Address Book from Pictura

Today is a bit of an odd one. An address book.

Who uses those anymore I hear you ask.

Well, I got it as a gift from my grandparents and thought I would add it to the blogging pile. The cover has a velvety feel (the black lines and magnetic closure are velvety) and personally I find the swirling patterns rather beautiful.

If it was an ordinary notebook I would be using it in a flash, without a second thought. Now I have to come up with a way to use an address book without using it as an address book…

Maybe password and logins? or a LinkedIn backup?

Ink Test: in the Leuchtturm 1917 Jottbook

Last month I wrote about my monthly notebook for May the Leuchtturm 1917 Jottbook.

At the time of writing this was a fresh and new notebook, now it is almost full (and I am not even half way through the month yet). That is clearly a good sign.

If I like it, I use it.

I have found myself speed through the pages during a quiet moment.  I have also taken the opportunity to carry out a quick ink test (although I fear my fountain pens seem to have gone walkies as people keep borrowing my pens).

As you can see very little bleeding  – in fact the only bleed through is the permanent marker. My writing instrument of choice appears to be a mechanical pencil at the moment despite the pots (and pots) of pens I seem to have on my desk.

To Do List Notebook

The to-do list notebook from Printed Portal is the latest addition in their organisational notebooks for professionals and the latest addition to my collection of work notebooks.

I have started working in a new department at work and I thought that this might be the most appropriate notebook for managing my task list. The work I do is very client based and there are several standard steps that are carried out in relation to each client (the emphasis is on getting it right for the client and not on deadlines and/or efficiency) therefore a client driven task list sounded perfect.

The style of this pocket-sized notebook (10.8 x 17.48 ) is in keeping with the rest of the professional range and is deep red in colour. Each of the 120 pages of the notebook is a list for a client and includes space for tasks or items, due date, draft and done. I use these pages by listing the client at the top and then having the list of tasks down the left hand column – this will include things like meetings, attendance notes, letters and documents. Where there is a due date I will fill this in but quite often I do not have a due date and I will put in the date I send something to the client instead.

The next two columns are labelled D and D (for draft and done). I tend to do a lot of drafts as well so I will use both of these columns as check boxes and tick them off. We usually have our own checklist procedure at work for checking draft documents so I usually tick the first column when it enters the checklist procedure, then a few days later when I get them back a second tick goes in the done column to show that the document has been finished and sent to the client.

The thing that is lacking in this notebook is how to sort  information by client when you can’t reorder the pages. I came up with 3 possibilities:

• Enter the work into the notebook as you receive it – but then it is harder to find the client list when you need it again.
• Enter in all your clients at once and arrange them as you please  – but as a trainee I do not have a set client list.
• Alphabetical Order

I have gone for alphabetical order. This I did myself by putting a tiny letter in the top right hand corner of each page (4x pages per letter with spare pages at the back). You can easily find the letter you need by using the top corner of the notebook like a flip book. Simple and easy.

So far the notebook has worked well and is keeping track of the work I am doing for each client. As always I will review again as time passes.

Leuchtturm 1917 Jottbook

I am kicking off my return to blogging with a quick look at the Leuchtturm 1917 Jottbook an alternative to Moleskine. Leuchtturm is by no means new to the stationery world with over 90 years of experience but it is the first time I have ever purchased one of their notebooks. It was on offer (30% off) and was the last lavender one in store – so how could I resist. It is 90 x 150mm – so it is still bigger than my iphone (Part of me continues to want a notebook I can strap to my iphone but more on those ponderings another day).

Recently I have become more addicted to Squared Paper which seems to appeal to my scribblings more. So I was thrilled to find out that it came with squared paper. This will be my Monthly Notebook for May and I shall report in again at the end of the month.

Key Facts:

• Squared Paper
• 60 Numbered Pages
• Blank Table of Contents
• 32 Perforated and detachable pages
• Thread bound notebook opens flat
• Stickers for labelling
• Ink Proof Paper
• Acid Free Paper

The Book Of Good Ideas

While I was disappointed it wasn’t called the book of GREAT ideas I found another great notebook. There is nothing I love more than a beautifully bound notebook, delicate pages and a book with a purpose – and this neatly tied up bundle brought all these things together.

Bought in Tallin, this notebook was a gift, but it is of the handcrafted style frequently seen in markets up and down the country.

The pages are flexible, the binding is strong and the notebook is most certainly durable. However, I hate to say this – I haven’t managed to pick up the courage to write in it yet. It is almost too perfect.

I have been so busy since the new year with moving house, I’ve not had any time for any good ideas. I need good ideas before I can start writing… So once I’ve written on these delicate pages I shall let you know what it is like.

Black n Red – Keynotes

This one has been sitting on the review pile for a while. Keynotes is one of Oxford’s latest additions to their Black n’ Red range. Keynotes is not really a good notebook (although it has the capability of functioning as a repositional notebook should you wish to use it in this way). Its key function is as inserts for your existing Black n’ Red wirebound notebooks.

The pages are repositional/detachable (as seen in the picture below):

The pages come off and can be slotted in again (to the keynotes notebook or a black n’ red wirebound notebook of the same size – unfortunately they are not universal since the size and spacing varies for each wirebound notebook).

The edge of the pages are re-enforced and this seems to work when inserting a page into a notebook. The pages stand out well in an existing notebook, perfect for noting important information and/or lists etc which you need to find easily. If you are a student they also make a good summary page (equivalent of the index card) for revision purposes.

They are available as both a notebook (above) and loose insert pages. If you are a fan of using Black n’ Red notebooks – this should be added to your collection – very useful and boost organisation. However, if you don’t like or use Black n’ Red,  walk on by.

Paperchase Passport Notebook

In my last post I briefly mentioned my latest monthly notebook: the paperchase passport notebook.

The notebook itself is a beautiful sunny yellow – a ray of sunshine in these wintery months. It is available in a range of colours and is A6 in size and very slimline (passport sized). Even though it is such a small notebook is durable and doesn’t get bent knocking around in my rucksack or bag even though it a simple paper cover.

The pages however a quite thin and the writing from the page below will be slightly visible when using biro and more so when using, for example, a stabilo Point 88 Fineliner (pictured below).

However, it is still a handy little notebook for writing down quick notes, shopping lists etc. The pages are easy to tear out and I often use them to write down things for others / pass out etc.

In summary – cute, small, durable.  At £1.50 per notebook… an immediate purchase.

 

Pukka Pads: City Range

Pukka Pads – we all know and love the fantastic range of notebooks brought to us by Pukka Pads. As students my classmates and I used them for EVERYTHING (or at least the cheap own-brand knockoffs).

Recently I had heard talk of the new business range from Pukka Pads – so I decided to check it out. Honestly, I was disappointed.

The new range is called the “City Range“:

perfect for businesses and executives seeking design, style and sophistication in quality-writing pads.

Why was I disappointed? Yes they are sleek and sophisticated. Yes, the are great quality products (like all pukka pad products)…. but they are boringly black.

Source: Pukka Pads

Yes I am a professional, but you can have a professional notebook without being black. There is a slight design on the Casebound Notebooks (pictured) which does liven up the notebooks slightly but it still feels very black. If I want black “Black n Red” offer a more tempting range in my opinion.

What I love about Pukka Pads is their quirkiness. Their everyday ranges are great for that and a sound reason for people to choose them. I understand that professionals are unlikely to pick a notebook from their Everyday Range to use in the office (my workplace included) but professional notebooks do not have to be boring. If anyone was going to do a professional notebook with a twist I was sure it would be Pukka Pads. Unfortunately it was not.

City Range: Sleek and Sophisticated, but is not going to be admired in the office, will simply “blend in” and personally I love notebooks as a talking point.

Radley A6 Notebook

I never buy a notebook for the “name” but the notebook range from Radley (pictured) is an exception to the rule. I will skip the part where I blab about my love for Radley products (luxury bags with the cute little dog) and move straight onto the notebooks. Usually when a company/brand (other than a specific notebook brand of course) release a notebook it is a sub-standard notebook with their logo. The Radley notebook is different. It has a proper notebook feel from cover to cover… not only that, it keeps in line with their “Radley” look through out.

So we will take a closer look at Radley’s A6 freehand floral notebook:

The cover is green, with a floral pattern with a sort of linen / textile feel to it – giving it an instant feeling of higher quality. Inside the notebook the fact that it is a Radley notebook becomes apparent the lines are dashed (in the same way that the bags are hand-stitched and each page has a little Radley (Scottie) dog at the bottom.

Very cute.

 

One of the cutest things about this notebook is the thin lines (won’t suit those of you with big handwriting), but I simply love it. In the photo is a standard biro pen so give a rough idea of how the lines are – but simply put think very narrow ruled. The paper is reasonably thick – couldn’t find a half decent pen (or fountain pen) to try out some pen samples on it, so that may follow if I get round to it (really should start unpacking some boxes now that I am all moved into my new home).

Cookie Bookie Notebookie

This is another notebook from Daycraft’s 2011 collection. A cute square notebook 125mm x 125mm) with a cream cookie/sandwiched cookie “look”. The cover is a brown cookie colour with the white pages being the cream filling. There are 144 pages which are white with 6.55mm lines (brown) with a brown tinge round the edge of the page – giving a neat and compact feel. Cute.