Field Notebooks

image from fieldnotes

One thing I have pretty much stopped doing is writing- with a pen on paper. Even though in college, laptops were the notebooks of choice, I still preferred to handwrite all my notes. Fast forward a few years where the computer dominates my work life, free time, and the hubby is trying to ease the Kindle under my radar. I have 5 books of diaries, yet my latest one has sporadic entries, as Evernote replaced it for a period of months. So, why write things down anymore, when you can type, save, backup, manipulate, and edit stuff on a screen? I don't know the answer to that question. Yet I get to ask myself, as today, by virtue of creating a new Gowalla location, I randomly won a subscription to the Field Notes Colors limited edition notebooks. (Checking in or creating new places is sort of a pointless activity, but I was sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's and had nothing better to do.) And boy are these notebooks lovely, as the line "explores new papers, printing processes, and colors, sometimes adding special packaging and other fringe benefits." I await the first shipment with excitement and smidgen of anxiety over what to do with them! Not a proponent of accumulating pretty objects that just collect dust.

Made in: Various small letterpress and printing studios in the US

Handmade? Yes

$129 (yearly subscription)

image from amazon

Field Notes are inspired by the agricultural notebooks of the past century, yet they are more like a modern, immaculately designed, urban version of their grandparents. For memo books that can stand to be outside, check out Rite in the Rain. They are definitely not as sleek as Field Notes, but professionals use them (see Cool Tools). Also consider other military notebooks, such as the Department of Defense bound log books. ACL has a recent write-up on them, and a hearty discussion in the comments section on the military tactical equipment and clothing as fashion statements.

Made in: ?

Handmade? No

$5.45