Not long ago, I traveled to Istanbul for a vacation. I was of course excited to see what kinds of notebooks I might find there! The only Turkish brand of notebooks I’d ever heard of was Arwey, but oddly enough, I didn’t spot a single Arwey notebook on my trip. I did see some other … Continue reading Notebooks in Istanbul
I’ve been reading Orhan Pamuk’s fascinating book Istanbul: Memories and the City. It’s an interesting mix of city history and personal memoir, and here’s a passage I had to share: “My grandmother always kept with her a slim leather-bound notebook in which she wrote something every day. This notebook, in which she recorded bills, memories, … Continue reading A Turkish Grandmother’s Notebook
Only 9 more shopping days til Christmas! Notebooks can make gifts for pretty much anyone, but here’s a few ideas for when you’re trying to find something just right! For someone crafty, how about the Stitchable Journal: Personalized Journal & Decorative Keepsake Box— it comes in a kit with yarn and needles that allow you … Continue reading Holiday Gift Ideas for Notebook Lovers
I love, love, LOVE Kolby Kirk’s travel journal. He’s documenting his project to do 100 hikes between May 5, 2009 and the end of this year. He’s about to embark on hike #77 as I write this! He uses a plain, pocket size Moleskine journal and each page is gorgeous– notes, maps, sketches, objects pasted … Continue reading Kolby Kirk’s Hiking Journal
I have two of the Moleskine City Notebooks, one for New York (where I live) and one for Paris. I bought it for my first trip there a couple of months ago, and I really loved having it. Paris is the kind of place that is so constantly featured in newspaper and magazine articles– the … Continue reading Using the Moleskine City Notebook: Paris
I was on a business trip when I spotted these folks at Laguardia, obviously enjoying their travels, which the wife was recording in a journal!
Biffybeans has a review of an interesting travel journal. Although I’m sure this is a great product for some people, I was somewhat turned off by the highly formatted nature of the pages: Sometimes it’s nice to be prompted to enter certain data, but for the most part, I think I am more of a … Continue reading Notebooks With Pre-Formatted Pages
Here are some animal sketches from the recent safari trip. A pocket size notebook is a great thing to bring on safari, especially if, like me, you’re not a photography nut. I brought a tiny digital camera (a Casio Exilim, which also happens to be my favorite golden rectangle-ish shape, though much smaller than 3×5) … Continue reading Animal Art
Here’s a drawing from a safari trip in Africa. Watercolor and brush-tip marker in a HandBook pocket sketchbook. This was the view from our campfire area– as the sun set, the meadow took on twilight shades, and the tall plants in the foreground were silhouetted. The trip was amazing– I’ll put some of the animal … Continue reading Safari Sketchbook
I was in Paris this past weekend. Though I was trying to squeeze a lot of sight-seeing into a short trip, of course I tried to look for notebooks! I didn’t come across too many stationery stores, but I did find one place that was selling Moleskines, in what I think is considered part of … Continue reading Moleskines in Paris: Ouch!