In part 1 of my review of the Louise Carmen notebook, I cover the qualities of the Louise Carmen Pocket Heritage notebook itself. Now I’ll talk about how I managed to obtain it! When I discovered Louise Carmen notebooks online, I thought they looked great. Their website, and their Instagram, feature some some pretty mouth-watering … Continue reading Louise Carmen Notebook Review Part 2: Where to Buy
I’m always a sucker for a nice leather notebook— there is something so seductive about the patina on well-broken in leather, and the way it starts to form to the shape of its contents. It’s what made me love the Filofax notebooks I’ve used in the past, and it’s what made me buy a passport … Continue reading Louise Carmen Notebook Review Part 1
For years, I’ve wanted to find an example of the original “carnets moleskine” that existed for many decades before the capital-M Moleskine brand was founded. It’s difficult to research online, as the capital-M notebooks dominate the results if you try to search any related terms. I wrote about it in a blog post a few … Continue reading 1898 Agenda Notebook
A notebook belonging to artist Larry Rivers illustrates an essay by Nicholas Martin about Rivers’ 1961 painting “Parts of the Face: French Vocabulary Lesson.” Rivers responded to the prospect of making paintings for a living by skipping town to Paris in 1950 for ‘a half year of deliberating whether I should continue a life devoted … Continue reading Larry Rivers’ Notebook
I’m very fortunate to have friends in Paris and Amsterdam that I’ve been able to visit a few times. I went in 2014 and bought quite a few notebooks. This past year, I went again, and also included Belgium on my itinerary. I wasn’t expecting to buy as many notebooks this time, but I ended … Continue reading Notebooks from Europe
On my trips to Paris, I found myself almost too paralyzed to sketch because there was so much to look at. But Juan Carlos Figuera doesn’t have that problem! Here are a couple of my favorites from his Instagram posts: Venezuelan urban sketcher Juan Carlos Figuera documents the streets of Paris with expressive watercolor paintings. … Continue reading Juan Carlos Figuera’s Urban Sketching in Paris
I have not been to Dubois, but it will definitely be on my list for the next time I visit Paris. It is an art supply store that has been in business since 1861 and from what I can see on their website, they have some really cool stuff. (Check out the Cabinet de curiosités … Continue reading Dubois Paris, French Art Supplies, and Learning Something New
I just subscribed to a newsletter from French style icon Ines de la Fressange, in which she recommends various finds– mostly clothing, beauty products and housewares, etc., but I was also happy to spot this plug for a French bookshop that apparently has a great selection of notebooks! It’ll be on my list of place … Continue reading Ines de la Fressange Collects Notebooks
I absolutely loved this blog post– one man’s tale of developing the habit of writing in old diaries and journals, including original small-m moleskines, their modern brand name replacements, and the Boots Scribbling Diaries I mentioned in this post. Quoted at length, but please do check out the rest of the original blog post, by … Continue reading Moleskine Monday: Notebook Nostalgia
Here’s the stash of notebooks I brought back from my Amsterdam/Paris trip. First, two little notebooks from a local newsstand/bookstore near where I was staying. They had a nice selection of school supplies, and other notebook brands such as Moleskine, but these two were inexpensive and not like others I’d seen elsewhere. The blue one … Continue reading Notebooks from Paris and Amsterdam
