Category Archives: Notebook Reviews

Review: Kapdaa Offcuts Notebook

The folks at Kapdaa contacted me from India to offer a sample of a very cool concept: notebooks covered in leftover fabrics from clothing. An offcut is the material that remains after the clothing pattern has been cut out. Often it just goes to waste, but Kapdaa uses these remnants to make attractive cloth-bound journals … Continue reading Review: Kapdaa Offcuts Notebook

Review & Giveaway: Palomino Luxury Notebook

The kind folks at Pencils.com sent me a couple of samples of their Palomino Luxury Notebooks. I was excited to try these, as they looked like they were adding some interesting tweaks to the typical notebook, and because I had seen that they were being made in collaboration with the Turkish brand Fabio Ricci, one … Continue reading Review & Giveaway: Palomino Luxury Notebook

Moleskine Monday: Custom Books

It’s become quite common for people to customize Moleskines by having a company logo stamped or printed onto the cover. Sometimes there might even be some custom content inside. But it is relatively rare that actual books are published using a Moleskine notebook as the medium. Here are two that I own: The first is … Continue reading Moleskine Monday: Custom Books

Review and Giveaway: Word. Notebooks from Cool Material

The folks at Cool Material sent me a nice batch of their recently introduced “Word.” notebooks. These are a staple-bound notebook in the vein of Field Notes and the Moleskine cahiers, but with a unique page format. First impressions: I love the cover designs, in cool colors and camouflage patterns. They came packaged very beautifully … Continue reading Review and Giveaway: Word. Notebooks from Cool Material

Review: Piccadilly Softcover Notebook

This is another notebook I bought about 3 years ago and then immediately shelved. When I first examined it after buying it, I pretty much hated it. I bought it because it was cheap and I’d never tried a softcover Piccadilly, though I’d liked using some of their hardcover ones with graph or plain paper. … Continue reading Review: Piccadilly Softcover Notebook

Review: Miquelrius “Boarding” Notebook

I bought this notebook almost 3 years ago and only just recently got around to unwrapping it. I almost didn’t buy it– though I immediately coveted it when I saw it at A.I. Friedman in NYC, it was priced at $17.60, discounted from an even more ridiculous $22! It’s just a pretty standard pocket size … Continue reading Review: Miquelrius “Boarding” Notebook

Review: Calepino Notebook

It’s taken me forever to get around to reviewing these notebooks, despite having basically had someone else write it for me! Below are some comments and photos from Ted, a former addict of the week: Got my order of Calepino today. Basically the french Field Notes. Right down to some of the wording on the … Continue reading Review: Calepino Notebook

Review and Giveaway: Canson XL Mix Media Sketchbook

I think I first came across this notebook on the Blick website. It comes in several sizes, and I was excited to see that one of them was 3.5 x 5.5″, a rare size for sketchbooks. I went to the Blick retail store in Manhattan to see if I could check one out in person, … Continue reading Review and Giveaway: Canson XL Mix Media Sketchbook

Review and Giveaway: Elan Pocket-Size Field Book

I’ve been rather fascinated by field books lately. I first owned one when I was in college– I forget where I bought it, but I stumbled on it in a store, thought it looked cool, and ended up using it for some art classes where its durability came in handy. I hadn’t thought about it … Continue reading Review and Giveaway: Elan Pocket-Size Field Book

Moleskine Monday: Reviewing My Latest

It’s been a while since I actually reviewed a Moleskine notebook, and with all the concerns about quality going downhill, I thought it might be a good time to look at one I am currently using, a plain pocket size notebook (with regular paper, not sketchbook weight) which was purchased in recent months. This is … Continue reading Moleskine Monday: Reviewing My Latest