From the Mailbag: Questions and Tips from Readers

Time once again to try to help each other out by crowd-sourcing some notebook questions!

Toby writes:
The enclosed picture is of my favorite notebook, well the notebook is a few weeks old but the cover I have carried since I was fifteen, everyday it goes in my left pocket and more of my most cherished ideas are inscribed into it. I have taken it everywhere everyday, even overseas…but alas it is falling apart. Rather than carry it to complete ruin I am looking to replace it so that I may have what remains as a memento. Please tell me if you know where I may find a cover that is similar.

IMG_20150922_224905
I haven’t seen notebook covers for sale in this particular format, where a top-opening pad fits into a side-opening leather cover. But maybe Etsy would be a good place to search for someone who could make one? I did a quick search and spotted a seller called CLWorkshop who offers handmade leather journals and says “If you wanna special size journal cover, pls let us know your book’s size, length, width, thickness, we will give you the best price.” Anyone else have any ideas?

 

Armelle, who lives in the south of France, is looking for advice on a business idea:
I always loved note books, and recently I thought of making my own.. and even to make some for others. I would like to find out how to make spiral bound note books, with hard cover (so that one can easily write on it, even if on one’s knees when one doesn’t have a table). I’m ready to invest a bit in the business by buying some binding machine. But as my financial situation is pretty difficult these days, I can not take much risk. I would like to hear others experience.
It looks like you can buy such machines online for as little as a few hundred dollars but I’m not sure how sturdy they’d be for a business. Can these machines punch through thick covers as well as sheets of paper? Has anyone tried this and do you have any advice for Armelle?

 

TonyB is looking for a journal with tabs that stick out to divide it into different subjects:

I’m tired of juggling three or four journals all the time. It’s a pain to keep up with and the cat keeps knocking them off my desk. I’m looking for one journal that I can use for all subjects. Something with good-quality lined paper and tabs (the kind that stick out), under $15 hopefully. Ideally, something like this, but maybe with a better binding and not so expensive.
A good old-fashioned refillable binder like a Filofax or Franklin Planner is one idea to consider. The paper they come with might not be ideal, but they sell hole-punchers that match their rings so you could insert your own favorite paper. My other idea would be to find a notebook whose paper you like and then add your own removable tabs (such as these to divide it into sections. This would work best if the notebook has a wider cover overhang, so the tabs are somewhat protected. Otherwise, I can’t think of any good-quality notebooks that have divider tabs. Any reader suggestions for Tony?

 

Iñigo wrote to share a couple of notebook-related tips, including one about Jackie Collins, who has since died, sadly:

I’m writing from Spain. I live in the border with France, so I get to buy Spanish AND French notebook brands…
1. Apparently, author Jackie Collins writes EVERY book by hand and has a secretary that types it the next day. I couldn’t find the interview where she tells it but, I found a picture of her with her hand written books. Here: 
2. In the teenage tv series Gossip Girl, there is an episode where one characters diaries leak to the internet. 
The notebook apparently is from Tiffany’s, and in a scene you can see that she has used the exact same notebook (which is great for symmetry lovers like me) and how she stores them. I’m sure I would like to do it if I had space and money. 
The notebook/diary:
http://www.ladyjuliet.com/wp-content/uploads/tiffanydiary9.jpg
Storage: https://thehunt.insnw.net/app/public/system/note_images/903811/original/39c297e4f18ea5b2616fbad9cb113a82.png
And the scene. You can see it from minute 1:53:

Stefán shares this notebook brand I’d not heard of:
La Papeterie d’Italie, which “designs handcrafted notebooks made by artisans in one of the oldest paper mills in Italy.”

As always, thanks to everyone who writes in with questions and tips, and for your patience with me getting a chance to post them!

6 thoughts on “From the Mailbag: Questions and Tips from Readers”

  1. @ Toby

    You might check Rite in the Rain web site. They have a leather cover for 3×5 reporter style notebooks I think might work.

  2. @ Armelle,

    I recently started my own business creating notebooks and guestbooks with spiral binding. I am not taking any risk and am buying things as I go along and sell more books. My books are from recycled cartons, paper and fish skin from Icelandic salmon and no two books look exactly the same and my binding machine manages to punch through the whole lot. Simply love what I do and I do believe I am doing something good for the environment as well by recycling paper for the cover and using recycled paper.
    You can take a look at some of the books at http://www.mistur.is
    Really like following this page :)
    Þórunn

  3. Thanks for the tips, guys. Those tabs look like they might do the trick with just about any notebook, so that’s perfect.

  4. @TonyB
    Maybe try the Midori Traveler’s Notebook? I think that that could work really well!

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