News: Pelle Notebooks and Blackwing Subscriptions | The Well-Appointed Desk

Did you know Yafa is listing a Monteverde Pelle refillable journal listed on their site now? Does this mean that Pelle is back in business and working with Monteverde? Exciting news if, like me, you really liked the Pelle version of this popular leather notebook system.

When I saw this I actually had a moment of not being sure I was dreaming it. I had to rub my eyes and reload the page to be sure it was real. I loved the Pelle Journal. I wrote about it on my personal site long before this site was even an idea in my mind. It’s really lovely.

By the time mine was filled the maker of the journal, and its refills, had suddenly vanished. I looked and looked for an equivalent refill and even considered making my own — I even made a very rough prototype but found it not nearly as satisfactory or worth the time and expense. I moved on.

So, when I saw Ana post this I immediately clicked on the link and ordered up several refills. Can’t wait to see what comes and only hope they are as good as the old ones.

PEN PARADE by hallithbates

Illustrated pen reviews from an extremely enthusiastic and informed source. Finding the right pen, or just trying a new pen, has the power to make you want to write & draw more. What could be better?!

A pen review newsletter written and drawn with the pen being reviewed? Sign me up! (Actually, don’t bother. I already signed myself.)

Letter of Recommendation: Uni-ball Signo UM-151 – NYTimes.com

For me, the pen’s virtues are multifarious. The cost is such that I do not mind if I lose it (almost inevitably, I will). Aesthetically, there is the sleek silhouette, the smooth barrel, the graceful link of the arcing clip to the gentle curving cap; viewed on its side, the pen perfectly evokes a Shinkansen bullet train. I love the way the silver conical tip sits visible through its clear plastic housing, like a rocket waiting to be deployed. I love the small black rubber grip, with its pairs of dimples, arranged in a pattern whose logic evades but intrigues me. The pen slides discreetly into a pocket, and like a sinuous dagger it just feels meant to be held.

Quite the ode.

News: NPR Loves Paper

I had lots people alert me to the several stories NPR has recently ran about paper related topics. Anna at Well Appointed Desk rounded them all up for you in a single post so, I’ll simply link to that.

How to Take Notes on Books and Articles

But if you’re like I was, you’ve avoided taking notes until now because you think there really is some special method that you don’t know. Maybe you’ll wind up with a bunch of meaningless keywords and scribbles and no real meat. Maybe it just slows your reading down for no good reason. So for those people, a few tips.

Some good, practical tips and most apply to any kind of note taking, not just books and articles.

A Pencil Shop, for Texting the Old-Fashioned Way – NYTimes.com

The monomaniac at the helm of C. W. Pencil Enterprise is Caroline Weaver, a 24-year-old Natalie Wood look-alike with a pencil tattooed on her forearm. Her store is the size of a juice box, with a checkered floor and jars of yellow button chrysanthemums sprinkled around. With its spanking newness and luminous blocks of color, the place looks like an Edward Hopper canvas. (Or, as the website Racked put it: “This Fancy Pencil Store Is Begging to Be Instagrammed.”). And it really does sell mostly pencils. Which is insane, but in an entrancing way, as if Captain Ahab opened a boutique of whale trinkets.

While I take a certain umbrage with the “well, isn’t that precious” way the article is handled, I found the idea of such a shop wonderful.

The Setup / Jean Yang

What hardware do you use? Once I saw Nobel laureate Oliver Smithies, who discovered DNA recombination, give a talk about his process. He showed us photos of his lab notebooks leading up to his discovery and got me thinking about how recording your work — and the associated ideas — is as important as doing the work. Though I’m not a lab scientist, I spend a fair bit of time with my notebooks. (I’ve tried digital note-keeping methods and, for me, nothing comes close to the real thing.) I’m absolutely in love with the Postalco A5. It’s designed incredibly well. The back cover extends a few centimeters beyond the pages to keep the notebook from slipping as you write. The spine sits on top to allow for ease of labelling on the sides. The pages have a fine mesh grid that makes it nice for writing words and drawing diagrams at all scales.

I love that, when asked what hardware she uses, she starts out with her preferred notebook.

Starting a Sketchbook or Visual Journal | The Well-Appointed Desk

With many stacks of notebooks, sketchbooks and blank books I’ve acquired, and the fact that my day job is about making pictures, I thought it was time to get back into the regular habit of keeping a sketchbook or visual journal of some sort. I figured that I couldn’t possibly be the only person who might need a little inspiration and creative idea to get me started so I thought I’d share some of the prompts, ideas and tips I found.

The Notebooks of Optimizely’s Design Team: A Photo Essay

Optimizely’s Design team is a diverse bunch, ranging from researchers to coders to designers. In the course of working with them, I noticed that everyone has their own unique note-taking style. Some people draw detailed sketches, some encode their notes with symbols, and some use a combination of doodles and words. Some people scribble notes in one big sketchbook, some carry around Field Notes in their pockets all day, and some use a combination of post-its, notebooks, and scrap paper. In noticing these idiosyncrasies, I thought it would be interesting to document everyone’s unique style.

There are few things I enjoy more than peeking at other people’s notebooks. I find it endlessly fascinating.

(via Chris Bowler)

Blackwing launches a pencil subscription service

Much like Field Notes, you get four editions a year for $100 (plus $12 for shipping). Each shipment includes a dozen pencils in fancy gift boxes, plus a pencil sealed for archival purposes, (which is a nice touch for us hoarders, er, collectors). And, to further appease collectors, each pencil will be numbered

A great idea that I wish more retailers offered.