Every so often, I spot interesting looking Japanese notebooks and planners on Instagram. Without knowing any Japanese, it’s sometimes hard to figure out what the brand is, but sometimes I manage to click around in various hashtags and find at least a keyword or two that might lead to a link I can copy and … Continue reading Interesting Japanese Diaries
This notebook feels almost like a Holy Grail find. A pocket sized Smythson notebook with UNLINED paper! I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Smythson notebooks. I splurged on one of their address books ages ago because I loved the classic and classy Panama cross-grain leather cover and light blue pages. At … Continue reading Review: Unlined Smythson Notebook
It’s back to school time, so everyone’s posting about the best notebooks and pens. But a post at High Snobiety actually caught my eye with a lot of notebook brands I’d never heard of. Many of their picks are a bit more expensive than your average back to school notebook… just a bit… That said, … Continue reading High Snobiety on 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
It’s been more than 8 years since I reviewed a notebook from Letts! This classic English brand has been around even longer than that, though… since 1812, in fact! Letts claims to be the first publisher of “commercial diaries,” meaning a mass-produced calendar book combined with space to write and usually some business-related promotional info … Continue reading Letts Notebook Review
I had not heard of Beechmore Books notebooks until the company contacted me to offer a sample. The creator, Sam Horbye, named the company after the street he grew up on in London, and says: I created Beechmore Books because I wanted a notebook that had the elegance of a Smythson, the every-day use style of a … Continue reading Beechmore Books Notebook Review and Giveaway
Rollo London is a relatively new player in the high-end notebook scene. Founded in 2016, the brand is an offshoot of Beauchamps of London, a maker of luxury accessories. I received a sample of their A5 size Hardy notebook, in burgundy. The cover is a faux leather with a pebbled texture. It is a hardcover, … Continue reading Review: Rollo London Notebook
The article about Grace Coddington’s Smythson was fun, but this is even better: a lovely glimpse of Katharine Hepburn’s Smythson address book! “[W]ith the phone numbers and addresses of people from Rock Hudson and Frank Sinatra to Winston Churchill and Vivien Leigh scrawled in biro (and, occasionally, pink felt tip) on the pages of her bespoke … Continue reading Katharine Hepburn’s Address Book
Grace Coddington is well known in the fashion world as an editor, former model, and author. Now she’s also a spokesperson for Smythson. Most of the linked article is promoting their various leather bags and accessories, but I loved getting a glimpse of this well-worn address book! I bought a Smythson address book a long … Continue reading Grace Coddington’s Smythson Notebooks
A new collection of colorful Smythson notebooks: “When Smythson approached the graphic artist Vahram Muratyan to design a set of notebooks — carte blanche — Muratyan ran with that freedom. “It occurred to me that I could take those words — those French phrases that we use in English — and place them above the … Continue reading Smythson Notebooks by Vahram Muratyan
