Here’s something to add to my wish list! A $200 limited edition set of facsimile sketchbooks by Françoise Gilot. I highly recommend her bookÂ Life with PicassoÂ — it’s a fascinating look not just at Picasso and his work but at Gilot’s own life and thoughts about art.

Françoise Gilot, now 96, is best known for the decade she spent as girlfriend and muse to Pablo Picasso, with whom she had two children. But she is also an accomplished artist in her own right, often making work that tiptoes between abstraction and figuration. Now, Gilot has released a new facsimile edition of three of her sketchbooks, created between 1974 and 1981.
“Françoise Gilot. Three Travel Sketchbooks: Venice, India, Senegal,” is a new book from Picasso’s lover, published by Taschen.

Amazon doesn’t seem to have this listed, probably because it’s a limited edition of 5,000 copies, but you can buy it direct from the Taschen website.

Source: Picasso’s Former Muse Françoise Gilot, Now 96, Debuts Worldly Drawings of Her Own: See Them Here | artnet News

My Collection, Nostalgia, Personal, Roaring Spring

Revisiting the Past: 1980s Roaring Spring Spiral Notebook (2009)

September 24, 2018 Nifty Notebook 3 Comments

Continuing to celebrate this blog’s 10th anniversary, here’s another blast from the past– the past of this blog, and my own past as a notebook addict! The post below is just one of many I’ve written about my own collection of notebooks saved from throughout my life. (See My Collection) The 1970s and 1980s ones fascinate me for a few reasons. (See 1970s, 1980s) First of all, these are just crappy dime-store notebooks. I didn’t write anything very interesting in them. There’s nothing “collectible” about them. And yet I’ve saved so many, even ones I didn’t especially love.

Today they seem like a microcosm of America’s economic changes. There were so many local manufacturers of paper products in those days, and in these notebooks you can trace the way many of these companies were bought up and absorbed into big conglomerates, and how overseas manufacturing started to become more common. Decades later, you can buy a wider variety of notebooks in the average stationery shop, but they aren’t necessarily cheaper, even when you adjust for inflation. And who knows how many jobs were lost. I can’t help feeling nostalgic for the stationery of the past…

You can see the original post and comments here.

Here’s a pretty basic notebook from the mid-1980s. I used it for a while in high school to keep track of school assignments and such– I dated each page, and noted each day’s assignments and deadlines. It’s got a nice clean design, but is otherwise quite boring! I’m not sure why I favored it at the time, other than just wanting something cheap and simple to write in.

I got a kick out of the page below– a very exciting thing at the time, driving lessons!

I used lots of simple spiral notebooks like this, many of which I still have. This particular one was made by Roaring Spring/Top Scholar, of Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania. I have another notebook made by Top Scholar– it appears to have been a separate company based in Columbia, MD, so I guess Roaring Spring must have bought them out. I can’t find any information on the companies, but I’m sure it was yet another link in the chain of notebook manufacturing companies consolidating and then sending their operations overseas… this always makes me feel sad!

Links, Notebook Addict of the Week, Other People's Notebooks

10 Years of Notebook Addicts

September 21, 2018 Nifty Notebook 5 Comments

Continuing to celebrate my 10th anniversary, today I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the very first “Notebook Addict of the Week” posts and see if their collections have grown over the last decade.

Here is the very first addict from November 2008, whose name is Lane. Unfortunately her blog no longer seems to be public so I can’t see if there’s any updates to her collection:

I love notebooks. I love blank pages, ready to absorb new thoughts. I love filled notebooks as proof that I did think.

Her collection:

Addict #2 was the blogger at Walking Butterfly, featured on November 20, 2008. Her blog went quiet in 2012 and I didn’t see any other posts about notebooks:

“I’m a journal junkie” writes this blogger. Here’s just a part of her collection:

Addict #3, also in November 2008,Â was Belinda Hollyer, who continues to blog as recently as March 2018, but doesn’t seem to have any updates on her notebook collection.

Here’s what Belinda has to say for herself:

If I ever had to stand up in a meeting and confess an addiction, I know what Iâ€™d say.

â€œMy name is Belinda and I am addicted to notebooks.â€

I have a stationery problem, no doubt about it. But the truth is, Iâ€™d never want to ask for help in overcoming this. I have no wish to give up my addiction. Iâ€™m completely enthralled by it.

Well, this was a little anticlimactic in terms of showing any notebook collections that have vastly grown in size over the last 10 years! Are there any readers out there who were previously featured as addicts way back when who would like to give us an update on their collection? Leave a comment or shoot me a message!

Organization, Other People's Notebooks, record-keeping

Rachael Ray’s Composition Books

September 19, 2018 Nifty Notebook 1 Comment

I noticed this in the Wall Street Journal recently: Rachel Ray says “the most important things in my life are my notebooks.” She uses composition books to record recipes and ideas.

Diary, Filofax, Journal, Links, Other People's Notebooks, record-keeping

Revisiting the Past: GeorgieR’s Filofax (2008)

September 17, 2018 Nifty Notebook Leave a comment

Another oldie but goodie in celebration of 10 years of Notebook Stories. I originally wrote the post below in October 2008 and GeorgieR’s notebook is still one of my favorite “Other People’s Notebooks” posts. I love the density of the pages and the wear on the Filofax binder. Seeing notebooks like this always makes me want to go back to using a refillable leather notebook so I could get that wonderful patina and softness on the outside after years of use. I love my rows of filled Moleskines and similar hardcover and softcover notebooks, but when each one only lasts a few months, they never quite break in like a Filofax does…

Original post and comments here.

I love the look of this notebook– it’s well-loved, broken in, and each page is so thickly covered with that tiny handwriting in the colorful inks. Just gorgeous.

See more at Flickr.

Diary, Hahnemuhle, HandBook, Journal, Moleskine, My Collection, Organization, Personal, Piccadilly, record-keeping, Sketchbook, Travel Notebooks

Revisiting the Past: More on Finishing Notebooks (2014)

September 13, 2018 Nifty Notebook 4 Comments

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this site, I thought I’d revisit some popular posts from the past. This one is from 2014. In it, I talk about an important shift in my notebook usage habits– from being fickle and switching notebooks before finishing them, to filling every page.

You can see the comments on the original post here: More on Finishing Notebooks

One of the first posts I ever wrote on this blog was about Finishing a Notebook. The notebook in question was this softcover Moleskine, one of the first notebooks I’d ever used completely from front to back.

At the time, this was a notable accomplishment. That was what I loved about those early Moleskines– I wanted to use every page. I didn’t get itchy about switching to a new notebook. Until that point, I’d been quite fickle, always buying new notebooks and often switching to a new one after only using a few pages. Sometimes it was just because I wanted to try a new notebook, and sometimes it was because I had somehow become disillusioned with the one I was using. Sometimes I just had a grand idea of a single-purpose notebook but never really carried it through.

But for the last decade or more, I’ve pretty much finished every notebook I’ve started. My usage habits have fallen into a consistent pattern of having one daily notebook plus a sketchbook or two going at any given time. The daily notebooks are always used until they are finished. The sketchbooks take longer to fill, but they are also used til the end, except for some that have been used while traveling.

The travel notebooks are a tricky one– I started a HandBook sketchbook on a trip to Paris, but I hardly did any drawings in it. I felt like it should stay a travel notebook, but ended up changing my mind and using it for other sketches and collages at home.

finishing notebooks01 finishing notebooks02

Another HandBook travel notebook started on a trip to Turkey, but was only filled about 1/3 of the way. I then took it to Portugal, but only filled a few pages. Several more pages were filled in Corsica. It’s still only a little more than half full, but now I feel like I have to reserve it for more travel.

But in the meantime I went to the Galapagos with a brand new sketchbook, which I mostly filled on that one trip. (It’s a brand I had just discovered and will do a full review on soon: Hahnemuhle.) I also dedicated a sketchbook to a safari trip in Botswana and filled it almost to the end. (I’m better at drawing wildlife than European architecture!) The empty pages in the Galapagos sketchbook are almost 1/4 of the book, but they will stay empty, I think, unless I try to re-work some of those sketches from memory or from photos– I can’t just use it for something else.

So I’m generally pretty committed to seeing a notebook through nowadays. But I’m a little tempted to ditch the one I’m using right now! It’s an old Piccadilly with squared pages, from a stash of them bought several years ago at Borders. The corners of the spine are tearing quite a bit and the paper doesn’t seem quite as smooth as usual. It has some symmetry issues and the corners stick out a bit, particularly on one side. It’s just getting on my nerves a bit. At this point, I think I only have about 1/6 of the notebook left to use. (it looks like more than that below but I also fill in some pages from the back.)Â But I can’t bring myself to bail out. Instead, I find myself writing with wider margins, scribbling inconsequentially to fill space, doodling more, and just generally spacing things out a bit more to use it up faster. I think I’ll manage to hold out til it’s done.

How about you? Do you use every page of a notebook, or stop and start with lots of different ones? Do you go back to old notebooks and finish them later? Do you reserve notebooks for a specific purpose even if they’ll take forever to fill?

Diary, Giveaway, Journal, My Collection, Personal, Planner, Sketchbook

Ten Years of Notebook Stories!

September 12, 2018 Nifty Notebook 29 Comments

September 12, 2008: 25 people died in a train collision in Los Angeles.Â Top Wall Street bankers and US government officials met in a panic to try to save Lehman Brothers, as the country began to tumble into the biggest financial crisis since the depression.Â David Foster Wallace committed suicide.

But on the brighter side of things, Notebook Stories was born that day. 10 years and almost 2000 blog posts later, I’m still at it! I’ve watched notebook trends come and go, from Filofaxes to Moleskines to Travelers Notebooks to Field Notes to Bullet Journals to the Hobonichi Techo. I have featured over 200 brands of notebooks from all over the world. I have celebrated over 360 Notebook Addicts. I’ve posted almost 3000 notebook photos on Flickr. I won’t even try to count how many notebooks I’ve bought, used, received as samples, reviewed, coveted from afar, and given away in that time. According to my personal finance software, I have spent about $6,000 on notebooks and pens in the last 10 years, which is kind of horrifying! But the pleasure I’ve gotten out of them is priceless!

And you, dear readers! You’ve left over 4800 comments. 3500 of you like my Facebook page. Over 4600 follow my Twitter feed. And my relatively new Instagram account already has almost 700 followers. You have shared your recommendations and tips and suggestions, and of course, your addictions to notebooks! It has been wonderful to discover that so many people share what I thought was a lonely passion. I thank you all.

In celebration of this milestone, I have a big giveaway today! I will pick 10 winners, each of whom will receive a notebook. I will pick a variety of random notebooks as prizes– some of them may have a page or two that has been used for pen tests, but other than that they will be new and useable. Feel free to use your entry to say what kind of notebook you would love to win!

Here’s how to enter:

–Leave a comment on my Facebook page containing the words “10th anniversary”

–On Twitter, tweet something containing “@NotebookStories 10th anniversary”

–Follow me on InstagramÂ (@notebook.stories) and leave a comment on my 10th Anniversary post there.

–Leave a blog comment below

You can enter anytime before 11:59PM EST on September 30, 2018. Good luck everyone!

antique, Fun & Weird, My Collection, Other People's Notebooks

A Surprise Notebook

September 10, 2018 Nifty Notebook 4 Comments

Sometimes a notebook can be a special hidden surprise, as I discovered in the case of this beautiful wooden box.

The box originally belonged to the grandparents of a friend of mine, and had been saved by her parents. It turned up when we were clearing out their house in preparation for a move. My friend’s mother said no one could figure how to open it, and you could see that someone had tried to force the latch open, damaging the wood slightly. I figured out that a little gentle jiggling while pressing on the button would do the trick, and the inside of the box, which probably hadn’t been opened very often, was even more beautiful than the outside.

The box was originally made by Clark, of 33 New Bond Street in London. The company no longer exists, but in the 1800s and early 1900s, they seem to have made various small cases and luggage and silver items for high-end customers including the British royal family.

I’m not sure what wood this box was made of, but it has a beautiful color and grain (which was hard to photograph without reflections and isn’t at all done justice by my pictures). The edges are trimmed with, I suspect, ivory, which would be illegal today. The inside of the box is lined with a gorgeous deep blue velvet that almost seems to glow (also impossible to capture in photos) and leather in a matching shade. The hinges and latch may be silver. (If Antiques Roadshow ever came to town, it would be fun to see what else I could learn!)

The box holds equipment for playing cards. There are two removable trays that hold score-keeping sheets. Underneath, there are slots for two decks of cards (the one deck in the box is a modern one, so any that were originally included in the box must be long gone). Best of all, in the middle slot there is a tiny notebook!

The notebook has a blue leather cover matching the trim on the box. The edges are gilded. The pages inside are all the same format– a grid for a list of names and game results. Nothing was ever written in the notebook.

This box really feels like a little treasure chest to me. And since no one in the family wanted it, it is now MY little treasure! I’ve been thinking about how I could use it. The trays for the score sheets have a metal spring on them that I guess is meant to hold the sheets in place. I was thinking I could unscrew these metal pieces and then use the trays to hold pens. But other than card decks, I’m not sure what I could put in the bottom slots on either side of the little notebook. Whatever I do with this box, I will certainly enjoy having it, and I’ll always remember what a wonderful surprise it was to find a notebook inside!

Art, creativity, Journal, Katie Leamon, Links, Notebook Addict of the Week, Other People's Notebooks, Princeton Architectural Press, Scientific, Sketchbook, Writing Notebooks

Notebook Addict of the Week: Molly Young

September 7, 2018 Nifty Notebook 1 Comment

For the Strategist column at NY Magazine, Molly Young reviews the Grids & Guides Notebook and it sounds like she might have a new focus for her notebook addiction!

In the past Iâ€™ve stocked up on whatever cheap-ish notebook hits these requirements:

1. Sturdy cover (wonâ€™t get dented in purse)
2. Opens flat
3. Good paper: ink wonâ€™t smear / bleed
4. Of a comfortable writing size
5. Decently attractive

These days, I no longer settle. Thereâ€™s a better option out there. Iâ€™ve tasted the fine wine and I canâ€™t go back. Luckily, the wine is priced at a reasonable $16. It is the Princeton Architectural Press Grids & Guides Notebook, and it is not like Other Notebooks.

Here’s some of her previous notebooks, among which I spy Moleskine, Emilio Braga and probably Rhodia. Also, I think, a Katie Leamon marbled notebook:

I always admire the Grids & Guides notebooks when I see them in stores. I love the pages and wish they made a cute little pocket sized version… actually they do make one, but it’s more a memo pad style, not a smaller hardcover journal.

Read more of Molly’s review at: Princeton Architectural Press Grids & Guides Notebook Review

Giveaway, iScholar, Mead, new products, Notebook Reviews, Organization, Places to Buy Notebooks, productivity, record-keeping

Review & Giveaway: iScholar Notebooks

September 6, 2018 Nifty Notebook 3 Comments

I love getting the chance to review new (or new to me) brands of notebooks. I had not heard of iScholar when they contacted me to offer these free samples, but I was interested to see what they had to offer, especially as I probably don’t give enough attention to notebooks meant for school use. So let’s celebrate back to school time by taking a look at these!

At first glance, I could see that these notebooks were a cut above anything I used as a student back in the 1980s. The larger iScholar 3 subject college ruled notebook has a traditional format, upgraded with a wire-o binding and plastic covers. The front cover has a translucent sleeve so you can insert your own customized page. The inside front and back cover are a glossy white material that I believe will work like a whiteboard with wipe-off markers. (This is not called out anywhere on the notebook, and I didn’t test it.) The back cover has a small hole where you can clip a pen. The front cover is notched so you can see the inner tabs and access them quickly.

Inside, you have a front page with space for personal info, and note-taking tips on the back. Then you come to the first of 3 plastic divider pages. These each have a translucent diagonal pocket, and the tabs are said to allow wipe-off writing so you can re-label your subjects if needed. The other nice thing about these tabs is that they can be moved to a different spot in the notebook if you want.

The pages are college-ruled and the paper is pretty typical of a student notebook: blue lines, a red margin, 3-hole punched, and thin paper that will make you shudder in horror if you are used to fancy fountain-pen friendly paper! Lots of bleed-through and feathering, but I wouldn’t expect otherwise for a notebook made for the student market.

On iScholar’s own website, this notebook has a list price of $10.99 (and as of this writing is discounted to $8.99) so I was surprised to see that the price for this notebook was over $19 on Amazon. I will admit that I just don’t pay that much attention to this segment of the market, and was also surprised to see that other 3-subject notebooks of this size are also more expensive than I’d thought. I haven’t done an exhaustive point-by-point comparison of features between brands, but from what I can see online, the iScholar notebook seems to be pretty fairly priced given all the features it offers vs. a similar Mead notebook priced at $13-16 on Amazon depending on the cover color.

The smaller 3-subject notebook is designed to be used in a business setting (though it would work equally well for any student who isn’t required to use full size paper). The exterior is a little more upscale, with a faux leather edge covering the wire-o binding, and an elastic closure. The cover is a grey textured plastic. Branding information is on a removable sticker.

Again there is a hole to clip a pen, and notches so you can see the inner tabs, though they are cut in a deeper shape so the points between them are a bit sharp. There are plastic dividers with pockets that can be moved around within the notebook, this time all in a light grey.

The pages inside are designed for a specific kind of note-taking, but the format should be handy for most purposes. It allows you to put the main body of your notes in one section, with spaces around it for a date and subject header, a column to pull out cues, and a summary at the bottom.

I almost didn’t bother to test the paper, assuming it would be the same as that in the other notebook. But luckily, I did do a full test and was very pleasantly surprised! This paper is much better. There is still some bleeding and feathering with some wetter fountain pens, but my TWSBI Eco barely bled at all, and the paper performed just as well as many others I’ve tested in pricier journal lines.

This notebook is also available on Amazon at $19.99, or on the iScholar website for $10.99, currently marked down to $8.99.

These iScholar notebooks were a pleasant reminder of my school days, and I would have loved to use them back then! I will be giving both of these samples away, one each to two randomly selected winners. (One or two pages has been used for my pen tests, but they are otherwise brand new.) Here’s how you can enter:

On Twitter, tweet something containing â€œiScholar 3 Subject Notebook @NotebookStoriesâ€, and follow @NotebookStories .

On Facebook, â€œlikeâ€ the Notebook Stories page and post something containing the words â€œiScholar 3 Subject Notebookâ€ on the Notebook Stories page.

On your blog, post something containing the words â€œiScholar 3 Subject Notebookâ€ and â€œNotebook Storiesâ€ and link back to this post, also leaving a comment below with the link in case the trackback doesnâ€™t work.

The deadline for entry is Friday September 14, 2018 at 11:59PM, EST. Good luck everyone!

Notebook Stories

Françoise Gilot’s Travel Sketches