Tag: stationery

A couple of weeks back I found myself in Warwick; which for anyone not familiar with that part of England is a delightful little town to spend an afternoon in. I recommend, if you can get a slot, parking at The Butts carpark at the back of St. Mary’s Church. Then walk through the church gardens and follow the pathway through the churchyard out on Church Street and follow the road to Old Square and finally on to Market Place.

Following this route I soon found myself outside the Relate thrift shop and decided to go in just to see if anyone had donated some unusual stationery or desktop novelty; instead I came across a pile of notebooks, eight in total.

But not what you would expect! The pile (which went home with me) included Midori, Endless, Blackwing; so not your average thrift shop stationery this was a collection of notebooks bought by someone who knew what they were buying.

As I wanted to review them all as a batch I decided to list the key points that I consider when buying a notebook and use that to give a pocket overview of each of the notebooks.

So, make yourself a comfortable this might take a while.

Graf Von Faber-Castell

Appearance: Stone grey linen cover

Size: A6

Number of sheets/pages: 60/160 100gsm

Paper colour: White

Line spacing: N/A

Line, grid, dot, plain: Plain paper

Type of binding: Stitched

Lay flat: No

Bleed through: No

Ghosting: Yes

Other features: the GVFC website only offers this notebook in A4 & A5 and this has a dedication so it may have been a sample?

Recommended: Yes

Semikolon – Travel Diary Grand Voyage

Appearance: Dark blue linen cover

Size: A6

Number of sheets/pages: 152/304 100gsm

Paper colour: Cream

Line spacing: N/A

Line, grid, dot, plain: Plain

Type of binding: Stitch

Lay flat: No

Bleed through: No

Ghosting: Yes but light

Other features: Double marker ribbon, Elastic closure and pencil loop, pocket sized pencil, rear pocket & world map.

Recommended: Yes

Blackwing Reporter

Appearance: Similar size to the average cell ‘phone.

Size: 3” x 6.25”

Number of sheets/pages 80/160 80gsm

Paper colour: White

Line spacing: 5mm

Line, dot, plain: Available in all three.

Type of binding: Wire

Lay flat: Yes

Bleed through: No

Ghosting: No

Other features: Elastic closure.

 Recommended: Yes, ideal pocket notebook.

Rhodia – A7 Notebook

Appearance: Small pocket notebook.

Size: A7

Number of sheets/pages: 24/48 80gsm

Paper colour: White

Line spacing: 5mm

Line, grid, dot, plain: Grid

Type of binding: Staple

Lay flat: No

Bleed through: No

Ghosting: Very light, barely noticeable.

Other features:

Recommended: Yes

Endless Storyboard

Appearance: Discreet black notebook suitable for use anywhere.

Size: 5.1” x 7.5”

Number of sheets/pages: 32/64 68gsm Tomoe River Paper

Paper colour: White

Line spacing: 7mm

Lined: Ruled also available in plain and dotted papers.

Type of binding: Stitch

Lay flat: Yes

Bleed through: No

Ghosting: No

Other features:

 Recommended: Yes

Midori MD Notebook Cotton A5

Appearance

Size: A5

Number of sheets/pages: 100/200

Paper colour: White

Line spacing: N/A

Plain

Type of binding: Thread

Lay flat: Yes

Bleed through: No

Ghosting: Very light

Other features

Recommended: Yes

Paperchase Black PU Leather Journal

Appearance: Black cover with silver gilder edges and the word ‘Journal’ stamped into the cover.

Size: Slightly smaller than A5

Number of sheets/pages: c.100/200

Paper colour: Cream/White

Line spacing: 8mm

Line

Type of binding: Stitch

Lay flat: No

Bleed through: No

Ghosting: No

Other features: Decorative flyleaves

Recommended: Yes, but sadly no longer available since Paperchase closed down.

Nuuna Notebook Voyager L

Appearance: Solid black notebook with black edging.

Size: A5

Number of sheets/pages: 128/256 120gsm

Paper colour: White

Line spacing: N/A

Grid: 3.5mm

Type of binding: Stitch

Lay flat: No

Bleed through: No

Ghosting: Yes

Other features: Elastic pen loop, page numbering & recycled leather cover.

Recommened: Yes

All ink tests were done using a Medium nib and Tom’s Studio Marmalade ink.

Disclaimer: All of the notebooks were purchased with my own funds at retail price. The opinions expressed in this review are my own; and I am not connected with either the retailers or manufacturers in any way.