The Traveler’s Notebook—With A Leather Thong

If you're one of those people that looks for stationery or nice pens on the interwebs, then you have probably found it difficult to avoid reading about the Traveler's Notebook (from The Traveler's Notebook Company in Japan, formerly Midori). They're written about on almost every pen and stationery site you may stumble across, and—I should …

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Rhodia DotPad Notepad No. 12

Why would anybody write a review of the Rhodia Dotpad? It's ubiquitous—everybody's got one, they're everywhere, and they've been around for years. Exactly. Everybody's got one, and they've been around for years. There must be something about them right? So what's the fascination with this little pad? First-off, it's small; which in this case, is …

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Life Noble Report A4

There comes a point when pocket-sized, and A5 notebooks just don't cut the mustard (note for North American peoples, this means they're just not up to the job; and no, I have no idea whatsoever why that should have anything to do with mustard). Enter, the Life Japanese Stationery Company's Noble Report A4 Writing Tablet. One …

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Uni Kuru Toga Mechanical Pencil

The Uni Kuru Toga is an extremely popular mechanical pencil for a reason; more than one actually. It has a solid plastic, clear barrel, with a comfortable ridged grip. The clip is springy, but firm enough to hold the lightweight body of the pencil. And the whole product feels well-made, and well-designed... for the most …

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Rhodia Heritage Notebook in Black Escher

The Rhodia Heritage Sewn Spine notebook in what they call black escher was one of the highlights of my week. It arrived promptly after placing an order with Wonder Pens in Toronto; and I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Liz recently wrote about the new lines of Clairefontaine and Rhodia notebooks they …

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Clairefontaine Age-Bag Tan Journal

The Clairefontaine Age-Bag Tan journal... has about the worst name for a notebook/journal I've come across to date. I'm sure their marketing department has a great reason, something to do with retro aesthetics and so on... blah, blah, blah. What would have been wrong with calling it a tan notebook? This is obviously why I …

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Life Noble Note A5

The Life Japanese Stationery brand of handmade notebooks, writing paper, and other products have become a firm favorite of mine over the last couple of years. I regularly pick up products from my two favorite Toronto stationers, the terrific Take Note (though not so much for buying online), and the all-round amazing Wonder Pens. Both stock the …

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Faber-Castell TK Fine Vario L Mechanical Pencil

I have to admit to being purely superficial in my attraction to this pencil. I was browsing the amply-stocked shelves of the Take Note stationery store in Toronto, when the glossy, mid-dark, of the Faber-Castell TK Fine Vario L mechanical pencil, and its shiny silver grip and clip, sparkled into the corner of my vision. …

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The Platinum Balance: This is a REAL Starter Pen

If you begin to read fountain pen reviews, and collector's sites, you'll soon see a fair bit about starter or beginner pens, as if they were some sort of gateway drug to the harder, and more expensive, Montblanc or Nakaya. And who am I to judge the analogy? It may well ring true for a lot …

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