I bought this notebook from Soundless Solilquy’s shop on Etsy over a year ago. It just looked like a nice simple notebook with some attractive colors available, so I decided to give one a try. It’s a very cute and handy size that manages to be very pocketable, more substantial than a Moleskine Cahier or Field Notes, yet slimmer than a softcover Moleskine or most of the other pocket notebooks out there. Shown below with a hardcover pocket Moleskine for size comparison:
I picked a 3.5 x 5.5″ pocket notebook with a gray faux leather cover. It’s very understated and plain– no branding on the outside, and even inside, the logo is in a sort of textured clear gel (I’m sure there’s a name for this, but I don’t know what to call it!) so you might miss it if you’re not paying attention.
The corners are neatly rounded, and there is a black ribbon marker. The sewn binding opens nice and flat.
Inside, the paper is a cool bright white. It feels fine to write on, but show-through and bleed-through were a bit worse than average. The paper didn’t feel particularly special– it could have been regular office printer paper. If you’re used to Moleskine paper, Leuchtturm paper, Clairefontaine/Rhodia paper, or anything else a bit more upscale, you might find this paper a little underwhelming.
What I do love about this notebook is the size and feel of it, and that it seems very carefully made. I seem to remember paying $20 for it, but the price on Etsy now is $25– either way, it’s high for what it is, especially since the cover isn’t real leather. I do believe in paying a bit more to support small scale craftspeople, but in this case, I think something more like $12-15 might be reasonable. I don’t think I’ll buy another one, but I like this one enough that it will be in my “to be used someday” pile. It’s also worth mentioning that Soundless Soliloquy offers to work with you to make a customized perfect journal– if you could specify upgraded materials with this level of skilled and careful binding, that would be worth paying some extra money for!
Hi N,
I’ve visted your blog before and was surprised to see traffic directed from your page, so I came to check it out. Thanks so much for your candid review. The paper I use is regular bond paper. Underwhelming, perhaps, but suitable enough for the masses. And while I wish I could offer my books for cheaper, a living wage is defeinitely something I appreciate! :) Should you ever find the perfect paper, I’d be happy to bind it into a book for you.
Either way, I hope you get around to using this notebook some day!
Best,
Sharon