Category Archives: My Collection

New Job, New Notebook

Over the last couple of years, I haven’t had a full time job. But when I did have one, my life was full of meetings where I took notes in notebooks, calls during which I doodled in notebooks, and responsibilities that forced me to write long to-do lists in notebooks. I tended to use larger … Continue reading New Job, New Notebook

Exceed Notebook Review

A good friend of mine has become a big fountain pen fan, and told me she’s been using the Exceed notebook from Walmart. She said it was a fountain pen friendly notebook at a bargain price, so of course I was intrigued! She was kind enough to send me two of them as a gift, … Continue reading Exceed Notebook Review

Pilot B7 Binder Notebook Review

The Pilot B7 Binder notebook is another Japanese “system organizer” type looseleaf that I ordered at the same time as my Raymay Davinci notebook. I love this format of slim pocket sized binder! The Pilot B7 Binder is a pocket sized looseleaf notebook. It comes packaged in a clear plastic slipcover that allows you to … Continue reading Pilot B7 Binder Notebook Review

Rollo London Otto Notebook Review

The folks at Rollo London have continued to expand their product line, and recently introduced the Otto collection of notebooks. Let’s take a look at the sample Otto notebook they sent me: This is another pretty standard A5 format notebook. Like Rollo’s Hardy notebook I previously reviewed, the Otto notebook has a hard cover, ribbon … Continue reading Rollo London Otto Notebook Review

2021 Nolty Diaries Arrived!

I was very pleased to get my shipment of 2021 Nolty diaries straight from Japan in mid-September. Ordering directly from JMAM worked great! Because I was buying multiple notebooks, the shipping costs worked out well, but if I’d only ordered one or two notebooks, I might have been better off paying Kinokuniya’s higher retail prices … Continue reading 2021 Nolty Diaries Arrived!

Vintage Marquette Looseleaf Notebook

Here’s another fun eBay find: a vintage Marquette looseleaf notebook. I’m always quite excited to find vintage notebooks like this that are in excellent condition despite being at least 60 or 70 years old. This notebook is pocket size, measuring approximately 3 5/8 x 5 1/2″. The cover is faux leather and somewhat flexible. Aside … Continue reading Vintage Marquette Looseleaf Notebook

Thinkers Notebook Review

One of the more recent entries to the world of digital/analog notebooks is the Thinkers Notebook and its companion app. When the makers contacted me to offer a sample for review, I wasn’t sure what yet another proprietary notebook/app combo would do to distinguish itself, but the Thinkers Notebook actually fills a niche. The Thinkers … Continue reading Thinkers Notebook Review

What Matters?

For me, size matters. When it comes to choosing a notebook, I mean. I have hundreds of notebooks, in a variety of styles, materials, colors, and brands, but most of them fall into a pretty narrow size range. My preferred size has evolved over time, perhaps in proportion to the size of my own hands: … Continue reading What Matters?

My Bookshelf: Books about Sketchbooks

I recently posted a couple of photos on Instagram of my collection of books about sketchbooks, journals and notebooks. The posts got a lot of responses, and Ana from The Well Appointed Desk commented “This needs to be a more in-depth blog post. I’ve zoomed in on this photo but I can’t read all the … Continue reading My Bookshelf: Books about Sketchbooks

Daily Carry Notebooks: July 2020

Wow, it’s been a while since my last “using now” post. I can’t say I have any totally earth-shattering news to report about the daily carry notebooks I’m using but there is one new item that wasn’t even on my radar at that time. First of all, I suppose the concept of “daily carry” has … Continue reading Daily Carry Notebooks: July 2020