They come equipped with sketch pads, pencils, and patience. You’ll find them sitting in a group for hours at a time, watching the frenetic action of a public space and sketching what they see, their lines revealing the atmosphere and motion of a moment in time.
They are urban sketchers…
And some of them are in Memphis:
 Read more at Getting it down: Memphis Urban Sketchers – The Memphis Blog.
Another beautiful Moleskine notebook gallery on the Behance site, this one by Anna Rusakova. I love the collage/scrapbook elements and the detailed art.
See more at my moleskine on the Behance Network.
This week’s addict was another Flickr find. Lots of color and variety in this collection!
See more on Flickr.
Paul, a former Addict of the Month, sent me a couple of interesting notebook stories:
First, a link to some info about the Jesse Owens Exhibit at a library at Ohio State. From Paul:Â
“In Thompson Library on the Ohio State campus, I saw the travel diary of Jesse Owens, for his 1936 trip to the Olympics in Germany. The card in the display case says, however, that it’s not a very exciting read. Owens wrote mundane entries about his cabin on the ocean liner, the food, etc., his room in the Olympic Village, and had discontinued writing in it by the time the Games started.”
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He also told me about his lucky finds at a local flea market– or rather, free market:
I struck pay dirt at the Really, Really Free Market at the end of June. I was five notebooks richer when I left. I took five spiral-bound planners, advertising two Greek-letter organizations (Chi Omega sorority and Phi Delta Theta fraternity) and three colleges (Southern Methodist University, St. Bonaventure University, and Seattle Pacific University). I attended none of these, and belonged to neither organizations, but their notebooks are quite handsome. I will overlook the pre-printed dates in the planners as I use them to jot down ideas for future fiction and poetry projects, and will carry at least one in my “portable office” bag at all times–along with other necessities such as my diary, library books, address book, pens, and camera.
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Thanks again to a great notebook reporter at large!
There are so many different kinds of paper artists can use, and so many materials that demand different surfaces. When you’re in an art supply shop, there are multiple options for loose sheets and large spiral-bound sketchpads, but when it comes to smaller hardcover sketchbooks, each brand only seems to offer one option… why? You’d have to shop around and test different brands to find one that works for you… or at least that was the case until Stillman & Birn came on the scene.
Stillman & Birn’s slogan is “paper matters.” While one artist may want a smooth paper for fine pen & ink drawings, another will want a rough surface for charcoal, or a thick paper that will stand up to watercolors. Stillman & Birn’s sketchbooks offer a variety of options to suit all preferences:
Paper weight: heavy, or extra heavy
Paper color: natural white or ivory
Binding: hardcover or wirebound
Paper surface: rough, vellum, or plate
They have boiled down various combinations of these options into 5 series of sketchbooks–Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon– each of which is available in several sizes, from 4×6″ up to 11×14″.
Let’s take a look at the samples they sent me to test out:
First impressions: the covers are nice and sturdy, with squared corners. The material is a bit smoother than other similar sketchbooks. Each has a paper band outlining the characteristics of the paper within. Otherwise, the only branding is a stamped logo on the back cover. The wirebound sketchbooks are a nice option for when you want to completely fold back the cover. The hardcover sketchbooks don’t open as totally flat as some other brands I’ve tried, particularly in the smaller sizes, but this may be due to the thicker paper.
All the papers performed beautifully– the extra heavy paper did not buckle at all with the watercolors, and even the dreaded Super Sharpie was 99.9% undetectable in terms of show-through unless you’re holding the paper up to the light. Even the heavy weight paper was better for show-through than almost anything else I’ve tried. The regular heavy weight paper only buckled a little with watercolor. All the papers held up to erasing. The rougher surfaces work nicely with charcoal, and yet still feel good to write on with a fine point pen. The surface didn’t deteriorate with multiple layers of watercolor or markers.
My only concern is that my pH test pen showed a couple of the sketchbooks not to be acid-free– if it turns purple, the paper is acid-free, if it stays yellowish, it’s not. I was surprised by this, as I’ve rarely had notebooks fail this test. The Beta sketchbook (extra heavy weight, natural white, rough surface) and Epsilon sketchbook (heavy weight, natural white, plate surface) were the ones that failed, and the only thing those papers have in common is the color. But Stillman & Birn say all their sketchbooks are “archival quality” and “pH neutral” so I hope they’ll address this with tighter quality control on their paper. [UPDATE 9/7: the owner of the company immediately contacted me upon seeing this review. They test their batches of paper when they arrive and are addressing the pH issue with the manufacturer in Europe to understand how this may have happened.]
I really enjoyed testing these, as I had to break out some art supplies I hadn’t used in a while, and the way they performed on these papers inspired me to want to use them more! I hope some of you will also feel similarly inspired by this giveaway: the folks at Stillman & Birn have generously offered to send an 8.5×11″ hardbound sketchbook from the Alpha series to 5 randomly selected winners who enter in any of the following ways:
On Twitter, tweet something containing “@StillmanandBirn†and “@NotebookStories.â€
On Facebook, “like†the Notebook Stories page and the Stillman and Birn page, and post something containing the words “Stillman & Birn†on my wall.
On your blog, post something containing the words “Stillman & Birn†and “NotebookStories†and link back to this post.
And for those who don’t have these other options available to them, you can also enter by leaving a comment on this post.
Since we can have 5 winners, I will pick at least one winner from each entry method above.
The deadline for entry is Friday September 9 at 11:59PM, EST. Good luck everyone!
And if you don’t win, here’s the list of retailers currently stocking Stillman & Birn sketchbooks. (You might want to snap some up fast, as the company is based in New Jersey and their warehouse and offices were heavily damaged by Hurricane Irene. I hope this won’t interrupt their supply too much!)
David Fullarton is one of my favorite notebook artists. He usually works in engineer’s notebooks, but now he’s given Moleskine a whirl:
I was never a big fan of Moleskine notebooks. They always seemed so damn precious and overpriced with their pretentious history printed inside and that fancy-dan knicker elastic to keep your place. But someone gave me one for nothing a couple of years ago, and since it was free I used it. A lot. And I have to admit I ended up liking it. Almost enough to actually pay for the next one.
See more at Moleskine on the Behance Network and at David Fullarton’s website.
This week’s addict got my attention through a post on the Notebook Stories Facebook page, where she linked to the first in a series of posts about her notebook collection:
The series continues in these other notebook posts: Notebook Collection Part Two, Notebook Collection Part Three, and Phases in the Life of a Notebook. The “Phases” post is very insightful, and features this lovely image of some of the pages inside her notebooks:
There are lots more wonderful photos and commentary in her posts, including this amusing observation:
Ever since I started loving blank books and shopping for them I have starting HATING address books, planners and photo albums. Why? Often I’ll see a notebook on the shelf, the perfect size! The perfect color! I reach for it and…. it’s a PHOTO ALBUM! ugh. So annoying.
I feel your pain! And I love your notebook collection. Thanks for sharing!
An article in today’s New York Times about veterans being trained for jobs preserving public lands: Veterans Discover Allure of Jobs in Western Wilderness – NYTimes.com.
This nice little shot of one of the workers’ journals came with it:
Here’s an interesting article– not about notebooks in itself, really, it brings up some interesting questions about how people “recycle” vintage imagery for stationery and other products.Â
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Two young women in Cincinnati are testing the fringes of Fabulous Fifties nostalgia by selling reproductions of 1955 police mug shots. And their company, Larken Design, has found such a good response here that it is expanding.
“I definitely think it’s the mystery,†says Tara Finke, 28, one of the owners. “I kind of feel like I’m getting a glimpse of something I’m not supposed to.â€
But as the business grows, it raises questions with no clear answers about the legality and propriety of distributing government property like mug shots, which are increasingly popular enticements to Web sites like The Smoking Gun.
Should there be privacy protection for the subjects, as well as safeguards to the way public agencies dispose of potentially embarrassing “hard copies†of records, in an age known for using digital technology to recycle found images into art? And, even when it is not the intent, does finding a new use for material like an old mug shot amount to profiting off someone else’s ancient misfortune?
Read more at Old Mug Shots Fuel Art, and a Debate on Privacy – NYTimes.com.
Do you think their use of these mugshots is problematic? If not, you can buy one on Etsy here!
Doesn’t this notebook look luscious?
Premium cowhide pocket notebook that will darken and develop a beautiful patina with exposure to the sun air and daily use. Handcrafted by the master leather artisans of Il Bisonte. Perfect pocket size accessory for taking notes on the go.
Made in Italy.
-Premium cowhide.
-Classic grid paper that can be refilled.
-Topstitched raw edges.
-Stamped with Il Bisonte maker’s mark.
-Measures 3 1/2″ x 5 1/2″
What’s the downside? It costs $88. But I’ll bet a lot of us could find a way to rationalize that!
Available at UNIONMADE GOODS.
