Month: December 2015

Sunday Leather Craft Traveler’s Notebook 2

December 30, 2015

See my first Sunday Leather Craft TN here.

Continuing from my previous post, I liked the Traveler’s Notebook that I’d commissioned from Sunday Leather Craft so much that I immediately ordered another one. The reasonable prices and great craftsmanship were just too good to pass up.

This time I ordered my TN with a light tan or beige color. I’d seen how some leathers darkened over time due to exposure to UV rays, skin oils, and air, etc., and I thought it would be interesting to have a cover that would change color over time.

I also asked for a pen pocket, as I’d seen on other TN’s, flap envelopes, as well as four string inserts

The results were great, with a couple of caveats:

Front view: I like that SLC uses a slightly thicker elastic for the enclosure. That puts it a step above a lot of TN makers out ere already. The leather is beige (or tan depending on the lighting), slightly glossy so it tends to show scratches and stains. I’m pretty rough on my stuff, so I’ll expect this to become scuffed pretty soon.

Sunday Leather Craft Travaler’s Notebooks- front view.

The notebook includes a pen case.

Sunday Leather Craft Travaler's Notebooks- foldout

Foldout view

The pen case adds to the bulk. When empty, it gives added protection to the inserts as a mini ‘trifold’. Unfortyunately when it’s full, the leather “hinge” that attaches it to the cover is too short, so you have to tuck it into the back cover. I might reconsider having a pen case on my third order (oh yes, I’m still plotting a third one!)

Sunday Leather Craft Travaler's Notebooks- pen case

Pen c ase as trifold cover

A view of the inserts from above. I’ve set this up as an ‘art’ journal, so it’s got my Curnow Tomoe River journal from PenGrafik, a couple of handmade inserts using blank cardstock, and a blank journal from SketchnotesPH.

White/ cream stitching is very neat!

Overall I’m quite happy. There were a couple of glue stains on the leather when I first received it- deducting points for that- but I guess it’s something I can overlook since they weren’t major flaws. The leather itself is semi stiff but will probably soften over time, particularly the corners. They’re already kind of bendy since they take the most punishment, I think. Don’t let that dissuade you it’s a great leather (I wish SLC would name their leathers like other makers do!) and great notebook ; for under US$30, it’s a steal.

Sunday LEather Craft Traveler’s Notebook

A6 Hobonichi Techo Part 2

December 29, 2015

by tintinpantoja

comments 2

Following up on last week’s post, here’s a quick look at the Hobonichi’s interiors and why I like it so much….and a few of the reasons that I don’t. If you’re on the fence about getting one, maybe this glimpse into the Hobo’s papery guts will help you decide one way or the other.

So past the cover, you get a two-page calendar spread. Handy if you want to check up on dates/days quickly.

Interior initial year calendar of the Hobonichi.

This next bit is one of my favorites: a vertical chart of all the days in the year. I think you’re supposed to mark off special days , but I chose to use this page as a mood plotter. I struggle with some mood issues, and I figured that plotting my moods on this page, on a scale of one to ten, will allow me to see how my mood fluctuates over time.

Hobonichi day marker- which I use as a mood plotter.

Then we get to the two-page monthly spreads. As a visual person, I really prefer having my days laid out like this, so I can see how each day relates to a day in the week.

The month on a two-page spread.

This is followed by a couple of weeks’ (from Dec 16, 2015 to Dec. 31, 2015) worth of two-days-per page. I use these pages to note details and events of the day that may have affected my mood, including hours of sleep and possible triggers.

Hobonichi Two days a page layout- the closing days of 2015.

When January 1 hits, you finally get the one page per day layout. Many people use this section to journal or doodle or as a scrap-book. I haven’t quite decided, but I’ll probably continue listing the events and triggers of the day. And don’t forget the notes page that comes before every month. You can list monthly goals or events here.

Hobonichi daily layout

There are a few details that make this layout really nice for me. One are the monthly calendars on every bottom corner. And on the header, you’ll find the phases of the moon (handy for astrologer or stargazer types!). Oh, and also notice the tabs on the left which indicate the number of the month, so you can flip to any month quickly. It’s these little details that make me absolutely love this planner.

Header of the daily layout pages.

Each daily page contains a quote from a Japanese celebrity or artist. This is one of the things I don’t like about the planner- I would have prepared a blank space for more notes/ reminders/ doodles. But I guess the quotes could become conversation starters.

Quote at the bottom of the daily pages.

Finally, you get a few pages in dot grid for notes. Great area to write those so-hard-to-remember passwords (but use code!).

Notes pages. Cute peach dot grid!

Finally there’s a small section for important info such as international sizes, measurement conversions, telephone dialing codes, even national holidays around the world. There are a couple of pages including Japanese dining tips and major islands, although I don’t really care for those last two.

Conversion table.

Holidays around the world.

How to eat Japanese food?

Finally, on the last page is a form for personal and contact information (in case you lose your precious Hobo). And check out that serial number. Can you believe each Hobo is numbered individually? That’s pretty cool.

Hobonichi final page.

There’s just one thing I have to say before I finish: the Hobo’s paper is super thin ( it’s Tomoe River). at 50gsm, it’s about as thick as regular onions-kin. Now, many people say that Tomoe River doesn’t bleed on a lot of pens, including fountain pens, but I’ve found that certain inks do tend to bleed through or have extreme show-through, making the opposite sides almost unusable. If you like to use alcohol markers, Sharpies, or very thick wet pens, don’t use a Hobo! Otherwise, the paper is strong (for its weight, anyway) and can hold light washes, brush pens, and most fountain pens.

Hobonichi’s Tomoe River paper with showthrough and some bleedthrough using medium to broad fountain pens.

It’s also probably better to use small handwriting. I think the grids are 4mm. They’re printed in very light gray, however, so they shouldn’t interfere if you want to write beyond the lines.

There you have it! I’ll revisit my Hobonichi throughout the year to update you guys on how the pages are coming along. Thanks for stopping by!

A6 Hobonichi Techo Part 1

December 20, 2015

by tintinpantoja

comments 2

READ PART TWO

I first heard about the Hobonichi Techo planner (I’ll call it the Hobo) from one of my former editors, who’d mentioned that she had purchased one to art journal. As a fountain pen enthusiast, I’d heard the word Hobonichi floating around on the internet. It had a reputation as the perfect planner for fountain pens because it used Tomoe River paper, a thin but extremely resilient type of paper from Japan.

I looked it up online and realized the Hobo had a cult following. People were using it to doodle, journal, decorate, and sometimes even plan! I mentioned it to my sister Bea in passing, something like “Oh, have you heard of the Hobo?” She got this scary glazed look in her eyes and started squealing. Next thing I knew, we’d started counting down the days until we could order the 2016 edition (the Hobo is available for sale on September 1 every year).

For a long time, unless you lived in Japan you could only order the Hobo online from http://www.1101.com/, the official site for all iterations of the planner (there are five, which I’ll mention briefly). However, recently they’ve been popping up in stores around the world, including Scribe Writing Essentials in the Philippines and various local small online retailers/ importers.

The Hobonichi Techo A6 and the Cousin A5

Initially I only ordered the Hobonichi Cousin, the A5-sized version that only comes in Japanese. However, Liz was able to obtain the A6-sized Hobo English edition for me I passed on the Hobo Weeks, which is a vertically-oriented planner that well, tracks your weeks, as well as the A6 Hobo Techo in Japanese and the A5 Cousin Avec, which divides the A5 Cousin into two slimmer volumes.

The Hobonichi Techo English with Midori A6 clear cover.

The English Hobo comes in this gorgeous black cover stamped, in gold foil, the Kanji characters for ‘diary’ and ‘hand.’ I find it very elegant. The book cover itself is semigloss cardstock embossed to resemble leather. You can read here for more info on the history and nature of the planner. I do wish the cardstock was a little firmer. It’s designed to be covered by a secondary cover, so I think the thinness is deliberate.

For many people, one of the most crucial aspects of the Hobo is its secondary cover- various designs, in textile, leather, or silicone, that can be bought alongside the planner and are designed to protect and enhance the books.

They aren’t cheap –unlike me. I am VERY cheap. Therefore no fancy expensive covers for me. Instead I’m using a fake leather cover from local company Authors Avenue, which serendipitously fits (barely) over the Hobo.

A6 Notebook cover from Authors Avenue fits- mostly.

I DID purchase a Midori A6 clear cover to keep my Hobo clean.

One more note
about the Hobo- its binding is a testament to Japanese craftsmanship. You can fold this thing almost 360 degrees without breaking the spine, and it lays perfectly flat on a table.

Visit Part 2 to see how I’ve decided to use this versatile planner.

READ PART TWO

My 2016 Diaries: Hobonichi and Traveler’s Notebook

December 16, 2015

by Bea

comment 1

Hello all! I’m Tintin’s sister Bea. She’s generously allowed me to post on her blog because I, too, am caught in the grips of an uncontrollable stationery obsession. In fact, Tintin first got me into stationery when we were young, though I didn’t learn to fully appreciate it until much later. About a year and a half ago, she introduced me to fountain pens and I introduced her to the Midori Traveler’s Notebook and we’ve been enabling each other ever since!

It’s funny because for all the shared interests we have, our tastes actually differ a lot. For example, she’s more adventurous and knowledgeable about fountain pens, whereas I’m happy with my set of durable, inexpensive Lamys. On the other hand, I’m more of a Traveler’s Notebook “purist”–it’s not that I don’t like fauxdori, but I love the Traveler’s Factory brand so much that it would take something really special to lure me away. However, I’m happy that there’s a growing community of TN/fauxdori users in the Philippines, because it means getting supplies for planners and journals has become much easier and more affordable. Also, it’s bringing attention to local talent who seem to really know their leather.

For this post, I thought I’d share the new additions to my 2016 planning/journaling setup. These are items that I’ve been waiting for months to use–they are also items I’ve never used before. Due to my excitement, I may have acquired more diaries than I need, and am now faced with the dilemma of how to actually use each one. Anyone else have this problem? Every time I think I’ve got each diary finalized, I second-guess myself! But 2016 is almost upon us, so I’d better make up my mind soon.

So those new items are: the Traveler’s Notebook 2016 Diary (Weekly + Memo), the Hobonichi Planner, and the Hobonichi Techo Cousin Avec.

Traveler’s Notebook 2016 Diary (Weekly + Memo)

This is a limited edition diary that is released towards the latter half of the year. There are other versions, like the monthly and weekly diaries, but this is the one that Eunice from @thedailyroe uses to make her beautiful layouts. So of course, being a total lemming, I wanted it too. These are very similar to the weekly + memo free diaries that are sold year-round, but are pre-dated and have a few additions like a fancy cover, stickers, and calendar bits that I’m ignoring to be honest. You also get 2 inserts for the year: Jan-Jun, Jul-Dec. The Jul-Dec diary has a navy blue cover.

What I’ll Use it For: I plan to use this as a jumbled combination of weekly highlights, random notes of interest, and a commonplace book for facts, quotes, and found things. I’m changing the way I keep an art journal, so instead of one huge art journal, I’ll have smaller but more varied types of journals.

Hobonichi Planner

This is the first year I’ll be using the Hobonichi and I’m so, so excited. I bought the English version. In fact, this was supposed to be my everyday art journal/notes until the TN Weekly + Memo Diary came along. It’s probably for the better–I’ve seen how thick the Hobonichi Techo can get when you pump it up with stickers and washi tape. Forget about pasting in journal cards or glossy photos! I definitely do not want to be struggling to write in the pages by the end of the year, so I will try to keep the embellishments simple: washi tape and the occasional sticker. Today is the first entry, and I wasted no time in cracking it open. The sooner I can get it away from its pristine condition, the sooner I can stop treating it like a delicate princess and more like the durable “life-book” it’s supposed to be!

What I’ll Use It For: As you might be able to tell from the image, I’m struggling with this. I like how the Hobonichi looks with single entries decorated simply but beautifully (like this) but the collage of notes and illustrations also looks very nice (like so). More importantly, I have to distinguish it from both the previous diary and my written diary (yeah, I have a lot of diaries). I am leaning towards using it for more reflection-based journaling: noting the day’s accomplishments and reflecting on what’s to come. I use my written diary to whine a lot, sometimes at the expense of meaningful reflection.

Then again, this is my first year using it so I’m not going to be too prescriptive about it. I’ll start off by going with what feels comfortable!

Hobonichi Cousin Avec (A5)

The Hobonichi Cousin is of course the larger version of the Hobonichi Techo, and the Avec is the Cousin split into two volumes. Comparisons between the Cousin and A6 Techo have been elaborated in detail elsewhere, so I’ll just jump right into why I bought it. I decided that for 2016 I needed to track my writing tasks more diligently, since 2015 was proving to be very disappointing in that regard. The Traveler’s Notebook insert I was using for writing-related notes wasn’t cutting it and I was writing things on scraps that I’d later mistakenly throw away. But since I didn’t want to carry a full Cousin in addition to a Techo & my MTN, the Avec seemed like the perfect solution.

How I’ll Use It: As a writing tracker to track my current projects, tasks, progress, and deadlines. Also books I want to read or have read. I’ve added some slim washi tape to January 1 as a proposed layout: on the top I’ll put any deadlines for the day, the left will be for tasks for each project, and the right column will be for relevant notes or things to research.

There’s still much I have to do before 2016 rolls around: namely, to get my resolutions/goals (writing & otherwise) in order, and to figure out how all of this fits with my current Traveler’s Notebook setup. I’m hoping they all play nicely together.

Thanks for reading! I don’t know how often I will post, but for more regular updates, such as my art journal pages, washi tape collection, or sticker/stamp hauls, I have a dedicated Instagram for stationery called @tdpjournals. Come by and say hello 🙂

TN’S and Tabs

December 14, 2015

by tintinpantoja

comment 1

TN’s are great if you’re an ADD- prone planner person with multiple projects!

Different sections for each project. Now tabbed!

They’re already divided into separate little notebooks, so you’d think it would be easy to find the exact notebook you’re looking for. However, you can save one or two seconds if you didn’t have to flip through every single notebook and hey, time is precious. That and I think some of the creative ways people use tabs is really cute.

Still on my Jakarta trip, I happened across these small Bantex divider tabs at a small stationery store in Pondok Indah Mall . The tabs are simply colored cardstock with clear adhesive plastic e on the bottom. They work well enough for my needs- not cute, but functional.

Bantex divider tabs

In this TN, my creative writing projects, each tab corresponds to a single project. Previous to owning a TN, I had to keep all projects in a single notebook and tried to use this Japanese method of marking page edges to differentiate each section, but it always got too chaotic for me. With this method, I keep each section separated and neatly marked.

Morning Rituals

December 14, 2015

by tintinpantoja

comments 2

Years ago, my mother would go to yoga every morning- that was her morning ritual. The class would start around seven and end around nine, plus the time spent showering after class (about an hour). I would tag along with her and get dropped off at a coffee shop about ten minutes away. There, over a cup of delicious Indonesian cappuccino (or two) and my iPod, I would draw.

Nothing serious, mind you: just cartoon and comic characters, silly dragon like monsters from my own head, fanciful weapons, that kind of thing, following the melody only I could hear. I would doodle with colored pencils (because I enjoyed the waxy feel of their lead). When I ran out of ideas, I would just trace over the previous sketches in another color, or with ink. For almost three hours, I let my mind wander unfettered. Those were some of the best times of my life, putting me in what they call “the zone” of intense concentration and focus. It improved my creativity and just made me feel better, like a good workout. So what if I couldn’t drag my fat butt into yoga? I was doing yoga with my mind, man!

When my mom stopped going to yoga, I lost my reason for tagging along with her, and that morning ritual of coffee-and-doodles fell to the wayside. I’ve tried to incorporate it into my daily schedule. Not every day is successful; I’ve also stopped for long periods of time because I became too busy, anxious, or bored with my art. I know the artsy part of my brain has become flabby and creaky from lack of use (well, so has my physical body, but let’s not go there). I’d really like to get back into the habit of just sitting there and setting my mind free.

What’s your morning mind ritual?

Is it laying out your planner?

Jotting down your thoughts?

Or just closing your eyes for a second- trying to block out the noise and the traffic and the crowds, the social media notifications and the kids asking for their allowance- and just focus on the moment?

Venzi Soft Notebook

December 7, 2015

by tintinpantoja

comment 1

Let’s take a quick break away from Traveler’s Notebooks and take a look at one of my favorite fountain pen friendly notebooks, the Venzi Soft.

Venzi is part of a line of Victoria ‘s Journals and notebooks brand from Hong Kong. They do the fabulous Copelle line of notebooks as well, which would be one of daily carry notebooks if it wasn’t so monstrously thick!

The Venzi Soft retails at National Bookstore for about P200 (approximately US$ 4.5), so it’s one of the most competitively priced fp-friendly notebooks out there.

I’ve tried them with fairly medium to wet pens and only the wettest pens bleed through. Brush pens work great, too!

The paper is 70 gsm- quite thin, so it’s amazing that they hold up so well. Perhaps the smooth coating has something to do with it- although it’s not ultra-smooth, it certainly doesn’t have the rough pulpy feel that you get from most Korean notebooks (I’m not a fan of Korean notebooks, as they tend to be very bleed-y despite being so cute).

Anyway, these come in both lined and unlined versions. They tend to go out of stock relatively quickly, so grab them while you can!

PAGES: 192
size: A5 (A6 also available)
PAPER RULE BLANK
COLOR: CREAM
COVER: BLACK W/ PINK TRIMMING

This is a pink edition. Other color options with black covers include red, blue, and orange, or you can get green, red, blue-green, or black cover colors.

I’ve hoarded a few years’ worth of these little beauties. I use them to make thumbnail sketches and quick notes with my fountain pens.

I hope some of you can check them out! If you use fountain pens, make sure you get the Venzi SOFT, not the Venzi FLEXY (which looks very similar) as the latter bleeds much more.

Sunday Leather Craft- Travelers Notebook 1

December 5, 2015

by tintinpantoja

comments 2

A5 Travelers Notebook by Sunday LEather Craft

See my second Sunday Leather Craft TN here.

So as I said in a previous post, I had a few stumbling blocks before finding planner peace in the form of two traveler’s notebooks from Sunday Leather Craft.

Someone on the Fountain Pen Philippines Forums had mentioned that SLC made great pen cases. I hopped on to their Facebook site and saw that they also made notebook covers, and from there a TN is only a few elastics away! I contacted them and asked if they were amenable to creating something according to my specs, and they agreed. I sent them a sketch with dimensions for an A5 TN, asking for semi stiff leather (from the samples they showed me).

Let’s start with the first.

The results were fantastic. The leather is a matte dark chocolate brown with beige stitching, with sealing elastic in blue stripes. The leather itself smells …well, adequately leathery.

A5 Travelers Notebook by Sunday LEather Craft

I had requested side flaps to store random notes. next time I’ll ask for a cardhold to be integrated into the flaps, but these function quite well.

Front and back storage flaps

It’s medium-soft, supple enough to bend easily but firm enough to keep its shape when unfilled. The stitching is very neat- you can see they know their leatherwork.

A5 Travelers Notebook by Sunday LEather Craft

It fit my Muji A5 notebooks perfectly.

A5 Travelers Notebook by Sunday LEather Craft

I had to trim down some of the papers I got from the US when making my own inserts though, as their dimensions didn’t exactly line up with the A5 size. Darn it! The reason why I work exclusively with A5 notebooks, aside from them being the perfect compromise between space and portability for me, is that quite simply, I’m lazy! I hate going to the trouble of trimming paper and measuring, etc. But that’s a story for another time…Anyway, I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. Hurrah for Filipino artisans (and TN’s that you don’t have to pay international shipping for)!

While I’m not very familiar with more famous fauxdori makers from abroad, I’d wager that SLC can match most of them in terms of skill, if not in variety of raw material. I hope SLC continue to make great TN’s and that I can do a more complete feature on them someday.

Muji Zip Pouches

December 5, 2015

by tintinpantoja

Filipino Fauxdori- a look at the country’s traveler’s notebooks

December 4, 2015

by tintinpantoja

comments 7

EDIT: See the 2016 edition here! We’ve had some changes!

Here’s a short (hopefully growing) directory of Philippine-made traveler’s notebooks/ fauxdori. As a newbie collector and enthusiast, I’ve only gathered what I hope are a fraction of the craftspeople working on their fauxdori. Please feel free to let me know who I’ve missed. If you’re a local creator of inserts, TN’s, and accessories, let me know via tintinp (at) gmail dot com.

Note: All Photos used with permission. In cases where I was unable to secure the permission of the photo creator/ product owners, I left out photos and will only show the website.

If you’re on Facebook, feel free to join the Fauxdori Philippines group!

QUICK LIST: CLICK BELOW

11_11HANDMADEPH
AIREESCREATES
ALUNSINA HANDBOUND BOOKS
BPMONTILLA
CN PAPER CRAFTS
FOLKLOREPH
GAV and SAV
KRAFT KORNER PH
KUWERO
NOTED JOURNAL PH
PENGRAFIK
PLANNERS and JOURNALS
SHUTTER CREATIONS
SUNDAY LEATHER CRAFT
VIVIAMO INC.

11_11HANDMADEPH

WEBSITE: https://www.instagram.com/11_11handmadeph

PRODUCTS: Leather traveler’s notebooks in a variety of sizes. There are three colors currently available: red, blue, and tan. They also make fountain pen friendly refills.

Photo provided by: 11_11handmadeph

AIREESCREATES

WEBSITE: http://aireescreates.com/

PRODUCTS: Unique paper traveler’s notebooks by Airees printed with her own painted designs. Very colorful and feminine; I believe the paper is of a sort that is treated to be pretty tough: “organically-treated handmade paper from abaca made to have the strength of a thin leather but lightweight as paper.” Sold in a variety of sizes.

Aireeescreates fauxdori/ traveler's notebook

Photo provided by: Aireescreates

ALUNSINA HANDBOUND BOOKS

WEBSITE: https://www.facebook.com/Alunsina.Handbound.Books

PRODUCTS: The Kislap (A5) and mini Kislap (Field Notes) are leather fauxdori-inspired journals sold as sets with inserts and charms. They also sell refills for the Kislap in lined, blank, and dot grid, as well as beautifully crafted leather journals in various designs.

The Alunsina Kislap. Photo provided by: Alunsina

BPMONTILLA

WEBSITE: http://www.bpmontilla.com/store.html

PRODUCTS: Leather traveler’s notebooks in Standard and (soon) A6 size. A very basic design (no pockets or customizations) but in feel, I think it’s the closest to the original Midori TN- very firm leather, good craftsmanship. He’s been making them for years, even before their popularity really exploded, so I feel he’s got the most experience. He is also a crafter and fashion illustrator, which carries over into his work.

CN PAPER CRAFTS

WEBSITE: https://www.instagram.com/cnpapercrafts/ and https://www.facebook.com/cnpapercrafts

PRODUCTS: Creators of the Macata, a pleather fauxdori . Cool name! Cool colors!- black, bone, orange, and a few metallic, though they may be phasing those out soon. Also: adorable leather tassels! Sold in standard and passport size.

The Macata. Photo provided by: CN Papercrafts

FOLKLOREPH

WEBSITE: [Under Construction] You can order their products using this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jp1NTqsB3LZUGTXp-kfIZ0pQWb3YRHOPVjG3Uym8T24/viewform?c=0&w=1

PRODUCTS: Vintage-style postcards, stationery, and notebook inserts on fountain pen friendly paper (yay!). Currently their lineup also includes a 2016 fauxdori and ring planner insert in weekly and monthly formats. Love their lean, clean, and mean layouts!

FolklorePH’s inserts. Photo provided by: Des Mendoza

GAV and SAV

WEBSITE: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008276317220&fref=ts and https://www.instagram.com/gavandsav/

PRODUCTS: Cute sewn cloth fauxdori (sewdori?) in a variety of prints and sizes. You can choose your design-mostly very colorful and sweet, very cute stuff. I’d like to get one but prefer muted colors, so I’ll be on the lookout!

Gav and Sav’s Sewdori. Photo provided by: Gav and Sav.

KRAFT KORNER PH

WEBSITE: https://www.facebook.com/KraftKornerPH and https://www.instagram.com/kraftkorner_ph/

PRODUCTS: Lovely craft notebooks and leather traveler’s notebooks in two very interesting designs: the Expedition and the Voyager, which I believe are both customizable. I’m hoping to add one of them to my collection soon. They’re very rugged-looking and remind me of Indiana Jones (the notebooks, not the makers- though that would be cool too).

Edit: I take a look at their customized Expedition model.

Kraft Korner. Photo provided by: Kraft Korner PH

Edit: I take a look at their customized Expedition model.

KUWERO

WEBSITE: https://www.facebook.com/kuweronotebooks

PRODUCTS: Leather traveler’s notebooks in a variety of sizes. I’m not too familiar with them yet, but I hope to rectify this soon!

Kuwero. Photo provided by: Kuwero

Have a look at my first Kuwero ‘Lakbay’ fauxdori!

NOTED JOURNAL PH

WEBSITE:http://notedjournalph.com/

PRODUCTS: Under the Notedori brand, Noted Journals PH makes the’ Notedori’ in a variety of colors including copper and silver. I love metallic colors, and these look pretty sturdy.

Noted Journals’ Notedori

PENGRAFIK

WEBSITE: http://www.pengrafik.com/

Not a creator, but rather an importer of fine leather travelers notebooks and refills. They have a variety of sizes. Pengrafik also carries a variety of fine writing instruments, inks, and the much-admired Curnow mini journals/ TN refills, which feature fountain-pen-friendly papers, including Tomoe River! They come in Regular, A5, and Field Notes size. I have to give a special mention to Tomoe River paper ( they also sell loose sheets) because this is the paper used in the Hobonichi Planner. It’s amazingly thin but resilient!

Photo provided by: Pengrafik

PLANNERS AND JOURNALS

WEBSITE: https://www.facebook.com/plannersandjournals and https://www.instagram.com/plannersandjournals/

PRODUCTS: Traveler’s notebooks (I believe they’re called ‘Fundori’) and ring binders that convey a sense of cuteness, lightness, and fun, in both leather and synthetic materials. The sheer variety of their materials, including printed leather, makes this a brand to watch.

Fun with Planners and Journals PH! Photo provided by: Planners and Journals

SHUTTER CREATIONS

WEBSITE: https://www.instagram.com/shuttercreations.ph/

PRODUCTS: Colorful PVC and Textile “Shutterdoris”, currently sold in Standard, Traveler, and Passport. I particularly like the look of their patented journal, but we’ll have to wait and see if they offer an A5 size ( Edit: yes they do!)

SUNDAY LEATHER CRAFT

WEBSITE: https://www.facebook.com/Sunday-Leather-Craft-211739225703254

PRODUCTS: Leather watch bands, bags, journal covers, and some of the most beautiful traveler’s notebooks this side of the Pacific. And they’ve only been at it a few weeks as of this writing. Ask for something and they’ll customize it for you.

Photo provided by: Sunday Leather Craft

Edit: I take a look at my first and second TN’s from Sunday Leather Craft!

VIVIAMO INC.

WEBSITE: https://ilovebdj.com/shop

PRODUCTS: The Quest Journal, a fauxdori in the regular Midori size, as well as refills. Viviamo! Inc., also makes different planners, both under their own brand and other companies. One of the former is the bestselling Belle du Jour Planner. I personally love their Focus Journal and its very clean and clear layout (to help you focus, I guess).