an essential item for every school-age child: backpacks. With all the books they will be carrying, make sure your children buy a well-padded backpack and use both straps (however uncool it may look.)

The Swedish store Ordning&Reda, in Teşvikiye, has a large assortment of notebooks, which, like Muji’s, are sleekly minimalist in design, though they come in an array of bright colors. The store also sells plenty of accessories – the sorts of things you wouldn’t realize you needed till you saw them – such as pen(cil) cases, keyring tassels, and iPhone holders. Ordning&Reda is a good place to buy school supplies for image-conscious high-school students, whose notebooks / pen cases / tote bags have to be just so.

Paperie, as its name implies, specializes in various kinds of paper, coming in all colors and designs: personalized stationery, envelopes, invitation cards – you name it. The small but well-stocked boutique (also in Teşvikiye) owes its existence to graphic designer Zeynep Sümer Ayverdi, and also sells various other art/stationery supplies such as pastel pens and hole-punchers. If you need to buy all your school/office supplies in one location, Paperie is probably not the place to go: but for beautiful quality stationery with a personal touch, it should definitely be on your itinerary.

The last store on our list, Continuum in Çiftehavuzlar, should also be the last stop on your outing. By shopping there after you’ve bought the things you really need, you hopefully won’t blow your entire budget on such less-than-urgent items as a calculator made to look like a chocolate bar, a pencil sharpener in the shape of a robot, or a scotch-tape-holder that looks like an audiocassette. The word of the day at Continuum is definitely “playful”; but that isn’t to say they don’t have plenty of useful items for sale, including various kinds of creatively designed furniture and houseware. There is even a toy section for those who want to buy their children something to sweeten the bitter pill of their first day at school...