Continuing with Part 2 of my exploration of spiral notebooks and wire-o notebooks from my collection! As in Part 1, all of these are 3 x 5″ notebooks unless otherwise noted, and mostly from the 1980s. The Roaring Spring notebooks seem very classic and looked a little retro even in the ’80s. I loved those … Continue reading Wire-O and Spiral Notebooks from My Collection, Part 2
Today I’ll take a look at two Oxford notebooks from my collection. I picked these up on my travels in Europe, where the Oxford brand is much more common than it is in the USA. More the pity, as these are some of my favorite finds! First, the hardcover Oxford Signature notebook. I purchased this … Continue reading Oxford Notebooks Review
I can’t believe this is my first Muji notebook review! I’m a big fan of the Japanese chain Muji. I first went to one of their stores in London at least 15 years ago and loved their minimal aesthetic and practical offerings. Back then, I mainly remember buying a recycled yarn t-shirt and a small … Continue reading Muji Notebook Review: A6 Slim
Here’s another shoebox tour! This box of notebooks, one of the many that hold my collection, contains lined and dot-grid notebooks that I may find a use for someday, or at least like enough to want to keep. As with the previous shoebox tour, I first just looked at the box without taking any of … Continue reading Shoebox Tour: A Box of Dot-Grid and Lined Notebooks
Forbes recently published a round-up of notebooks suggested as Mother’s Day gifts, though these choices would work just as well for non-moms. A few of their recommendations were Moleskines that will be familiar to everyone, but I was intrigued by these brands I hadn’t heard of: BLU Notebooks Stimulate your creativity with the first blueprint … Continue reading Forbes Notebook Round-Up for Mothers Day
It’s so nice to discover new notebook brands, especially ones that are committed to donating part of their proceeds to people in need. Lois Ho founded Pebble Stationery Co. in Perth, Western Australia and was able to fund her first project, a pocket notebook made with Tomoe River paper, in 24 hours. For each pack … Continue reading Pebble Stationery Notebook Review & Giveaway
Here’s an interesting question from a reader named Jeff: I have a Roaring Spring notebook that was used as a journal by a family member, the contents are very precious to us but there’s some confusion as to the year(s) that the contents refer to! (The writer only used Month/Day annotations, no year.) Some family … Continue reading Roaring Spring Notebook from the 1980s?
I bought this adorable little notebook from JetPens. Although “etranger” is a French word, “di” is an Italian word, and Costa Rica is in Latin America, the company is Japanese. I guess it’s just that enjoyment of slightly absurd foreign phrases that you sometimes see on Japanese products, as there is also French text on … Continue reading Review: Etranger di Costa Rica Notebook
Almost 10 years ago (!!!!) I posted about a brand of notebooks called Oh Boy— they looked really nice, but I never saw them in stores and never found out more about the brand. At some point the products were discontinued. But happily, the original designer is now in the process of reviving the company … Continue reading Oh Boy! Oh Boy Notebooks Are Coming Back!
About 2 years ago, I visited a very cute shop in Philadelphia called Omoi Zakka. As Wikipedia explains, “zakka” is a Japanese concept having to do with household items that are attractively designed. The Omoi Zakka shop certainly delivered on that when I was there, with lots of interesting little items for the desk and … Continue reading Notebooks from Omoi Zakka Shop