For investors concerned about the impending AI bubble, a break from digital trends might sound appealing. Consumers are embracing non-digital pursuits: journaling, sudoku, puzzle books and other analogue hobbies are staging a comeback. Michaels, the US craft retailer owned by Apollo, said searches for analogue hobbies including knitting, journaling and painting more than doubled in six months.

Organic sales of Moleskine journals rose over 6 per cent in the first half of the year after years of decline, says its Belgian owner D’Ieteren. London’s high streets have been sprouting fancy stationery shops. Warner Music’s revenue from vinyl, CDs and DVDs grew 15 per cent in its latest quarter after flatlining for years.

Sales of Fujifilm’s Instax instant film cameras rose almost a third last quarter. Sudoku and number puzzles were up over a tenth last year, according to Nielsen IQ. For many large listed companies, their analogue businesses are too small to impact valuation.

But there are a few, more focused ones, that do benefit. Shares in The Works, a tiny UK high street retailer of books, crafts and hobbies, have almost tripled in value this year. Other winners include Newell Brands, which owns Sharpie and Paper Mate pens.

Its shares are up 60 per cent this year as it has returned to growth, driven in large part by its writing division. Games Workshop makes 95 per cent of its revenue from Warhammer miniatures and trades at a bellicose 28 times forward earnings, according to S&P Capital IQ. Betting on analogue pursuits is, in some ways, the ultimate contrarian trade.

AI giants are competing for increasing swaths of our headspace, with the technology becoming ever more capable, and the devices through which we access it ever more advanced. Presented with Apple’s new foldable phone, Open AI’s upcoming home companion and much else besides, consumers may find unhooking from the digital world more and more challenging. But investors may be willing to bet that when they do, they will do so with a vengeance.