Bindewerk, Field Notes, Filofax, Five Star, Hobonichi, Moleskine, My Collection, Paperblanks, Rhodia

Notebook Prices

July 2, 2024 Nifty Notebook 4 Comments

I’ve recently realized that I’ve been blogging about notebooks so long that I’m stuck in the past when I think about prices. The inflation kicked off by COVID and the Ukraine war, and sustained perhaps by some opportunistic corporate greed, has resulted in a lot of price increases for various consumer products over the last few years. Notebooks are included.

I haven’t tracked notebooks prices methodically, but I do remember the standard pocket size Moleskines going from about $10 when I first bought them in the late ’90s/early 2000s, to $12 and then to $15, in the time I’ve been blogging. But then I stopped buying new ones and was only getting old stock on eBay for several years, so I wasn’t paying that much attention to their suggested retail prices. I was shocked to see that a “classic” pocket size Moleskine now has a list price of $19.95. The pocket size sketchbook is back, and both it and the pocket watercolor album are $23.95. This isn’t wildly out of the range of prices for similarly size sketchbooks with high quality paper, but as much as I love the Moleskine sketchbook paper for writing and drawing with gel ink pens, it’s not really comparable to the papers in sketchbooks from, say, Stillman and Birn or Hahnemuhle or other brands that approach that pricing. Limited edition pocket size Moleskines are $25 and up. (And of course larger sizes have even higher prices.)

What about other brands?

When I reviewed a Rhodia Webnotebook in 2009, the suggested retail price was $15. The price is now $17.95. That increase seems relatively modest.

I’m pretty sure the original Field Notes Kraft 3-pack was $9.95 for quite a while, but those are now $12.95.

When I first reviewed the Hobonichi Techo in 2014, it was priced at about $24 (2500 yen). This one could be affected by fluctuating exchange rates as well as inflation, but it’s definitely a lot more expensive now, as $42 was the Jet Pens list price for the 2024 model.

Paperblanks mini size notebooks are now $15.95-$16.95, which seems to be the same as what they were in 2019 (see my review of the Paperblanks Nova Stella Solis). But they were $11.95 in 2013, when I reviewed the Paperblanks Old Leather notebook.

It would be interesting to track the pricing of Filofax organizers over the years. When they were first introduced, they were a premium product, made of beautiful leathers, and they were priced in line with their role as a status symbol. But over time they became more mass-market, using cheaper materials and going for more mass appeal. Their pocket size organizers now start at around $40 and go up to $200+ for special editions or fancy leathers. I wish I had a record of how much I paid for mine, the earliest of which were bought in the 1990s when they were still made in England using good quality leathers. I’m sure those specs would be impossible to offer now for anything near what I paid.

But there are some notebooks that may not have been affected by inflation. When I bought a bunch of Bindewerk linen covered notebooks a few years ago, I felt splurge-y paying $19-20 for them. That now seems like a bargain compared to a Moleskine! And in fact the price on the OrangeArt online store actually seems to have gone down, from $19.00 to $18.50 for the pocket size.

I haven’t tracked the pricing of Travelers Notebooks or other popular notebook brands. Has anyone else kept track of prices changes for their favorite notebooks over the last few years? Let us know in the comments! I’m still trying to get my head around the new normal…

Alwych, Denbigh, Links, My Collection, Nostalgia, Notebook Reviews, Places to Buy Notebooks

Review: Denbigh Notebooks

June 18, 2024 Nifty Notebook 1 Comment

After my recent post about Alwych notebooks, I kept thinking about the Denbigh notebooks sold by the same company. With Alwych looking like it might be discontinued, I wondered how long Denbigh would still be around… and I found myself coming down with a severe case of FOMOAN: Fear of Missing Out on A Notebook!

Fortunately, I know of a great cure for this particular affliction: just buy the notebook. I picked up two small Denbigh notebooks, one a regular lined notebook, and one with A-Z index tabs.

The price on the website is quite cheap, and online ordering is pretty straightforward, except that for orders outside the UK, you have to wait for them to invoice you separately for the shipping. I was worried that it would be expensive, but my total cost for these two notebooks plus shipping from Scotland to the USA ended up being only $15.43.

And look how cute they are!

I of course went for the pocket size at 3.25 x 5.25″, just a bit smaller than a pocket Moleskine as shown below. This is a hard cover designed to look like a 3-piece case binding– I think they were actually made that way at one time, but now it’s just red and black printing on the slightly textured paper that wraps the cover boards. The Denbigh name is stamped in gold foil on the front and spine. The spine also notes the model number and specs.

The cover has squared off corners and and creases near the spine. The other thing you’ll immediately notice about the exterior is the speckled edges. It all gives the Denbigh notebook a very retro feel.

The notebook opens very flat, thanks to the stitched signatures. Inside, the endpapers are a smooth beige paper, with a list of Denbigh notebook models in the front. The term “commercial books” I suppose speaks to why Denbigh may not survive much longer. The various models are designed for old-fashioned business record-keeping, with some having columns for entering cash amounts. Nowadays it would be a bit crazy for any business not to keep all these records on a computer, and even individuals are more likely to use a computer or phone app to track expenses or contact names.

Both notebooks have lined paper, in a pleasing greenish blue. The indexed version has each letter of the alphabet in stepped cutouts– if there’s a technical name for that, I don’t know it! But I do know it must add a lot to the cost of manufacturing these notebooks.

The paper has a smooth and sturdy feel, so I was optimistic about doing pen tests. I had seen a post on the Fountain Pen Network that said Denbigh were recommended over Alwych notebooks for fountain pen friendliness. But that post was from 2011, and the paper must have changed since then: as you can see from my limited pen tests, my notebook is not fountain pen friendly at all, with the ink spreading and bleeding through quite a lot. It works fine with my Uniball Signo RT 0.38 gel pen, though!

I’m glad I snapped up a couple of these notebooks, even if they may have changed from their original specs. I love the old-fashioned feel of them, and it’s nice to have a notebook that feels like it retains some vestiges of its long history.

If you are interested in more of that history, there is a photo of a 1940s Denbigh notebook in this Etsy listing. You can see another one from the late 1960s here (in an article about family diaries that is fascinating in itself!). Denbigh notebooks were originally manufactured by Waverley Stationery. Not sure if this is the same company that exists today and sells the Waverley Scotland notebooks I reviewed a while back. Denbigh notebooks were later taken over by J. R. Reid printers (more about them here). But according to this government site J. R. Reid is “dormant, ” which doesn’t bode well for future supply of Denbigh and Alwych notebooks unless someone else takes over these brands.

Alwych, Denbigh, My Collection, Places to Buy Notebooks

Alwych Notebooks Discontinued?

May 16, 2024 Nifty Notebook 1 Comment

Several years ago, I reviewed a classic Scottish notebook: the Alwych Book.

I bought mine at a shop in New York, but I think they’ve always been easier to find in the UK. However, thanks to some unusual web traffic coming to my review, I noticed that it seems like they may be getting hard to find no matter where you live!

The Alwych website shows many of their products as Out of Stock:

The versions with an A-Z index are available, but all on sale, so maybe they’re being cleared out?

The same company makes another line of retro-looking notebooks under the Denbigh brand name. Looks like some of these ones are going out of stock too:

Amazon has sometimes had listings for Alwych notebooks, but they don’t seem to be available right now. They’re also out of stock at European Paper.

I found a Reddit thread discussing the situation. Sounds like they actually stopped producing these a couple of years ago, and have been telling customers that although they hope to bring them back into production they don’t have any current plans to do so.

I hope this company isn’t going out of business, though I imagine it’s hard for a small, independent brand to survive and compete nowadays in a world dominated by international paper conglomerates. These are charming, well-made notebooks that deserve to live on!

My Collection, new products, Nomad, Notebook Reviews, Places to Buy Notebooks, Resketch

Review: Resketch Notebooks and Stationery

April 30, 2024 Nifty Notebook 2 Comments

I recently received an assortment of samples from Resketch, a Phoenix, Arizona based brand that makes notebooks and other stationery products out of 100% reclaimed paper. I’ll just cut to the chase and say that I love this concept and the products they sent me. The design looks great, and they offer a nice variety of notebook sizes, as well as other handy paper products for desktop use. Let’s take a closer look!

The notebooks I received are a wirebound 7×9″ notebook, a wirebound reporter notebook measuring 4×8″, and a staple-bound pocket journal measuring 3.5×5″. They all have sturdy black covers featuring an R logo on the front cover and the brand name on the back.

resketch notebook review reporter notebook

resketch reporter notebook reclaimed paper

I also received a 5×8″ deskpad and a 3×3″ notepad, both with glue on one edge holding the sheets together. Each has a removable paper brand with more branding and product details.

I love that they used a wire-o binding so that the covers can be flipped over completely. My only beef with the pocket journal is that it’s half an inch shorter than the 3.5 x 5.5″ size I like for staple-bound notebooks, but that’s just my personal preference.

Inside each, you get an assortment of reclaimed paper. If you’re curious about how reclaimed paper is different from recycled paper, here’s how Resketch explains it on their website:

Reclaimed paper is perfectly usable yet unused paper rescued from the waste stream before it is thrown away or recycled.

Recycling programs are great and well-intentioned. However, paper recycling is a chemical and energy-heavy process – it helps us reduce our need for virgin wood fiber which is great, but what if we can delay that process even further? Paper fibers can go through the recycling process roughly 5-7 times before the fibers break down and need to be retired. Worse, there is no real way to tell how often paper fiber has been recycled until it enters the pulping stage. Pulping is the process of breaking down the used paper into pulp, which consists of separating the paper fibers and removing any contaminants. During this stage, the fibers are subjected to mechanical and/or chemical treatments to separate them and create a pulp slurry. Only then do we know the fibers’ quality and strength – if the fibers have undergone significant degradation, they are deemed unsuitable for further recycling.

By rescuing and reclaiming unused yet perfectly usable paper BEFORE it enters the recycling or waste stream, our impact on the environment and Mother Nature becomes much more impactful. After all, we made the paper in the first place – we might as well use it to its fullest potential.

My samples all have a pleasing variety of white and pastel tones, mostly in shades of green and yellow. Some have printing on them, some don’t. I spotted a little bit of writing on one page, but otherwise the paper all feels clean, unused, and un-crumpled. Occasionally there will be a hole punched along an edge.

I love seeing different patterns, sections of architectural plans, grids from some sort of form, and all the other random bits of paper they’ve incorporated. Almost all of the sheets have markings that are very unobtrusive, and if there’s occasional a sheet with topographic lines or something a bit more busy, I’d be happy just doodling on it. This kind of unpredictability might not work for everyone, but I think they have selected their paper carefully enough to make it aesthetically pleasing and very usable.

One thing I’m leaving out of this review is my usual pen tests. The paper in these notebooks has varying weights and textures, so there’s no point in testing one sheet. Dedicated fountain pen users might not want a notebook where you’re not sure how each page will perform in terms of show-through and bleed-through, but if you primarily use gel pens, ballpoints, or pencil, you’ll be fine.

If you find the black covers too minimal, or want just white paper inside, Resketch also sells some limited edition notebooks. These have colorful covers that are each one of a kind, while the inside pages are just plain 20# white paper.

If you’re experiencing a sense of deja vu reading this post, you’re not alone. I knew I’d reviewed something similar in the past, and it finally came back to me: the Nomad Notebooks I bought from a Kickstarter and reviewed in 2019. Those had a similar concept of mixed paper, but it wasn’t necessarily reclaimed paper. That company now seems to be defunct, so if you miss the Nomad aesthetic, Resketch might fill the gap!

The Resketch notebooks I received are reasonably priced at $22 for the notebook, $16 for the reporter, $14 for a set of 3 pocket size journals, $6 for the notepad and $12 for the deskpad. They aren’t the cheapest options for notebooks these sizes, but they aren’t wildly expensive either, and you can feel good about using a US-made product that is keeping paper out of landfills and reusing it in an eco-friendly way. Your local stationery store may not be carrying them yet, so check out their online shop.

You can also throw your hat in the ring for my giveaway of some of these samples! One winner will be randomly selected from entries received by blog comments below. If you also include a link back to a post mentioning both Notebook Stories and Resketch on your own website or social media, I will count you in for two giveaway entries, increasing your chance of winning. Shipping of the prize will be to US ADDRESSES ONLY, please! Deadline for entry is Friday May 10, 2024 at 11:59 EST.

Diary, Nolty, Places to Buy Notebooks, Planner

Where to Buy Nolty Planners

April 9, 2024 Nifty Notebook 1 Comment

I had a question from a commenter about where to buy Nolty planners, and I realized it was probably time to recap this topic, since some of my older posts aren’t up to date on the latest options.

In recent news, I noticed that Jet Pens is now stocking some Nolty planners! This is exciting, but at least for now, they are just offering a limited selection of planners that start in April, in line with the Japanese school year. I’m hoping this means that they’ll stock even more items this coming fall for the 2025 calendar year. They have a nice post with general information about Nolty here.

Kinokuniya is another good place to buy Nolty planners. They stock various Nolty and Pagem planners in their stores, and on their website, if you search under “Japanese books” using the word Nolty and a model number or year, you’ll find a wide range of models, including the leather covered Nolty Gold. These are a special order from Japan, but if you live near a store, you can do store pick-up and not pay for shipping. Shipping is also free if you order over $50 of merchandise. And that isn’t hard to do if you are getting a Nolty Gold! Their price tends to be very high, but if you are getting free shipping for just one or two items, it may be the best option.

If you are ordering multiple Nolty planners, or more expensive items like the Nolty Gold, Nolty’s own online store might be the best option. It helps a lot to have the Google Translate plug-in on your browser if you don’t speak Japanese! Searching can sometimes be tricky but if you know the model number you are looking for, just pop it into the search bar they have towards the bottom of the home page linked above. They have a World Shopping plug-in that makes international orders very easy, as it automatically consolidates items into a shopping cart. World Shopping is a 3rd party forwarder who basically buys the items for you and then charges you for shipping them to your destination. Make sure the items you want are all in stock and read the terms and conditions carefully to make sure it’s right for you. I have found that for a large enough purchase, the cost can be lower than going through Kinokuniya.

Finally, keep an eye on Amazon.com. I’ve seen the Nolty Gold listed there for a very attractive price. I haven’t ordered this way and my only hesitation is that Amazon is notorious for selling counterfeit items. If the price seems too good to be true, I sometimes wonder if the item is authentic. But sometimes low prices can be a quirk of their algorithms and you might get lucky.

Nolty planners can also turn up on eBay, Etsy, and other sites. Start searching early in the fall so you can compare prices and shipping costs and make the best choice on where to buy Nolty for your individual situation!

Diary, Filofax, Journal, Moleskine, My Collection, Nolty, Organization, Personal, Sketchbook

Every Day Carry Notebooks

March 26, 2024 Nifty Notebook 13 Comments

It goes without saying that at least one notebook has always and will always be part of my every day carry— EDC for short. While I might go for a 20-minute walk in the neighborhood without a notebook, at all other times, I have to have one nearby. But lately I’ve been having some serious dilemmas about how many and which notebooks should be part of my EDC.

First of all, how do we define EDC anyway? I work from home, so most days I don’t have to carry anything too far! I’m talking about the notebooks I have closest at hand for constant usage. I carry them around the house every day, so they’re almost always in the same room. When I go out somewhere, I like to keep my bag relatively light, so depending on what I’m doing/where I’m going, I might not carry the same full set of notebooks in my bag… but that’s part of my dilemma.

Over the years, my habits have morphed from just carrying one notebook to carrying several. In the 1990s, the one notebook was a Filofax that also served as a wallet. Then it was a Moleskine sketchbook, used for all sorts of jottings, while other info, appointments, etc. were maintained in an electronic organizer. At some point this turned into two Moleskines (or similar), usually a squared notebook used as a journal and logbook, and a sketchbook strictly for drawing. Then a dated planner entered the mix, for logging and jotting important dates. When the dated planner became a Nolty, it became my home for logging, noting appointments, keeping short term lists on each weekly spread, and long term lists in the supplemental notebook in the back.

For the last several years, I’ve settled into a solid habit of 3 EDC notebooks: the journal, the sketchbook, and the Nolty planner. But I kept having this hankering to add a looseleaf notebook into the mix, and recently the Filofax Guildford Extra Slim has joined my EDC bundle.

It fits in really nicely, in a physical sense. It’s exactly the same size as the rest. I’ve filled it with Plotter inserts, so it’s aesthetically pleasing in terms of the colors and page layout, and I can use fountain pens without having to worry about bleed-through.

The dilemma is that this feels like a lot of notebooks now. It’s a nice handful, but a bit chunky! And somewhat heavier and bulkier than ideal for my bag. I find myself wanting to be a bit more minimal. But what would I leave out?

I want to continue to keep a journal in a bound notebook. I like being able to go back to a bound notebook that is specific to a date range. But maybe I could just leave it on my desk or nightstand and confine most of my journaling to those moments? If I wrote notes in the Filofax and wanted to save them, I could remove those pages and attach them at the appropriate place in the journal.

What about the sketchbook? Lately I haven’t been drawing every day. But I feel like I should be! I don’t want to combine sketches with my journaling, as I like being able to show people my sketches without also exposing my private musings. And I want a certain kind of paper for sketching. My current sketchbook is also just very nice to hold– it’s one of my older Moleskines from the early 2000s when they were so well made with zero overhang.

Could I leave out the Nolty? A lot of what I write in it is logging food, exercise and other habits, which I could record at the end of each day, but I also use it for lists and planning. I keep some of these notes in the Filofax or my journal, but I really love the format of the Nolty and the feel of the leather cover. I don’t want to give it up.

At the moment, the Filofax is what seems redundant. The notes that I’m keeping in the Filofax could go somewhere else, mostly in the Nolty. But I’m thinking that maybe for 2024 I will not set up the Nolty with all my usual long-term lists. Keeping those in the Filofax may work better because if I run out of space, I can just add pages, rather than having to skip elsewhere in the supplemental booklet. If I wasn’t carrying the Filofax, I could use the Nolty as a sort of in-box for all the things I want to add to long term lists. I don’t like the inefficiency of having to jot something down twice, but the reality is that I end up having to re-copy whole lists every couple of years anyway– I tend to use the supplemental notebooks for two years but by then the long-term lists are running out of space or have too many obsolete items, so I end up re-writing them in a new booklet when I start a year in a new Nolty planner.

I also keep some long-term lists and all my appointments in my phone, which makes a lot more sense for these kinds of things in many ways. But that’s not much fun for a notebook lover, is it?

The best thing about using a Filofax or other kinds of leather refillable notebooks for an all-in-one system is that they break in and get better over time. I also enjoy that about the leather Nolty planner. Leather binders can last for decades if they’re well taken care of, but nice ones are expensive, and not as replaceable as a Moleskine or Nolty. My Guildford Extra Slim seems to be quite a rare model and I can’t help worrying that I’d never be able to replace it if I lost it. This is probably an unreasonable paranoia given that I don’t think I’ve lost a notebook since 7th grade. It’s also unreasonable because I have several other really nice refillable notebooks that I’d be happy to have an excuse to use on a daily basis!

My dilemma comes down to choosing between my enjoyment of staying organized efficiently using a notebook best suited to my purposes, and my enjoyment of just… using lots of nice notebooks, just because. Every day carry is not necessarily every day use for me. And maybe every day use doesn’t have to mean every day carry? Either way, it’s every day admiration and adoration of all the things there are to love about notebooks!

So for 2024, my every day carry will probably continue to be 4 notebooks on a pretty regular basis, but I’ll allow myself some breaks. They’ll always be with me around the house, but when I go out, sometimes I’ll just carry the Nolty, or maybe add one or two others depending on my plans. We’ll see how it goes! Who knows, maybe I’ll find a fifth notebook that I can’t be without…

Diary, Nolty, Notebook Reviews, Organization, Pagem, Places to Buy Notebooks, Planner, record-keeping

2024 Pagem Planner Review

March 18, 2024 Nifty Notebook Leave a comment

When I placed this year’s Nolty order from Japan, I decided to throw in one of their Pagem planners. Pagem is a brand that seems to be aimed more at women, as many of their designs have pastel colors and floral patterns rather than the very conservative Nolty options. Colorful, patterned, “feminine” covers are not usually my thing. But this particular Pagem planner is pretty minimalist and came in black, so I couldn’t resist trying something that was a little bit new and different.

The Pagem planner is a little outside of my normal notebook/planner preferences in a lot of ways, so I was surprised I liked it so much. I’ve actually started using it for my job, and I think a lot of people might enjoy this format for general planning purposes. Let’s take a look!

This is the Pagem model #2203. I got the black version, but other colors are available (model numbers 2201-2210 are pretty much this format in other colors, though some seem to have a different weekly calendar layout). (A few options are available on Amazon.)

The exterior cover is a detachable clear plastic. It protects the planner insert, while giving you some pockets and a pen loop. Then inside the plastic, there is a textured paper wrap. This layer of paper is presumably the only difference between the various colors that are available.

Then inside plastic and the paper wrap is the planner book itself. It is raw-looking without the cover, but it could easily be swapped into a different cover. The separate cover and the stitched binding of the booklet allows the planner to lie flat quite easily, which is important to me for a work notebook that I will be keeping on my desk. Once it is open, you immediately notice the row of colored stepped index tabs down the side. This makes it really easy to jump to each month of the year.

But before you get to the monthly sections, there are pages with a tiny yearly calendar through June 2026, and a 2024 yearly plan page. The monthly sections begin with some pages for December 2023, then the first colored tab corresponds to a month-on-two-pages layout for January. Then you get week-on-two-pages layouts for January, followed by a couple of lined pages for free form notes. This is repeated for each month, so you have great options for planning your year and each month, and getting into more granular appointments and tasks within each week. The lined pages at the end could be used for random notes or lists, or recording specific tasks or accomplishments for each month. It seems very Bullet Journal-friendly. It also seems to use the same paper as the Nolty Efficiency Notebook. I didn’t do a full range of pen tests, but it is fountain pen friendly.

After the monthly sections, there are some pages where you can jot items for the first 3 months of 2025, more blank pages, and some size charts, an Age Chart, and a “Health Check Calendar,” which perhaps is meant for tracking one’s menstrual cycle, as there’s not room for much else!

Like other Nolty planners, the Pagem 2203 has a supplemental booklet in the back. This one has some reference info in Japanese, a few pages for addresses and telephone numbers, lined pages, and some perforated memo pages so you can neatly tear out a small piece.

Tucked in the back pocket, the planner also includes a sheet of Japanese transit maps, and some clear plastic tab protectors. The colored monthly tabs already have a glossy coating on them, but maybe these are intended to add extra protection.

The Pagem planner has two ribbon markers, similar to the ones used in the regular Nolty notebooks, but these are white and beige. Another key difference is the size– it’s taller and thicker than the other Nolty notebooks I’ve used. Below you can see the size comparison vs. the Nolty Gold Efficiency Notebook and a pocket size Moleskine.

I’d personally prefer the day blocks in the weekly layout to be unlined, but I think this layout will work well for me in other ways. I work Monday-Thursday, so with those days on the left side, I can jot down meetings and tasks assigned to each day. Then I can use the whole facing page for additional notes and tasks. (As noted above, some similar Pagem models have a different weekly layout: model 2209, for example, has the seven days of the week on the left side, and a lined notes page on the right.)

I started writing this review in January, before I’d really used the Pagem planner much. Now it’s already March, and I can say that this notebook is definitely working well for me. There are times when I’d wish to have more space for meeting notes. (I still keep a larger dot-grid notebook on my desk that I can use for those if needed, but I like keeping them in line with my notes and task lists from the same date range when possible.) I’m finding the weekly layout a nice way to focus and organize what I have to accomplish each week, slotting tasks into particular days. And I like having a smaller work notebook that is easier to take with me if I travel. At a recent conference I attended, the pockets in the cover handy for tucking business cards. Will I buy another one for 2025? Too soon to say. Now that I’ve gotten over my fear of using a pocket size notebook for my work tasks, maybe I’ll use another Nolty planner for my job. Or maybe I’ll come across some other interesting planner that I want to try. We shall see! But the Pagem planner is certainly an appealing option that will be in consideration.

If you want to try one, I’m seeing some listed on Amazon for $16.35 as of this writing, with free shipping.

Diary, Nolty, Places to Buy Notebooks, Planner

2024 Nolty Gold Planner, Low Price and Free Shipping!

January 6, 2024 Nifty Notebook 1 Comment

If you’ve wanted to try a Nolty Gold planner but haven’t wanted to deal with shipping from Japan and high prices, now might be your moment!

I just spotted a listing on Amazon.com for the model 3121 that I use, the 95 x 145mm size, with a gorgeous leather cover. The price I am seeing as of this writing is $45.86 with free shipping. That is a lot less than any other price I’ve seen for US delivery. Snag it while you can! 2024 is still young!

This post contains affiliate links, from which I earn a small commission on any purchases.

Canson, creativity, Daler Rowney, Other People's Notebooks, Sketchbook, Stillman & Birn

A Notebook in the Movie Elf!

December 22, 2023 Nifty Notebook 1 Comment

I had never seen the movie Elf. The 20th anniversary re-release has had people talking about it, and several people I know said it was their favorite Christmas movie, so I decided to watch it. It was pretty cute, but of course my favorite part was the appearance of a notebook!

The notebook belongs to the character Miles Finch, a children’s book author who has filled it with story ideas.

I would guess that the notebook in the movie is a very common 4×6″ hardcover sketchbook similar to ones made by various manufacturers, such as Canson, Stillman & Birn, Daler Rowney, and Artlicious, among others.

There’s also a “Miles Finch” notebook for sale on Amazon, which is a cute idea, but it doesn’t sound like the same type of notebook at all, as it is larger than the one in the movie. It’s basically just a 6×9″ paperback lined notebook that says Miles Finch on the cover.

Hope your holidays are happy and full of notebook sightings!

Daler Rowney, My Collection, Notebook Reviews, Places to Buy Notebooks, Sketchbook

Notebook Review: Daler Rowney Pocket Sketchbook

December 13, 2023 Nifty Notebook 2 Comments

I first heard about the Daler Rowney Pocket Sketchbook on an art supply website somewhere– unfortunately I’ve lost the link, but it was a glowing review that got me very intrigued, especially since it was said to be available at a very low price from Walmart. It took me a few tries to find a Walmart store that actually had one on the shelf, but let’s take a look at the one I bought.

My first impressions of this notebook were really not promising. It has a very standard black Moleskine-clone look but with a rather cheap feel to it, with the exterior reminding me of the Piccadilly notebooks I bought years ago. The branding is all on a removable paper band except for the Daler Rowney name stamped on the back cover. So many notebook brands mark their name in this spot, but oddly, Daler Rowney doesn’t center theirs in the middle of the back cover like everyone else, instead putting it to the side, sort of centered between the elastic band and the spine.

What bugs me most about the Daler Rowney sketchbook is that the corners are a little askew and there is a huge overhang. The spine seems like it will be susceptible to splitting where it bends.

The Daler Rowney is shown compared to an early-2000s Moleskine sketchbook below:

Daler Rowney simply pocket sketchbook vs Moleskine sketchbook

Inside, the Moleskine-ish-ness continues with a ribbon marker and a back pocket.

The paper also has a creamy tone and smooth texture (described as “medium grain”) similar to a Moleskine sketchbook. But there the similarities end. The Daler Rowney sketchbook paper feels thinner than Moleskine’s sketchbook paper. But Daler Rowney’s paper is 100 GSM, and it actually works really well with a variety of materials! Fountain pens, markers, gel ink, pencil– all my usual tests resulted in better than average performance on show-through, and no bleed-through or feathering except for the Super Sharpie. I also tested some moderate watercolor usage and it seemed fine, without the paper disintegrating or warping too much. This would be a great sketchbook to use as a visual journal where writing and sketching could be combined with marker or watercolors. (And it’s a huge improvement over the last Daler Rowney sketchbook I reviewed in 2014!)

Daler Rowney sketchbook fountain pen test

Daler Rowney sketchbook pen test no bleedthrough

Best of all, this sketchbook is an incredible bargain! At Walmart, it’s only $5.84, and a pocket size softcover is also available for $2.17. You can also find Daler Rowney sketchbooks in various sizes and binding types on Amazon— most are very inexpensive, but for some reason this exact 3.5 x 5.5″ hardcover sketchbook costs a lot more on Amazon.

I can’t 100% recommend this sketchbook due to the construction feeling a little inferior– if I have a chance to use it for an extended period and feel that it holds up well, I’ll update this review, but aside from my suspicions about its durability, it’s just not ideal aesthetically. However, if you want a budget-friendly Moleskine alternative that you can pick up at your local Walmart, this is a great option!

Notebooks, journals, sketchbooks, diaries: in search of the perfect page…