Review: Eva Enveloop — a refined wrap-style pen(cil) case | JohnScullen.com

The Enveloop is a simple, but well designed wrap-style case. The exterior is made from Kurashiki canvas while suede is used for the internal pockets. A leather strap secures the rolled-up case and a leather disc at its end prevents the case from opening unintentionally.

A really nice looking case. I’m a fan of roll cases like this. I have something functionally similar that I always get comments on. I’ll post about that one soon.

Offline Tools – Matthew Lang

There’s a huge number of apps now that try to keep us in a state of being permanently connected to the Internet, but it comes at a cost. Being online means being connected, being connected means being distracted and being distracted is how we fail do the work we intended to do. When it comes to being productive, look for tools that work offline. Turn off your wi-fi and get working.

Pen and Paper are the original “distraction free writing tools”.

Fill a pocket sketchbook, send it, watch it tour the globe – Boing Boing

The Sketchbook Project is a unique Brooklyn-based global arts initiative that’s been operating for the past ten years. Anyone who wants to participate buys one of their pocket sketchbooks. You fill the book up with your art, send it back, they scan it and make it available online. It also goes into their collection (now over 33,000 volumes) which the public can access, and there’s even a mobile museum touring the collection.

I haven’t heard of this before. Really cool project.

The Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen — Tools and ToysTools and Toys

Today, the Lamy 2000 is a piece of history. It fits in the same conversation as Charles and Ray Eames’ iconic lounge chair, Dieter Rams’ Braun wrist watch, and Sori Yanagi’s perfectly weighted flatware — timeless products with an infinite life and a market defining form factor.

Worth checking out for the pictures alone. Stunning.

Moleskine Alternatives — The Pen Addict

Brad provides a few good suggestions in case you are looking for something similar but better.

Writing in Notebooks

Pictures of notebooks, writing in notebooks, people writing in notebooks.

This is a lovely Tumblr site. What we believe in. Beautiful things being beautifully used.

Hybrid — Shawn Blanc

Long-time readers of this site will know that I’ve been a hard and fast OmniFocus userfor almost five years now. However, for more than a year, I’ve actually been using a hybrid system for my task management: combining both digital and analog in my everyday juggling act.

If you’ve been struggling with how to work in both the analog and the digital, Shawn’s post might help.

Austin Kleon Posts Tagged Notebook

Austin has been killing it lately collecting images and info of famous notebooks. Very cool.

Self-published photo books go from last resorts to museum treasures | Public Radio International

Self-published is usually seen as a last resort for the rejected author, but don’t tell that to photographers. Self-publishing has become a huge hit for photographers looking to get their work out, and the limited editions are valuable commodities for collectors and even museums.

From CJ Chilvers comes this excellent story about how photographers are doing well with self-publishing photo books. Increasingly, I think photo books are the best way to not only preserve the photos that truly matter to us but also to make sure we actually remember to look at them weeks, months, or years from now.