About amberyard

My parents came out from Lebanon in 1987 and landed in Lakemba, western Sydney, with two suitcases and a folder of documents my father had kept in a plastic sleeve the whole flight. That folder mattered to him. The paper inside it, the handwriting on the forms, the physical record of a decision, those things carried weight in our house. Dad kept every receipt, every letter, every school report in lever arch folders stacked on a shelf above the TV. I didn't think much of it growing up, but looking back, that's probably where my fixation with paper and writing tools started. It wasn't decorative. It was functional. Writing things down was how you held onto what mattered.

Before amberyard I spent about twelve years in commercial electrical contracting, running projects across southeast Queensland under TRUPAQ ELECTRICAL SERVICES PTY LTD, the company I still direct. Good work, steady income, zero creative satisfaction by about year eight. I was doing site visits up in the Noosa Hinterland fairly regularly, and somewhere around 2019 I started buying notebooks and pens at the Eumundi Markets on Saturdays just to have something to do with my hands on weekends. I filled three Rhodia pads in four months. Started ordering direct from suppliers in France and Germany because the local options were thin. My wife Nadia pointed out I was spending roughly $400 a month on stationery for personal use, which was the moment I started taking the idea seriously.

— Good paper, decent tools, nothing more. — Craig, Craig Michael Assam

Our team

• Desta Woldemichael — Fulfilment and Warehouse Lead: Desta moved up from Brisbane to Pomona in 2022 and answered a local Facebook post Craig put up looking for part-time packing help in early 2024. She'd spent four years in logistics at a third-party warehouse in Yatala before the move north. Desta now runs the daily pick-pack operation out of the Cooroy shed, manages stock counts, and coordinates with the freight account at Sendle and Australia Post Noosa.
• Minh-Tuan Pham — Customer Experience and Online Orders: Minh-Tuan grew up in Inala, Brisbane, and studied communications at QUT before spending three years doing customer support for a small Melbourne-based book retailer. He came to amberyard in October 2023 after spotting the role on Ethical Jobs and relocated to Noosaville shortly after starting. He handles all incoming customer queries, manages the returns process, and keeps the product listings on the Shopify store accurate and up to date.
• Brigid Callaghan — Buying and Supplier Coordination: Brigid spent eight years as a procurement officer for a stationery and office supplies distributor based in Alexandria, Sydney, before moving to the Sunshine Coast in 2021. Craig brought her on as a contractor in mid-2024 after a conversation at the Eumundi Markets where she flagged a gap in his Faber-Castell range. She now manages all purchase orders, tracks lead times from European suppliers, and negotiates freight terms on incoming shipments through the Brisbane port.

Frequently asked questions

How long will my order take to arrive?

Standard shipping to most metro areas takes 3–7 business days. Regional and remote locations can take 7–14 business days. Express options are available at checkout for faster delivery.

Do you ship to PO boxes or parcel lockers?

Yes, we can ship to PO boxes and Australia Post parcel lockers via standard AusPost services. Express orders via StarTrack require a physical street address.

What is your return and exchange policy?

We accept returns within 30 days of delivery for items in their original, unused condition. Sale items and opened consumables (like ink cartridges) are excluded. Start a return by emailing hello@amberyardco.com with your order number.

Can I get my order gift-wrapped?

Yes. At checkout, select the gift wrap option and you can include a short handwritten note. Gift wrapping is $4.95 per parcel. We use plain kraft paper and twine — no excess plastic.

Do your products contain any allergens or harmful substances?

Most of our stationery and drawing products are non-toxic, but some items — particularly oil-based pencils like the Faber-Castell Polychromos range — contain pigments not suitable for young children. Always check the manufacturer's safety notes on the product page or packaging.

Do you offer wholesale or trade accounts?

Yes, we work with independent bookshops, design studios, and schools. Send your business details and estimated monthly volume to wholesale@amberyardco.com and we'll get back to you within 2 business days.

Can I place a custom or bulk order for a specific product?

We can often source specific quantities of products we already carry. Email hello@amberyardco.com with what you need and we'll let you know lead times and pricing. Custom branded or engraved products are not something we offer at this stage.

Are prices on the site inclusive of GST?

Yes, all prices shown on amberyardco.com include GST. Your tax invoice, which shows the GST component, is emailed to you automatically when your order is confirmed.

Customer reviews

• 5/5 “Exactly what I needed” Ordered the Clairefontaine A4 dotted notebook on a Tuesday and it was at my door in Brunswick by Thursday — didn't expect that at all. The paper is as good as the reviews online suggest, no bleed-through with my fountain pen. Will be ordering a few more to stock up.
• 4/5 “Good range, solid service” Picked up the Lamy Safari in charcoal black after seeing it on the site. Arrived well-packaged with no rattling around in the box, which I appreciated. Took about 5 days to Sydney which is reasonable. Would have given 5 stars but I'd love to see more nib size options listed.
• 5/5 “Great pencil set, fast delivery” The Faber-Castell Polychromos 36-colour set arrived in perfect condition — the tin wasn't dented, which has been a problem with other sellers. Being in Queensland, I half-expected it to take a week, but it showed up in three business days. Colours are rich and the pencils sharpen cleanly.
• 4/5 “Happy with the purchase” Grabbed the Rhodia DotPad and a couple of other bits. Shipping to Fremantle took 8 business days on standard, which is about what I'd expect from the east coast. The pad itself is great — the orange cover is a bit bold for my taste but the paper quality is worth it.
• 5/5 “Reliable and well-packed” I've ordered from amberyard three times now and the packing is always solid — no corners bent, nothing loose. The Staedtler Noris Eco pencil set was a gift for my niece and she uses them every day. Nice to find a place that stocks this stuff without it feeling like a big-box stationery chain.
• 5/5 “Fast reply when I had a question” Emailed to ask about the paper weight on the Clairefontaine notebook before ordering and got a clear answer within a few hours. Ordered the same day and had it by the end of the week. Good communication makes a real difference for a small online store.

From the journal

• Why I finally started stocking Clairefontaine notebooks — After three years of customers asking for something that didn't bleed through, I finally tracked down a reliable Australian distributor for Clairefontaine.
• Drawing pencils and what a hinterland winter actually feels like — June and July here in the Noosa Hinterland are cold enough to make you want to sit inside and draw, which is how I ended up testing six different pencil grades in one week.
• How the Rhodia DotPad ended up in the range — I nearly didn't stock the Rhodia DotPad because I thought we had enough A4 options, and then I used one for two weeks and changed my mind.
• Packing orders from a shed in Cooroy, here is how it works — Most people who buy from amberyard have no idea the orders are packed in a corrugated iron shed behind a house in Cooroy, and that's fine by me.
• What the Faber-Castell Polychromos price is actually for — The Polychromos set is the most expensive thing in the range and I want to explain what you're paying for, because I think it's genuinely worth knowing.
• Visiting a paper supplier in South Melbourne last autumn — I flew down to Melbourne in May to meet the distributor who handles most of our European stationery stock, and it was worth the trip.