A notebook belonging to artist Larry Rivers illustrates an essay by Nicholas Martin about Rivers’ 1961 painting “Parts of the Face: French Vocabulary Lesson.” Rivers responded to the prospect of making paintings for a living by skipping town to Paris in 1950 for ‘a half year of deliberating whether I should continue a life devoted … Continue reading Larry Rivers’ Notebook
Some very intriguing notebook pages were sent to me by a reader named Khang, with this background information: A friend of mine recently sent me several notebooks entries written by Vietnamese and French soldiers aboard the Kilinski, a Polish cargoship. Following the end of fighting in 1954, the ship made trips between North and South … Continue reading Notebook Entries from French and Vietnamese Soldiers
A new collection of colorful Smythson notebooks: “When Smythson approached the graphic artist Vahram Muratyan to design a set of notebooks — carte blanche — Muratyan ran with that freedom. “It occurred to me that I could take those words — those French phrases that we use in English — and place them above the … Continue reading Smythson Notebooks by Vahram Muratyan
Isabelle Moreau makes some gorgeous notebooks and albums with leather and cloth covers. Not cheap, but beautiful! “Notebooks, photo albums or even agendas, discover our unique craft of paper shop items, handmade and 100% made in France !” See more at Catalogue : pick and customize your own paper shop products – Isabelle Moreau
These are rather gorgeous: “The Villa Médicis notebooks by Astier de Villatte are printed with beguiling photographs from the palace gardens.In 1803, Napoléon Bonaparte moved his exclusive French Academy to Rome’s storied Villa Medici. Since then, the Italian Renaissance villa that overlooks the ancient city has housed generations of creative minds, including Jean-ÂAugusteÂ-Dominique Ingres, Claude … Continue reading Astier de Villatte Villa Medici Notebooks
A beautiful old notebook containing the recollections of Alfred Gougeon, a French stretcher-bearer in World War 1. It sounds like he kept daily notes during the war, and then returned to them in the 1960s to write more about his experiences, given the two sets of dates on the cover. His family kept 3 of … Continue reading Diary of a WWI Soldier
A beautiful set of notebooks, one lined, one plain and one squared: Spotted at the French online shop Papier Tigre, where they have a lot of other gorgeous designs too!
I just subscribed to a newsletter from French style icon Ines de la Fressange, in which she recommends various finds– mostly clothing, beauty products and housewares, etc., but I was also happy to spot this plug for a French bookshop that apparently has a great selection of notebooks! It’ll be on my list of place … Continue reading Ines de la Fressange Collects Notebooks
An interesting article about the different types of school supplies typically used by students in various countries, including, of course, a few notebooks. In Norway, this “kladblok” is typical: And here are some notebooks used in a French school: Read more at School supplies used by students around the world.
No long review today, just a quickie giveaway, courtesy of our friends at Exaclair/ Rhodia! They have just introduced some new pads in a slick new color scheme: white and silver, cool and slick for the summer! I love their classic orange, but this is gorgeous too! To enter, leave a comment about what you … Continue reading Giveaway!! Rhodia Ice