When I was little back to school was an awesome time of the year for one reason and one reason alone; new school supplies. I was (and partially still am) a stationery geek. I would page through my father’s office supply catalog making lists of the items I wanted. The fact that you could get an entire case of your favorite type of pen, pencil, eraser, or whatever boggled my mind. I never ended up with cases of my favorite stationary items, but I did end up with and extensive collection of Garfield branded post-it notes, but that’s another story.
I’m not the stationery geek I once was, but I still appreciate a fine pad or pen. Which is why I was intrigued with the new Field Notes Brand notebooks put out by Coudal Partners and Draplin Design. The notebooks consist of a durable cover and 48 pages of graph paper, which in and of itself isn’t that special. What’s special is the personality these little notebooks carry. The inside covers of the notebooks are filled with gems such as Practical Application suggestions consisting of Grocery Lists, Shoddy Sketches, Half-Ass Calculations, Gambling Debts & Tall Orders. Also listed is the specifications of the notebook. For example, did you know the corners are precisely rounded to 1/4” (6.4mm) by a CRC round corner machine? Or that the innards where printed on a Heidelberg 36” 5-Color printing press? Well now you do.
My shipment also came with a Coudal Partners logo decal and Field Notes branded pen and pencil. Even the pencil holds the same charm as the notebooks with it’s specifications printed on the side. So much charm that I can’t bring myself to sharpen it.
So while yes, it is just a notebook. It’s a little notebook with a lot of charm.
Comments
looks almost exactly like the moleskine cahier notebooks i picked up last weekend. any idea how they compare?
noted differences: graph vs lined paper, staples vs stitched binding, field notes has silly/neat stuff written on the inside covers and the latter half of the moleskine’s pages are perforated for easy tear out.
posted by tom on 09.14.07 at 11:22 am
I haven’t had any experience with the moleskine cahier notebooks, so I can’t really compare the two. But I do have a standard pocket Molskine and the Field Notes is a much “lighter” alternative as I’m sure the cahier’s notebook is.
posted by Jim on 09.14.07 at 12:08 pm
the cahiers notebooks are much more durable. i’ve been using a field notes for about a week now and i’ll be going right back to the cahier.
cahier has a much more durable cover and the stitching on the spine wears much better in the back pocket where i carry mine. the field notes book isn’t particularly resistant to getting damp from sweat or the constant abrasion that a pocket will inflict on it.
on the plus side, it’s cute and folks that make them have done a good job of building buzz for the product.
largely hype in my estimation and not worth the money.
posted by steve on 09.23.07 at 7:43 am
Hi There I’m going to give these notebooks a try. One thing though stationery is spelt with an ‘e’. Stationary means not moving “I was a stationary geek” - sounds weird.
posted by Evelyn on 09.27.07 at 3:52 am
Ah, good catch. Fixed.
posted by Jim on 09.27.07 at 4:03 am
Just ordered a set of these beautys, can’t wait to get em!
posted by hellyeahdude.com on 11.01.07 at 1:28 am
uh…you’re STILL an immobile geek. (stationery)
posted by Eric Nentrup on 11.13.07 at 5:33 pm
Damn it. Missed the second one. Thanks for the head up.
posted by Jim on 11.13.07 at 5:44 pm
How’s the paper? Looks too cold-white for me. I like to write with sepia ink, so i love warmer shades. Muji notebooks look more yellowish. I love them.
posted by eio on 11.19.07 at 3:36 pm
I’ve been using write-in-the rain notebooks for years. http://www.mindbird.com/rite.htm I don’t love them but they have one feature that keeps me coming back. If they can get wet, very wet and are fine. Very helpful in an occupation like mine.
posted by Andy on 03.01.08 at 1:21 am