Jim Barraud

I’m stoked about being linked up in Coudal’s fresh signals (and their latest email newsletter). But even more so than usual since my link comes right before a mention of Daniel Lanois’ new documentary movie. Totally awesome on both counts.

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.