STAEDTLER XELLENCE MATH SET

Staedtler Xcellence Math Set

Affordable and lovable stationery goods.

當學生時只有一丁點零用金,每次走進大型百貨公司,看見櫥櫃裡的高檔文具時,通常只會有搖頭輕嘆的份。而雖然高檔的肯定是買不起,不過如果能勒緊肚皮存點錢,要購入低檔文具還是綽綽有餘。

最近在一家舊式文具店裡,重遇上這套德國施德樓出品的Xcellence Math Set,價格連一般家庭小孩都負擔得起。不過最叫人振奮的是,這套裝連同筆盒共有十樣文具,當你查看包裝內容物時,心裡浮起一種打開福袋包時的期盼。

繪畫上各種文具式樣的鐵筆盒,裡面林林總總的工具有:鉛筆、橡皮擦、削筆器、圓規、直尺,三角尺和量角器等等。塑膠材質的文具組,拎起來輕飄飄的,像圓規和直尺還可以彎折,誠然質感並不良好;只是,有時候對物件的鍾愛程度,往往會帶著個人回憶及感情的加乘。

話說,施德樓作為逾百年的文具大廠,從最高檔的繪圖工具,至最平價的通用文具都一網打盡;豐儉由人的經營策略,是從學生到上班族都愛用的品牌。而在最經典的鉛筆、橡皮擦之外,上面這套Xcellence Math Set,大概也算是我們第一世界小孩們的集體回憶了。

When I was a student, I was given only very little pocket money. Whenever I saw high-end stationery items inside display cabinets at big department stores, I normally could only shake my head and heave a sigh. Even though there was no doubt I could not afford such luxurious items, if I could tighten my belt and save, I could more than afford to buy their low-end counterparts.

Recently, at an old-style stationery store, I have once again stumbled upon this Xcellence Math Set, a product of Staedtler in Germany sold at a price affordable even for children from ordinary families. The most exciting feature of this set, however, is that it comes with a pen case along with a total of ten different stationery items. The feeling of opening the package to check its content is akin to the anticipation you have when opening a Fukubukuro, or lucky bag from Japan.

Inside the iron pen case drawn with images of a range of stationery items are a variety of tools, including pencil, eraser, pencil sharpener, compass, straight and triangular rulers, and protractor. Held in hand, this set of stationery items, which are made of plastic, feel as light as feathers. Items such as compass and straight ruler can be bent, and for certain, their texture is somewhat inferior. However, your personal memories and emotions always have a bearing on the extent to which you love an object.

It is said that Staedtler, a stationery giant boasting a history of more than a hundred years, sells everything from the highest-end painting tools to regular stationery items of the lowest price range. Given its business strategy targeting both high and low-end markets, it is well-loved by students and the working population. Apart from the most classic pencils and erasers, this Xcellence Math Set here can be considered part of the collective memories of children growing up in first-world countries.

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