In search of the perfect page
I’ve been intrigued by the Leuchtturm brand of notebooks ever since spotting them online, I forget where. As of a few months ago, they didn’t have a US distributor, but they are now working with Kikkerland, and their products are starting to show up at retailers, including Journaling Arts. All products listed here.
Who knew? I was already familiar with JD’s excellent blog Get Rich Slowly, but I didn’t know he was a notebook addict:
Read more here, or view the annotated Flickr image here.
I don’t often go to Target, so when I recently did, I was excited to see what sorts of funky stationery they might offer. They had a nice section of colorful notebooks and office supplies, all at very reasonable prices. But of course, the items I purchased ended up being my usual plain black 3.5 x 5.5″ notebooks! It’s not as if I need any new notebooks right now– I have a huge backlog, enough to last for years. But here’s what I felt compelled to buy:
I’d never seen this brand of Cahier-like notebooks before, branded “Noted”. I like the faux crocodile cover, which seems sturdy and substantial, with a pocket in the back. Like many of these thin, no-elastic notebooks, the cover says open a bit, at least when it’s new.
And the paper is nice and smooth! It’s a bit more creamy in color than Moleskine paper, but the graph ruling is the same size. It felt great to write on it with roller ball pens, though there was more show-through than I’ve had with other notebooks.
At 64 pages, the notebook is thinner than the Moleskine or Kikkerland Writersblok equivalents, but the 3-pack was only $3.99, which is a great deal. They were also available lined, and in larger sizes, and in blue, red, and purple, and perhaps other colors I didn’t see, as there weren’t very many on the shelf.
Branded “Noted,” Distributed by Devrian Global Industries, made in China. I haven’t been able to find these on sale anywhere other than at Target.
Then I finally gave in and bought one of these Markings notebooks– I’d never been all that tempted by the lined ones I’d seen at Staples, which I thought looked a bit cheap, somehow. But the graph paper version was new to me, and more appealing, so I decided to give one a try.
For $6.69, I’m actually quite impressed. I was nervous that the stickers on the cover would leave a gummy residue, but they peeled off cleanly. I didn’t love the exterior stitching when I first saw these, but it’s kind of growing on me, as it lends a retro look. The elastic seems strong, though the holes it’s attached through are rather large, which I find a bit ugly. The usual features are included: a space in the front to write your name, a ribbon marker, and a pocket in the back.
The paper inside the Markings journal is almost as smooth as the Noted paper, way better than the Kikkerland Writersblok, as good or better than Piccadilly, and quite comparable to Moleskine in color and texture. The graph lines are exactly the same size as in a Moleskine, but they seem slightly sharper and darker. I liked the way it worked with all my favorite pens– it’s always a good sign when I start doodling on my test page! And show-through wasn’t too bad, maybe a little better than a Moleskine. I didn’t test this with a fountain pen, but according to some user comments at the Fountain Pen Network the Markings journals may work well with them, at least with some inks.
My only complaint is that the back pocket seems a bit odd–they may have placed it too close to the outside of the notebook, or maybe it’s just very thick in the corners in combination with the way the cover material is gathered when it wraps over the corners of the cardboard underneath.
The notebook says it “lays flat when open,” and though it’s still a bit stiff from lack of use, it does seem to open quite wide without any separation of the first and last signatures.
The cover texture is a little shinier than a Moleskine– it’s supposed to be made of “bonded leather,” which they say is “80% genuine cowhide fibers and 20% non-leather materials.” I don’t know how that Frankensteinish concoction is assembled, but it looks nice enough on the notebook– a little shinier than most Moleskine-type notebooks I’ve tried, at least in its brand-new state. And it actually has a trace of that yummy leather smell.
All in all, a pretty nice product at a great price– I never thought I’d say this after my own initial impressions and Black Cover’s disparaging review, but I think I’ll try this one as my next daily notebook.
192 pages, branded Markings by C. R. Gibson, made in China. If you can’t find them at your local Target (where they are $6.69), the manufacturer sells them for $5.72 online, and shipping costs for multiple units may work out to be reasonable.
Nothing like an afternoon spent sitting on the deck, with some nice plants and a stack of notebooks to review…
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Today’s addict just completed a big household clean-up, including emptying out her 9.5 lb. purse, which turned out to contain 7 notebooks and journals:
For more photos and tales of her organizational activities, read more at Jamie’s blog, Inspired Mess.
Here’s an appealing website featuring stationery from France and beyond: Skripta-Paris. The site is in English and offers approximate US dollar conversions for their prices. (What you’ll actually pay is based on Euro prices converted at the prevailing rate by your credit card company.)
I liked the look of a few products I saw, including these leatherette notebooks with elastic closure, the Flyer by Addex:
Then there’s the refillable modular leather notebook by X47, made in Germany:
Here’s the other brands they list on their “notebooks and albums” page:
Moleskine
THE legendary notebook that was used by the European artists and intellectuals of the XXth century: from Van Gogh to Matisse, from Ernest Hemingway to Bruce Chatwin…
View all products
Tout Noté-Paris
Exclusive French notebooks with numerous variations of original materials in hype colors, with classic binded or spiral bindings, and an exclusive refillable system
Jim Thompson
Refined and precious accessories made in pure Thai silk
Apica
Lines of notebooks from Japan with pure designs: retro, ethnic, zen, natural or contemporary spirits, with an excellent smooth paper for everyday notes or sketches
Addex
Beautiful leatherette notebooks with an elastic band
Nava Design-Milan
Notebooks with a great Italian design from Milan
L’Atelier des Tuileries-Paris
Beautiful stationery in lines that match your lifestyle
SKRIPTA-Paris selection
Smart ideas to write, selected by SKRIPTA-Paris
X47
Beautiful notebooks with a smart and exclusive binding system that allows to customize your perfect notebook with the available refills
Graf von Faber-Castell
Beautiful leathers for luxurious pocket notepads
Leuchtturm1917 (notebooks in moleskine)
A great alternative choice to the famous Hemingway’s notebooks: comparable quality with super extra features!
Mark’s Inc.
A full range of exclusive, handy and smart notebooks, with the fun spirit from Japan
I wish I had known about this store when I visited Paris last fall!
Here’s a use for notebooks I hadn’t considered: documenting martial arts information. On the Martial Arts Planet forums, Shadowfax asks:
How many of you keep a journal or notebook about your art(s)?
I’ve been keeping a journal with diagrams showing various forms, especial fine details, notes from seminars, thoughts about sparing matches, and so on.
I’ve found that being able to review all of this information away from the school floor is really helpful not only in improving but in understanding the purpose of various aspects of my art.
Is this unusual?
My notebook(s) tend to sit in my equipment bags, and I’ve been seen perusing them or writing in them during breaks between classes and I’ve been getting some crap for it as of late. Not that this bothers me so much - I have these folks respect on the floor — it is just good natured ribbing. But it has caused me to wonder how unusual this habit might be.
I’m sure there’s someone else out there using a notebook for this purpose… anyone?
I think this photo is adorable:
It’s from a blog called The Lily Pad, where the child’s mother writes:
Her favorite thing is notebooks. Big notebooks, tiny notebooks, spiral notebooks, journals, blank pages, lined pages; she loves them all. I hope the love of art and writing and her imagination and creativity stay with her all her life.
Read more here.
My parents have said I was always going around with little folded up bits of paper and I remember loving notebooks from my earliest days. How about you? Did your notebook fetish start before you could walk?
