Why I Designed My Own Notebooks
When I was six years old, I had a school assignment to keep a daily journal, and ever since then, I’ve kept a diary or journal on and off for years. I found myself diving back into more consistent journaling in college when I had a bit more time to pursue my passions, and the self-discipline it takes to form long lasting habits. Over the years, I have gone through a lot of notebooks that I’ve used as journals, planners, commonplace books, and sketchbooks. Here are just some of the hundreds I’ve tried:
These notebooks were great for my needs at the time, but I wished something was different about each one. If only it were fountain-pen friendly. If only the grid was a tiny bit smaller. If only it came in the color and design that I want. It's always been a dream of mine to design my own notebooks. I recently took a leap to make that dream a reality and created my first series of traveler’s notebook inserts! I took my time in carefully selecting paper quality, binding, grid size, notebook size, and design. After years of dreaming and months of actual designing, they’re finally here!
I knew I had to have Tomoe River Paper (Sanzen), because of my deep love of fountain pens. TRP is well-known by stationery lovers for its minimal ghosting and bleed-through when using fountain pens. The smooth surface of the TRP allows fountain pen ink to beautifully showcase its color and sheen. The 52 gsm paper is thin and lightweight which allows for more pages in each booklet—both the standard and passport size notebooks have 100 pages/50 sheets, yet are about the same thickness as your typical insert that has much fewer pages.
The sturdy cardstock completely covers the stitched binding, which can protect the spine from wear and tear. I chose a deep forest green to complement the gold debossed fern design that you might recognize from my Into the Forest sticker sheet, and a bordeaux/plum cover to go with the dainty wildflower from the Delicate Blooms sticker sheet. I also offer a graphite gray option for anyone who wants a minimal look or prefers to decorate their own cover.
I chose a smaller grid size of 3.5mm, because I noticed most notebooks have larger 5mm grids, and I just didn't need that much space for my handwriting. When I tested out this grid size, I was able to fit more into my pages and make the most of my bullet journal layouts. I chose a very subtle light gray grid to minimize distractions.
I'm absolutely in love with how this first series of notebooks came out, and I'm looking forward to creating more notebook designs in the future!
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