Category Archives: Brands

Moleskine Portrait Format Watercolor Notebook Review

I’ve mentioned this relatively new Moleskine product a couple of times (Moleskine Monday: Interesting News from Japan About New Products, Moleskine Monday: New Art Collection), but haven’t written more extensively about the portrait format Watercolor Notebook (vs. the more typical landscape format Watercolor Album). I’ve had one for a while, but just started using it. … Continue reading Moleskine Portrait Format Watercolor Notebook Review

Muji USA Filed for Bankruptcy

Yikes, just heard the news that Muji USA filed for bankruptcy: Muji U.S.A Ltd., which is operated by Ryohin Keikaku Co., filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware, according to a filing. It listed assets and liabilities in the range of $50 million to $100 million, and estimated the number of creditors at 200 to 999. Ryohin Keikaku … Continue reading Muji USA Filed for Bankruptcy

2021 Nolty Diaries and Notebooks

Nolty has announced their line-up for 2021 Nolty planners that start in January. (They also sell various products that have an April start to coincide with Japan’s school year, but they don’t announce those until later.) I’m going to start with the bad news. They are not going to be producing the Nolty Daily Book … Continue reading 2021 Nolty Diaries and Notebooks

Handwriting, Lockdown and Unlined Smythson Notebooks

I came across the photo below a couple of months ago, as part of an article about the coronavirus lockdowns and how they are causing people to do more writing by hand on paper. But what got me all excited was that it appeared to show a Smythson notebook with unlined pages. The photo caption … Continue reading Handwriting, Lockdown and Unlined Smythson Notebooks

Notebook Addict of the Week: Hagay

This week’s addict is a comics artist and ebook designer from Israel who has amassed quite a collection of sketchbooks and notebooks! Below are his photos and commentary: 01 Clairefontaine Zap Books – my go to sketchbooks since 2006, these are 320 page recycled paper books and they’re perfect for my pencil sketches. 02-03 Some … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: Hagay

Raymay DaVinci Notebook Review

It’s been a while since I actively used a refillable Filofax-style looseleaf notebook, though I have plenty in my collection! Though my Filofax days are in the past, I still find this style of notebook very appealing, and was inspired to buy a couple of new ones after reading about Russell Stutler’s method of using … Continue reading Raymay DaVinci Notebook Review

An Indoor Horticulturalist’s Notebook

There was an article recently in the NY Times about all the plants abandoned in shut-down offices, and the people who are still taking care of them during the COVID-19 pandemic. The photos accompanying the article included the one below of one of the indoor horticulturalists’ notebooks: I feel sure that I’ve seen this notebook … Continue reading An Indoor Horticulturalist’s Notebook

Notebook Addict of the Week: Datasianho

This week’s addict posted some pictures of their notebook stash on Reddit. It’s a large and tidily stored collection! This person seems to have several favorite types and sizes of notebooks of which they’ve bought multiples. Many are from Asian brands such as Muji, Kokuyo, Maruman, Nanami Paper and Apica, but other brands like Leuchtturm, … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: Datasianho

Wire-O and Spiral Notebooks from My Collection, Part 2

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

Spiral and Wire-O Notebooks from My Collection, Part 1

Some of my earliest notebook obsessions were spiral and wire-o binding notebooks. Back when I was a kid, other kinds of notebook were not as easy to find, or were prohibitively expensive for a kid to buy with her allowance. Nowadays, I rarely find myself using a wire bound notebook, but I thought I’d take … Continue reading Spiral and Wire-O Notebooks from My Collection, Part 1