The folks at FM-31 were kind enough to send me a sample pack of their new line of notebooks. Let’s take a look!
FM-31 makes sturdy 3-packs of 5 x 7 3/4″ notebooks with a stitched spine– like Field Notes on steroids! The notebooks are made in the U.S.A and a portion of their proceeds goes towards supporting good causes. The Civic Leaders pack I received benefits the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Southeast D.C. I like the clean and simple design of the covers, which in this set feature Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez.
FM-31 handily provides a little comparison chart vs. other notebook brands so you can see how they stack up. I tested trying to rip the “virtually indestructible” cover and can confirm that it is at the very least “indestructible by Nifty.”
Each pack is numbered and signed by whoever quality-checked it. The pack I received was very slightly off in the uniformity of the trimming, and one notebook had slightly crooked spine stitching, but these are minor quibbles with what is otherwise a nice solid product.
The paper inside is a fairly bright off-white with a very slight tooth to it. It feels nice and smooth with fine gel ink pens, but with some fountain pens I found it to have a bit more drag than I prefer. It performed better than average in my tests, with very little show-through or bleed-through except with heavy pressure to flex a nib with wet ink. This paper will please a lot of users for writing and drawing with a variety of materials.
At $25 for a 3-pack, these are expensive vs. Moleskine Cahiers in this size (medium, approx. 5×8″), but you are getting a US-made product with a much higher level of quality and durability, plus support for good causes. I’d say it’s money you can feel good about spending.
FM-31 inspires and promotes socially vigilant, action-oriented, and creative lifestyles. We craft our products with the same thoughtfulness and attention to detail we hope to inspire in our customers.
You can buy these at: Shop — FM-31.org. And I’ll be giving away one individual notebook to each of two winners randomly selected from entries received in any of these ways:
On Twitter, tweet something containing “FM-31 Notebook @NotebookStoriesâ€, and follow @NotebookStories .
On Facebook, “like†the Notebook Stories page and the FM-31 page and post something containing the words “FM-31 Notebook†on the Notebook Stories page.
On your blog, post something containing the words “FM-31 Notebook†and “Notebook Stories†and link back to this post, also leaving a comment below with the link in case the trackback doesn’t work.
On Instagram, follow @Notebook.Stories and @FM31org and tag a friend in a comment on my FM-31 post.
The deadline for entry is Friday November 30, 2018 at 11:59PM, EST. Good luck everyone!
When you’re out in the field, what’s in your gear kit?
A sketchbook can be much more than just a notebook for drawing. “It can be thought of as a closet, an attic, a basement or a file folder, where unedited thoughts are stored in a jumble,†explains Olivia Petrides, a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. “A sketchbook is a way to process raw information.â€
