I love items that crossover my interests and the Hermès Ostrich GM notebook/agenda cover is just such an item. It combines my interest in stationery with my interest in fine leather craftsmanship.
The agenda is Hermès’ GM size which stands for “Grand Modèle” and is their second smallest agenda. The cover measures 9 cm wide x just over 13 cm long.
The cover is made out of a beautiful natural color ostrich skin (the pictures look much more orange). Ostrich is a bit of an obnoxious looking exotic leather but once you get past that it really is an excellent and long lasting skin. Hermès puts blind stamps in all of their products which allows me to date this cover to 1997 and at 17 years old it doesn’t look too bad.
The saddle stitch is done by hand and is of the highest quality. The benefits of a saddle stitch is strength and repairability. If a stitch becomes loose it can be easily repaired by an Hermès craftsman.
Hermès uses very high quality stationery grade paper in every notebook and agenda that I have seen and this is no exception. The GM size comes in a number formats to choose from. There are two agenda styles as well as a blank notebook and a lined notebook.
I normally prefer the lined version but they were out of it so I ended up with the blank version. The paper is very thin with a gilded edge but it holds fountain pen ink like a champion. The only bleeding I saw was with the Pilot Hi-Tecpoint V10 which is a fat juicy 1.0mm roller ball.
There is minimal ghosting which is impressive for a paper so thin. The corners of the pages are perforated so that you can quickly jump to where you left off. The binding is ring bound with a split in the middle that allows you to bend the notebook into the clips of the agenda cover.
The blank and lined notebooks are $30 each and the agenda refills are $100+. As for the agenda cover the last time I checked it was right around $1,000. There is no denying that this is a luxury product; nobody needs a small notebook cover that is this expensive.
You can find these notebooks second hand for around $100-$200 depending on condition but be warned that there are fakes; Hermès wont sell anything with sloppy workmanship so check for tight saddle stitching a clean Hermès imprint. If you go used I recommend Japanese sellers as Japan has very strict laws on selling fakes.
I recently had the cover serviced by the Hermès craftsman in San Francisco and it cost $125 to spruce it up which is something Hermès recommends every three years.
2013 marked the 100th year that Kokuyo has produced western style notebooks and to celebrate they have released a limited edition notebook called the Century Edition which I picked up in the A5 format. The notebook features 70 sheets of 100g paper with a 6mm rule.
The look of this notebook is exceptional. The black cover is textured to feel like cloth. The combination of the black “cloth” with gold print and diagonal text block pattern (they also do a woven pattern text block version) creates a luxurious retro look.
The the pastedown and free endpaper is made from a single piece of thick red paper.
The luxury ruled ivory “Kokuyo Ledger paper” is designed to be used with fountain pens and is ultra smooth.
It handles fountain ink without any bleeding or showthrough. The dry time is surprisingly fast (for a smooth paper). This isn’t an absorbent paper but I have been using this notebook as a journal and upon review I am not seeing any of the usual smearing I see when compared to my Tomoe River and Rhodia journals.
The Century Edition has tiny little signatures and the binding is so good that I cannot for the life of me find the stitching with the book open. The binding lays quite flat on it’s own and improves with use.
I haven’t been wowed by Kokuyo products in the past but this is the finest notebook I have ever had the pleasure of owning. The cost? 1,000 YEN (about $10 USD)! It’s not expensive and it makes a Midori notebook look like a sloppy first attempt (okay that might be a bit of an exaggeration). I highly recommend the Kokuyo Century Edition notebook. I know I will be buying more in the future.
Rhodia (and Clairefontaine) products have been a staple at my desk since middle school and there are not many formats I haven’t tried but the Rhodia DotPad # 38 and the Rhodia Clic Bloc mouse pad (review to come) fit the “new-to-me” criterion.
The #38 DotPad is the largest format top staple bound pad that Rhodia offers. It measures 16 ½” x 12 ½ “ and contains 80 sheets of Rhodia’s classic 80 g paper.
I purchased the #38 because I am currently using the end of my dining room table as a makeshift desk while I am in the process of remodeling and I was getting tired of juggling my Rhodia Reverse pad with my keyboard. Now I just sit the keyboard right on the #38 so that I don’t have to move my keyboard when I want to write a quick note.
#38 DotPad on my makeshift desk (dining room table) with keyboard and Aurora Optima.
The dot grid is the standard 5mm interval and Rhodia calls the dots “pale violet” in color but on the Black version that I have they look grey to me and are clearly different than the light purple color I see on my orange cover Reverse pads. The paper is micro perforated so it is very easy to tear out a page.
Using Rhodia’s standard 80 g weight paper, this pad does very well with fountain pen ink. Dry times are slower but tolerable and I use both sides of the paper without problem. I have been using the pad for a while now and I really like it. With a retail price of $16 and a street price closer to $13 it’s an affordable notepad that I plan to make a staple in my new office.
The World Meister’s Note is a collection from Midori that fuses Japanese craft with the craft of other countries. In Vol 2 you get a Dutch “leather paper” cover and Midori’s much loved MD paper. The edition is called “Santina” because that is the name of the Dutch manufacturer that makes the leather paper cover.
The plastic wrapper includes details on the notebook.
The cover is smooth and pliable. I like the way it feels in my hands; no one will mistake it for leather but it has a nice smooth almost rubberized feel to it.
The notebook has “Santina” embossed on the front cover and “The World Meister’s Note” embossed on the spine.
Inside cover.
My favorite feature of this notebook is the pages have blue edges that match the color of the cover and “SANTINA” in white letters. It just looks awesome.
Santina notebook with Sailor Shu-Katsu Multi-pen
Inside the notebook you will find 192 pages (96 leafs) of grid 5mm MD paper.
As I am sure you already know, MD paper performs phenomenally with fountain pens and you wont have any issues with bleeding or ghosting. It really is one of the best fountain pen papers on the market.
The binding is stitched and has many small signatures.
I did find that the leather paper is a bit stiff and prevents the notebook from lying flat. As with all Midori paper products the quality and attention to detail is exceptional. I have reviewed all four notebooks in the World Meister’s Note series and I think the Santina is definitely the best looking but I find the cover to be too stiff for my tastes.
The Santina, comes in a couple of sizes and colors. The notebook I reviewed is the blue A6 version. I had difficultly locating these in the USA and ultimately ending finding one while on a trip to Tokyo. If I recall correctly the retail price for this notebook in Japan is about 1,000 yen (aprox $10 USD) and for that price it’s not bad.
Below are my reviews of the other editions in the series:
The World Meister’s Note is a collection from Midori that fuses Japanese craft with the craft of other countries. Volume 4 is called “Katagami” and features a collaboration with Swedish design brand Brita. The notebook features handmade Ise Stencil Paper.
I love everything about this notebook except the look of cover. It’s a bit too feminine for my tastes but I love the elastic and the slim A6 size which measures 3.9″ wide by 5.8″ high.
The cover has a smooth waxy feel but does not feel special like all previous volumes of the World Meister’s Note series that I have reviewed.
Inside the book you will find 160 pages (80 sheets) of high quality Japanese Ise Katagami paper. The paper is awesome and definitely my favorite part of this edition.
You will notice that the lines on the Ise Katagami paper are not perfectly straight. This is because the print is hand carved by a master craftsman.
The paper performs beautifully; no bleed and no real ghosting. The paper is smooth but has a bit more feedback than Rhodia paper. I found the dry times to be slightly better than Rhodia.
Like all Midori products the Katagami Notebook is very well made. It has a stitched binding and tiny little signatures. If they made a bit more attractive cover this one would definitely be my favorite of the series. I paid $16 for this notebook at a local Japanese stationery shop and thats a lot of money for a little notebook but I do believe you get what you pay for.
Check out my reviews of previous World Meister’s Note Volumes:
I found out about this product back in December while listening to the Pen Addict podcast (thank you Myke Hurley).
If you don’t speak German, Roterfaden is the manufacturer and Taschenbegleiter is German for, “bag companion”. This is without doubt the coolest organizer I have ever had the pleasure of owning.
Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter with early 1950s Aurora 88.
The Taschenbegleiter is a custom made-to-order organizer that utilizes a unique clip system that allows you to clip in all sorts of notebooks and loose paper.
Taschenbegleiter clips
The Taschenbegleiter comes in three standardized formats: A4, A5, and A6. For the outer cover you have two material choices (in multiple colors): dance floor and leather. Dance floor is a synthetic material that was originally used for (you guessed it) dance floors. I opted for the black leather option.
The black leather has a suede-like finish that is very soft to the touch. The Taschenbegleiter has a wonderful organic hand-made quality to it. Depending on the colors and options you choose it can be more casual look or more professional looking.
Few scuffs on the back from taking the Taschenbegleiter in and out of my bag.
For the inside material you again get two options for materials, suede and wool felt. I chose the blue wool felt and I also chose to have my name embroidered into the felt in a light blue thread and Interstate font. You can actually send them a picture and they will embroider it on the organizer!
Empty Taschenbegleiter with all the clips open
There are various pocket configurations that include an option designed specifically for an iPad mini. Instead of pockets on the back cover you get 4 elastics that hold the iPad Minis corners. I chose the large pocket (which also fits an iPad) because it serves a dual purpose as a pocket for smaller notebooks like Field Notes and work as an iPad holder when I travel. The downside of course is that you have to pull out the iPad every time you want to use it.
iPad Mini in the back pocket.
There are more options still. You can have all the pen loops you want. You can have them on the bottom the top or the side (as I have on mine). If you like to use really fat pens you can specify the size of the pen you want to use and they will make the loops bigger.
You can also specify the number clips. The standard is three but you can have none, one, two or four if you request it. This is an important consideration because it will determine how much stuff you can put in your Tachenbegleiter and how fat it will be. Mine is about 1.5″ wide with the three clips in use…but you can make it even fatter if you really stuff it.
Roterfaden makes various refills and inserts for the Tachenbegleiter. They all look beautiful and are of excellent quality. Let me show you how I normally have mine loaded up:
I always fill from the back forward. This is the notepad. It comes with a cardboard cover and the pages are blank on one side and graph on the other. The pages are perforated so they tear off easily.notepad coverNext is the middle clip which I use to hold the diary refill and three sheet protectors.Sheet protectors.Last up is the calendar. The clips work beautifully as bookmarks.Calendar refill with optional cardboard cover. Cell phone, memo pad and business cards in the cover pockets.
Here are some more pictures of the unusual diary refill which has a stave on one side and a dot grid on the other.
Notice that you can see glue and the red stitching on the spine. Also notice all the lovely signatures!This is right in the middle of the notebook. It lies ultra flat.
I love the red stitching in particular. The different booklets have different papers. The calendar has 70g paper that does show some bleed through with fountain pens. The 80g paper in the diary booklet holds up well to fountain pen ink. If you write with a fat juicy nib you might get some light bleeding but nothing serious.
There is some minor show through and some bleed from the juicy OMAS nib.
I have not yet had the chance to sample the 120g drawing paper booklets. Most of the larger booklets have an optional cardboard cover and while they are not necessary they are nice to have as the booklets are otherwise protected by paper only.
Because the Taschenbegleiter comes in standard A series sizes you can put pretty much any A5 notebook in the organizer. I have also been able to put a standard Field Notes in one of the clips (top or bottom only). The new larger Field Notes Arts and Sciences notebooks work beautifully.
Field Notes Sciences Notebook
A5 Kyokuto Notebook
I have been using mine everyday for the last five months and there are some downsides. The main one being that it’s a pretty big organizer and its weight wont go unnoticed in you bag. For personal travel I tend to take my smaller Midori Travelers Notebook with me (maybe I need to get an A6 Taschenbegleiter).
The clips are also great for loose pieces of paper and receipts. A folded A4 sheet of paper will fit perfectly into the clips.
The other downside is the price. It’s expensive, especially if you start adding options like a leather cover and embroidery. The basic A5 size runs 89€ or $120 USD (this includes VAT which is not applicable outside of Europe). With options mine came to $182 USD but with VAT removed (because I live in the USA) the organizer cost about $150 USD.
While expensive, I do believe you will have a hard time finding a better quality organizer for double or even triple the price. I have looked and I haven’t found anything close. The Taschenbegleiter is completely hand-made in Germany.
I love my Taschenbegleiter. It is a wonderful product and I recommend it to anyone in the market for a high-quality and highly adaptable organizer.
Calepino appears to be the French equivalent of Field Notes. Calepino focuses on small pocket notebooks with a simple core line of 100% French-made notebooks numbered one through four. No 1 features a red striped cover with ruled paper, No 2, the version I purchased, has green stripes and grid paper, No 3 has blue stripes and blank paper and No 4 has grey stripes and a dot grid.
Notebook numbers 1-4 come in packs of 3 for $13 compared with Field Notes’ 3 for $10. The No 2 measures 3.5″ x 5.5″, though up against a Field Notes, the No 2 is a hair shorter and a hair wider. The page count is the same 48 pages. So are they better than Field Notes? Let’s find out!
The Calepino notebooks come in very nicely branded box that features the same design and same cardboard as the notebook covers. The inside of the box lists all the specs of notebooks much like on the back inside cover of a Field Notes.
The cardboard cover is much rougher than a standard Field Notes cover and is noticeably thicker. The cardboard is made by a company in the Creuse area of France that has been making cardboard since 1927. The design is quite nice but I definitely prefer the simplicity of the Field Notes covers. The Calepino has three fonts on the cover where Field Notes only has one.
Inside the cover is a place for your personal information and a place for the start and finish date.
The pages are made of a bright white recycled paper with a green grid. The 5 x 5 mm grid is a bit larger than the 4.7 mm x 4.7mm grid found on a standard Field Notes. I prefer the smaller grid and the light brown ink the Field Notes uses.
Field Notes on the left and Calepino on the right.
In my testing I found that the Calepino’s paper handled relatively well for a recycled paper. It does bleed and feather a bit but overall it holds ink better than the standard Field Notes paper. To my touch the Calepino paper is a bit rougher and it provides a bit more feedback when writing which I like.
Bleeding with fatter nibs but very minor ghosting.
The Calepino is bound with two staples vs Field Notes’ three. The back cover has a little blurb about the company (I hope you speak French) and a metric ruler.
I have been carrying around a Calepino for about a week now and I definitely like the notebook but I don’t like it better than Field Notes. I fold my covers over when I am writing on a page and the Calepino is noticeably less pliable than a Field Notes notebook. I can fold the cover over but its more difficult and the two staple binding does not do as nice a job of holding the pages in place.
The Calepino offers better paper and better packaging than Field Notes but in the end I prefer the softer cover and overall look and feel of Field Notes.
The Calepino limited editions are quite interesting and I hope to get my hands on a set. The Limited editions feature collaborations with artists and famous design houses. What I particularly like is that the limited editions I have seen come in sets that include other limited edition items like pencils, pens, buttons and bookmarks.
Here are links to some great reviews of Calepino notebooks:
World Meister’s Note is a collection from Midori that involves fusion of Japanese craft with other countries craft. I have previously reviewed Vol. 1 “Dainel” and I liked it quite a bit.
I skipped Vol. 2 for the time being as it has been hard to locate one from a US seller. Hopefully when I go to Japan later this week I will be able to pick one up.
Vol. 3 is called Grain and “employs recycled leather meticulously manufactured by workshops in Valencia, Spain.” The memo book measures 5″ x 3″ x .5″ not including the spiral which adds a quarter inch in length and depth.
The memo book features 50 sheets (100 pages) white lined MD paper and 50 sheets of cream blank MD paper. There is also a double elastic band that keeps the book shut.
It’s a beautiful little book. The black leather looks great with the brown elastic and the copper colored double spirals.
The black recycled leather cover is stiff like a regular plastic memo book color but it has a nice leather grain and smell.
As I have mentioned in previous posts Midori’s MD paper is one of my favorites. It holds fountain pen ink very well. The lined pages have a brown dotted rule were every fifth line is solid. Also the front of each sheet of lined paper has the “MIDORI” printed at the bottom.
I had to abuse the paper to make it bleed. Almost no ghosting.More apparent ghosting on the cream colored paper but no bleed even with abuse.
The Grain memo book is too large and bulky for my pants pocket. It will fit but it’s not comfortable. 100 sheets of paper make the memo book quite fat and inflexible.
$7.75 is high for a little memo book but the leather cover and 100 sheets of MD make the entry price worth while. The Grain is a great looking, beautifully made memo book. If it was a bit less bulky it would be my new memo book of choice but for now I am sticking with the Maruman Mnemosyne memo book (N193).
Here is a great review of the Midori “Grain” Memo Book:
(I have no affiliation with the site linked below)
Baron Fig started as a Kickstarter project and raised almost $170k of crowd funding. Clearly people liked this notebook so I wanted to see what it is all about. Currently Baron Fig only makes one notebook, The Confidant, which comes with 192 pages of blank, ruled or dot grip paper. The book is a bit smaller than an A5 size at 5.4″ x 7″.
The notebook comes very nicely packaged in its own maroon colored box and while I like the packaging I don’t want to see that on a $16 notebook…it actually annoys me…why does a hard covered notebook need an expensive box? Can I pay $10 and skip the box?
Okay so I dislike the packaging but what about the notebook?
The plain, unbranded grey cover and the yellow page marker go great together. The inside of the notebook contains a thick acid free paper that handles fountain pen ink quite well and as advertized the book does lay flat, which was nice to see.
Unfortunately the build quality leaves much to be desired.
The first thing I noticed was the page marker is unfinished at the bottom so it comes new out of the box frayed. That seems a bit sloppy. The spine looks all bumpy, like the fabric wasn’t glued on with much care.
With some use I noticed that the cover would no longer close all the way on its own weight. This isn’t a huge deal but it’s worth pointing out.
The book’s binding has a decent number of signatures which allows the book to lay flat but on the inside the stitching in each signature is poor.
There are only 5 loose stitches and they are off center; from the top of the page to the first stitch is .75″ and from the bottom of the page to the last stitch is 1.25″. If you are like me and like to tear pages out of your notebook, you are going to have a hard time. Every page I have tried to pull rips horribly because of the crap stitching.
For reference this is what stitching on a high quality Life notebook looks like:
The stitching is tight and goes all the way to the end of the page.
The Baron Fig has some really good things going for it but the build quality makes it feel like a first attempt, and when you consider the $16 price tag it’s definitely a no-go.
Please note: This product was provided to me at no charge by Baron Fig for review purposes.
The Field Notes Shelterwood Edition has the most unique cover I have seen so far. It features a cherry wood veneer on a brown kraft paper and it looks awesome. The feel of the cover was initially off putting, it felt like badly sanded wood. As I used the notebook more it felt less and less rough. I did not see quite the variation in color and grain as Field Notes shows on their website but each of the covers is noticeably different.
The cover is surprisingly strong, I have used it in my back pocket for a few days now and I have not seen any splintering.
I suspect as these covers get older, they will become more brittle.
The paper is the same lined paper as you got in the America the Beautiful Edition, which is by far the most fountain pen friendly Field Notes paper I have come across.
Minor bleed and little ghosting.
This is definitely one of the best limited edition Field Notes I have seen. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!
The Calepino is bound with two staples vs Field Notes’ three. The back cover has a little blurb about the company (I hope you speak French) and a metric ruler.
