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 and plans a Kickstarter offering later this year!

Dave Salanitro started Oh Boy Artifacts in the early 2000s and received many accolades from the retail and design worlds, including winning the Best in Show award at the Fall 2001 New York Gift Fair. Now that the rights to his designs are no longer held by his former distributor, he is planning to reintroduce Oh Boy Artifacts, with new designs and form factors. Here’s some of what he’s planning for the initial launch:

Pocket Book

3.625 × 5.5 inch × 0.625 in (9.2 × 14 × 1.25 cm); 132 blank 70 lb (104 gsm) remarkably opaque, radiant white, archival-quality, slightly toothy vellum pages; Smyth sewn, lay-flat, soft leather cover with Buckskin end sheets; rounded corners prevent dog-eared pages; pages are micro-perforated parallel to the gutter and 45 degrees at the ear—remove sheets cleanly and clip corners neatly to keep your place; Pocket Book is fitted with 0.5-inch wide black elastic band secured to the back in two locations—when the book is open with your hand slipped beneath the still taut part of the band between the top and bottom stitches on the back (think of a mitt), you have a sturdy writing surface; when stowed it holds the book closed.

DETAILS

SIZE   3.625 × 5.5 × 0.625 inches; 132 blank pages

COVER   Split top grain napa leather; reverse laminate to 80 lb text weight (118 gsm)

TEXT   Blank radiant white 70 lb text weight (104 gsm), premium grade vellum

FINISHING   Die-cut 0.375-inch (1 cm) radius, two corners

BINDING   Smyth sew signatures for lay-flat, softcover binding

Notebook

9.25 × 7.25 × 0.625 inches; 120 ruled and numbered extrathick 80 lb text weight (118 gsm), slightly toothy, radiant white, remarkably opaque, archival-quality vellum pages; stain-resistant, and moisture-repellent, sturdy hardboard covers; 360-degree lay-flat, silver Wire-O binding.

DETAILS

SIZE   9.25 × 7.25 × 0.625 inches; 120 lightly ruled pages

COVER   Up to five match colors printed on radiant white 80 lb text weight (118 gsm), premium grade vellum laminated to solid-core hard board

TEXT   Gray ink on radiant white 80 lb text weight (118 gsm), premium grade vellum; numbered pages and index; four sheets of kiss-cut, permanent color tags for cross referencing information

FINISHING   Die-cut 0.375-inch (1 cm) radius, all four corners

BINDING   360-degree lay-flat, silver, twin-loop Wire-O

The wire-o bound notebooks in different designs were what originally caught my eye a decade ago, and these new designs are a cool update. But of course what really got me excited was when I saw the pocket notebook– it’s my favorite size, and those endpapers really look gorgeous with the dark covers!
It was great to connect with Dave and find out more about the company and his plans for the relaunch. You can find more information at Oh Boy Artifacts, and sign up for their newsletter for updates about the Kickstarter campaign.