The Crossfield from Nanami Paper

Tags

bullet journal, hobonichi techo, nanami paper, rhodia, seven seas crossfield, seven seas standard, seven seas writer, tomoe river

In July of 2014 I wrote this post on Bullet Journaling, and it has taken me this long to find a suitable journal to try it out with. I’m loving my Hobonichi Techo as my current planner, and it occurred to me that before I move to a Bullet Journal I would like to have the same paper. So I checked Nanami Paper’s website on the off chance they had an A5 journal like the Writer or the Standard. And there it was: the Crossfield.

These Seven Seas journals are magnificent, as I’ve said before. The Tomoe River paper is fantastic. They are not always available because of their popularity. And the folks at Nanami want to make sure that each journal is perfect so they examine a few at a time and then release them onto the site. As the instructions say, if one of these journals appears to be out of stock, keep checking. That’s what I did, over a period of about a week, every day, sometimes more than once a day. And I got one. They also get regular shipments in so if they are truly out of stock it will only be for a few months, usually. And they are well worth the wait.

So I ordered the Crossfield and it arrived in about a week. Each Seven Seas journal comes in a paper slipcover as shown above. The Standard (blank paper) is bound in brown, the Writer (lined paper) is bound in black, and the Crossfield is bound in a rusty-red colour. And each Seven Seas journal comes with a package of pink blotting paper to help with the ink remaining wet longer than you might expect on the Tomoe River paper.

The paper is actually not grid, but tiny crosses that form the corners of each square. It’s like the dot grid paper you see by Rhodia, but instead of dots we see tiny crosses.

Here’s a closeup of the paper. See, it’s a field of crosses!

From a distance it actually looks like dots. I really like the blue colour of the crosses. I did not do a pen test because I did one for the Writer in this post.

I don’t know when I will start my Bullet Journaling. Maybe when my Hobo is done (end of this year) I will start 2017 with a Bullet Journal. I just don’t know if I can wait that long – the Crossfield is very enticing.

Above you can see my progress in the Writer – these journals are great value because it takes a while to get through 480 pages. I recommend these journals and Nanami Paper in general. Great customer service and excellent products. Don’t be discouraged by the appearing to be out of stock-ishness! Just keep checking. 🙂

Monday Miscellany

Tags

christmas, journal ceo, journal prompts, nanami paper, scribblings of a storyteller, seaweed kisses, seven seas writer, the journal diaries

If you love beautiful writing, take a moment to read Ratika’s blog, Scribblings of a Storyteller. She writes with an intense honesty I find addicting. Thank you for sharing your soul Ratika.

I stumbled upon this post on The Journal Diaries category of the Seaweed Kisses blog and I was really taken with the double columns and ink/pen changes by the author, Ellina. And she uses a Seven Seas Writer from Nanami Paper! Of course she does. Just amazing visuals, of her pens and her journal.

And finally here are some fun Christmas Journal Prompts from the Journal CEO on YouTube:

Until next post, happy writing!

 

 

Nanami Box and Tea at the Biltmore

Tags

arizona biltmore hotel, compendium inc., goulet pens, high tea, hold-on clever pen loop, jetpens, nanami paper, phoenix, seven seas standard, seven seas writer, super clip bookmarks, write now journal

A few weeks before I travelled to Phoenix to spend time with my sister, I took advantage of her US address and placed an order with Nanami Paper. You might remember that before my trip last year I placed orders with Goulet Pens and JetPens. It’s always nice to avoid paying shipping costs to Canada.

I wanted to buy another Seven Seas Writer like the one I wrote about in May of this year, but of course they were sold out. They are so popular and they are specially made for Nanami in Japan so they go out of stock quickly. I like the Writer because it is lined but it occurred to me that I could get a Seven Seas Standard A5 journal and use my writing mat and achieve the same end. And woohoo the Standard was in stock.

I also ordered another Hold On pen loop, this time in green; I actually ordered two and gave one to my sister. The silvery clippy things are the Super Clip Bookmarks, and come in packs of 10 for $4.25 US. The Standard is exactly the same as the Writer, which I’ve already reviewed (see link above). But I wanted to see if I could use the writing mat to simulate lines. It’s not easily seen in this photo, but in real life it’s very easy to see and write on the lines of the mat.

If the lines aren’t dark enough for you, you can always make your own insert with a Sharpie or similar dark inked marker. I am happy with the Standard; it’s a good substitute when the Writer is out of stock. And as I write this I’ve just checked Nanamipaper.com and both the Writer and the Standard are currently out of stock. The Standard will be restocked in Feb/Mar 2016 and the Writer in early Dec 2015. Get your orders in fast and early.

That was the only package I had delivered to my sister’s place. And during my stay I only bought one notebook: a Write Now journal from Compendium Inc. My sister and I went for High Tea at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel and while perusing the gift shop I found this pretty notebook.

My first thought on reading the cover was – Why yes, I’m doing just that! It’s a beautiful notebook with quotes about the sea.

***

It was an inexpensive notebook and the paper isn’t great, but I fell in love with the cover and the quotes. And that is as good a reason as any to buy a notebook!

What an amazing hotel. It is a breathtaking “jewel in the desert” with a rich and varied history. The High Tea was one of the best tea experiences to date. I brought my pens along (of course) so they could enjoy the adventure too. 🙂

Franklin-Christoph Notebook

Tags

a5, firma-flex journal notebook, franklin christoph, grail notebook, jinhao 159, pilot varsity, saddleboot notebook cover, seven seas writer, sharpie

People talk about “grail” pens, meaning those pens you long for and cannot afford, or perhaps are very rare and difficult to find. But the idea can apply to anything really, and today I am excited to share one of my “grail” notebooks, the Franklin-Christoph Firma-Flex Journal Notebook in a Saddleboot Leather Notebook Cover in A5 brown.

I have been excited about Franklin-Christoph for a couple of years now. I’ve heard good things about their pens and inks, and I am in love with their Penvelopes. I’ve watched YouTube videos about their notebooks and read reviews of their notebook covers. I think the best thing about Franklin-Christoph is international customers can enjoy free shipping just as their domestic customers do, although at a higher price point. For US destinations free shipping kicks in at $50. For international, shipping is free at $75. The Saddleboot Notebook Covers in A5 are $69.50 US and do not come with a notebook. The Firma-Flex Journal Notebooks in A5 are $14.50 US. So that put me in the free shipping zone! With some of my latest World Mail Panel Survey money to spend I finally felt the time was right to pull the trigger on this expensive notebook and cover. It was thrilling to click the Calculate Shipping button on the site and see it read $0.00!

The package arrived a couple of weeks ago. No invoice in the box, no note from the company. Very different from the service experience with Goulet Pens or WonderPens. But super fast shipping and excellent packaging.

The notebook arrived in its own suede bag. Fancy!

And here it is. The Franklin-Christoph Celtic logo is embossed on the front. The leather smells really good and feels butter soft. The workmanship is superb.

Franklin-Christoph’s Saddleboot Leather is vegetable tanned and comes in maroon, black and brown. I chose the brown and it has a cream contrasting stitching.

A second Franklin-Christoph logo on the back.

There is a pocket on the back as well.

Here is the inside of the notebook and the cover. I apologize for the blurry picture; I didn’t notice until after editing.

The notebooks themselves are a work of art. Each type of notebook is indicated by the colour of stitching: ruled is maroon, graph is olive green, dots is purple, and blank is grey. I wanted ruled so the stitching is maroon. The Celtic logo is on the front and that circular indentation on the right of the logo is the metal closure button on the cover. And as expected the notebook fits perfectly into the cover.

Each notebook has 192 pages. The ruled lines are 7mm apart on the A4 and A5, and 5mm apart on the A6. Ruled, graph and dots are 30% black (light grey) with top and bottom margin lines in maroon. Above you can see the ruling and the black nylon page marker.

The paper is 90gsm and made from sugar cane extract. It is pH neutral and acid free. In certain lights the paper seems to have a purple glow. I can see it but I don’t think it’s coming through in the photos.

I did a quick pen test on the back page of the notebook. The paper took fountain pen ink beautifully, as well as gel ink, with the exception of the Pilot Varsity, which showed some feathering.

Here’s a closeup and you can see the feathering for the Pilot Varsity.

As for show through, only the Pilot Varsity and of course the Sharpie marker were visible on the underside of the paper. The paper was very absorbent and smooth. I really enjoyed using the fountain pens on it.

I was curious to see if the Seven Seas Writer notebook would fit, and it did! Not as perfectly as the Franklin-Christoph Firma-Flex but pretty close. Not that I don’t love the brown vinyl notebook cover that I purchased for the Seven Seas Writer, but there is really no comparison with this beautiful leather cover. Franklin-Christoph notebooks are certainly more consistently available than the Seven Seas Writer.

And last but not least we come to the pen loop. It is leather but has an elastic piece on the left which allows for different pen sizes. My Jinhao 159 is the widest pen I own and it fit very nicely.

The attention to detail for this cover and notebook is impressive. I can wholeheartedly recommend Franklin-Christoph and this notebook/cover combination. I think their shipping rates are great and the quality of their products is well worth the price. I can only imagine how delightful their pens, inks and other leather accessories would be. I don’t know when this notebook will go into the rotation as I don’t want to write in it (besides the pen test). But it will probably be next in line because I find myself taking it out of its suede bag and just looking at it.

It’s just that beautiful.

Hobonichi Techo 2016

Tags

hobonichi techo, moleskine, seven seas writer, wonder pens

Sometimes it’s hard not to jump on a bandwagon. I recently purchased a Hobonichi Techo 2016 in the A6 size, English version. If you search for Hobonichi on YouTube hundreds of videos will be returned. Currently the A6 English version, with a cover, is around $400 Canadian on ebay. I have been interested in these planners for about a year now, wanting to try them because the paper is Tomoe River, the same paper as in the Seven Seas Writer. So when Wonder Pens announced on their blog that they would be carrying the Techos I signed up for the email notification without really thinking about it. It was only asking to be notified; I wasn’t committed to buying one. And when I got the email announcement I did pause at the price: $43 Canadian. I went to the Hobonichi website just to see if ordering direct would be cheaper – no. Shipping to Canada was $66! I think I must have done the Yen to Canadian dollar conversion wrong, judging on the swarms of people who are buying them States side, but even if I did get the math wrong these babies are expensive. So Wonder Pens’ price of $43 plus $8 shipping was a comparative bargain.

And it is a lovely book.

The Japanese characters on the cover stand for te and cho, hence the name. According to the marketing materials: “A techo in Japan is used for more than scheduling an agenda. It is also used as a sketchbook, a diary and for other jottings that together tend to chronicle its owner’s daily life.” These planners are the brainchild of Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shimbun, a very important person at Nintendo, apparently. And they have seemingly taken the planner/journalling community by storm.

The back of the plastic package shows the day per page layout, with the time grid, the dinner icon, the quote and the mini calendar.

The book is sewn so lays flat. The beginning of the book has these monthly pages, with four months to a spread. Good for noting down important dates that occur each year, like birthdays and anniversaries.

Each month also has a two-page spread, and this is the reason (besides the lovely paper) for the purchase; my current Moleskine is great in the weekly spread. But it’s crap for the monthly spread because it’s too small. I need more than one page per month. I’m cramming appointments and things into tiny squares and it’s driving me batty. But I enjoy the weekly spread, which the Techo doesn’t have. Boo. But for me if I had to choose just one layout (month, week or day) it would be the month, definitely. So I will just learn to live without the weekly spread. I hope!

The planner goes to March 2017. I like how there is no doubt as to which year this page is referring to!

I can’t start this planner until Dec 16. There is a monthly spread for December 2015 but the daily pages don’t start until Dec 16; no idea why. And it’s not a full day until Jan 1, 2016.

Here is the daily page layout. Sundays have red ink which is handy when you are flipping through. The grid layout is nice, for lists and things. I’m looking forward to seeing how I fare with daily pages. I haven’t used a daily page in a very long time.

There are a couple of other Hobonichi products which offer weekly spreads. The Cousin, as I understand it, offers a monthly layout, a weekly and a daily. And it’s A5 which is my preferred size. But I understand it is more expensive, not in English and frankly all three layouts in one book seems a tad much. And there is something called the Hobonichi Weeks which I think fit in Midori notebooks. Who knows what I will find myself wanting down the road but I am very happy to start with this little guy and see where I go.

There are covers that these planners fit into and Wonder Pens is currently out of stock on the blue and green one that I like. So hopefully by the time I can start using this I will have a cover as well.

There are a few notes pages at the back of the book in red dot grid format. Such amazing paper. And at the very back of the book are metric conversions, a printed ruler, international dialing codes, etc. There is also information about Japan and how to have an amazing Japanese dining experience.

Please let me know if any of you have jumped onto this bandwagon as well. They seem to be very popular so I’m sure I will fall in love with it even more when I start using it. I can FINALLY use my fountain pens in a planner (Filofax paper and Moleskine paper and fountain pen ink do NOT get along). Maybe 2016 will be the year when I stick with one planner all year long. Wouldn’t that be crazy? 🙂

Journal Field Trip

Tags

cadence, earl grey latte, good earth, healing through writing, monteverde prima, paperblanks, parker urban, pierre belvedere, prayer journal, seven seas writer, staples optiflow, stations of the cross, theory of everything, twsbi eco, ventaglio rosso midi

Do you ever have those days, where you are constantly replaying conversations in your mind and carrying around an anxiety about a certain situation? Well that was me on Saturday. And I knew I had to write it out or it would just fester. But I had lots to do outside of the house so I went on a Journal Field Trip.

I packed up my messenger bag with the supplies: journals (Seven Seas Writer, Paperblanks Ventaglio Rosso Midi, Pierre Belvedere Green), pens (Cadence, TWSBI Eco, both Parker Urbans, Monteverde Purple Prima, 4 different colours of Staples Optiflow, pencil case and some markers), glue runner, paper inserts, and scissors. My aim was to figure out why I was carrying this anxiety around but I also had projects to distract me if the words just wouldn’t come.So I ran a few errands, which included returning a movie to the library (The Theory of Everything – great film). I noticed my favourite library carrel was free so I settled in. I didn’t feel ready to confront the issue in my journal so I thought I would play with paper and glue for awhile. I’m going on a spiritual retreat soon and I printed the prayers for the Stations of the Cross for my Prayer Journal (I am using the Ventaglio Rosso Midi for this purpose). I grabbed the journal and the prayers but realized I had forgotten the glue runner and the scissors. That also meant I couldn’t work in the Pierre Belvedere journal either (keeping track of the solicited reviews for the blog). I still really wanted to write so I had no choice but to jump right in to what was bothering me.

Forty-five minutes later I stopped and re-read my journal entry. I felt freer, lighter. I checked in with my anxiety and found peace. This has happened to me before, of course, as I know the power of journalling to clarify thoughts and feelings and to let resentments and upset go. But this was a complicated burden I had been carrying for a while and I wasn’t sure one 45-minute session would do it. But it did. I left the library with new resolve and a much better frame of mind.

I ticked a few more things off my list and then I was finally able to go to my favourite coffee shop, Good Earth, for an Earl Grey Latte. My reward.

This time I found myself writing about the previous evening we spent with a friend, eating spaghetti, watching a movie and laughing. And of our plans to take some vacation in September and how excited we are about a last-minute treat David and I have planned for our birthdays. I spent about an hour an a half writing. By the time I finished the latte my hand and shoulder were cramping.

Two different writing sessions, same journal, same pen even. One intense, short and focused, the other carefree, long and playful. The second wouldn’t have been possible without the therapeutic first. I am just so grateful that I have this outlet and can soothe myself with words when needed.

I hope your journal can do the same for you.

 

 

Journal Writing Wednesday: 5 pages

Tags

cadence, lg pocket photo printer, nanami paper, seven seas writer

What I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree journal, Winnable Executive Journal, the Believe In Yourself journal and….. drum roll please … the Seven Seas Writer! (the backstory to this is below)

Total pages written since this post (Aug 19): 5

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 1144

Total pages written in 2015: 304

It is time to say goodbye to the Parker Urban as the pen of the month. I never really say goodbye to it; I love it so much I use it and the blue one all the time. But – today we choose the September pen: the Cadence 3! (I have 3 Cadence pens; I distinguish between them by the number that is on the back of each nib.)

This is good because I do not have converters for these pens so this will give me a chance to use up a couple cartridges. Love these pens.

Purchases: A couple of things on ebay which will be reviewed when they arrive.

Some points covered this week in my journals:

• I’ve been running low on paper for my LG Printer so I thought I would go to Best Buy this past weekend to get some. The friendly fellow told me LG is discontinuing the packaging for the photo paper. So he checked the computer and one store, almost on the other side of the city, had some in stock. I phoned them, they put their last 3 packages on hold for me, and I sped off to get them. And they were on sale too – $8 per box of 30 instead of $16! Score.
• I recorded all of the entrants for my 500 Subscriber Giveaway in my journal, and who the winners were, and their addresses, etc. Thanks again to everyone who entered. I can’t wait to reach 1,000 subscribers to have another giveaway!
• Ok so here’s the story behind me putting the Seven Seas Writer into rotation. I have been DYING to start it but wanted to finish at least one of the three that I have going right now. But then I got an email from a subscriber asking me very detailed questions about my thoughts and impressions of using the Seven Seas Writer, and asking advice on different items available on Nanami Paper’s website. So to answer his questions I had to start writing in it. And surprise, surprise I can’t stop writing in it! I might even turn my thoughts and impressions into a review this weekend. Thanks Matthew!

Until next post, happy writing!

A Box from Nanami Paper

Tags

fauxdori, hold-on clever pen loop, nanami paper, post-it, seven seas writer, tomoe river

Nanami Paper is an online website that specializes in fine Japanese stationery. They are famous for their Tomoe River paper notebooks and writing pads. The website is a treasure-trove of stationery facts, including a notebook buyer’s guide, a notebook value calculator, and pdfs for improving your letter writing. Even if you buy nothing the site is a fun place to spend time reading about notebooks and paper.

I first mentioned Nanami Paper in this post from Aug 2014. Since then I have heard great things about the Seven Seas Writer notebook. It’s a lined notebook, with 480 pages of Tomoe River paper. I’ve checked periodically and they have always been out of stock. But a month ago the notebook was in stock so I jumped at the chance to get one. And I bought a few accessories too.

I ordered the notebook plus 4 other items on April 22 and it was on my desk at work by May 1. Shipping was $18 US. The entire order came to just under $70 US.

The items were packaged very well in foam and kraft paper, and then within these kraft paper envelopes.

From left to right: The yellow Seven Seas Writer slipcase, with the notebook inside; a blue Hold-On pen loop; a clear plastic writing mat with grid; a brown vinyl notebook cover; and a clear plastic notebook cover.

The Seven Seas Writer comes in this slip case. The pink paper you can see peeking out is blotting paper.

The notebook, on the left, is bound with a simple heavy cardboard cover, in black. Nice and plain, but a cover is recommended.

The notebook is thread bound and so lays flat upon opening, with no stress to the spine. Gloriously flat!

This is the MF Faux Leather A5 Notebook Cover. It is more expensive than the Cheap Notebook Cover (which I will discuss shortly) but considerably less expensive than the Gfeller notebook cover, which is Kip Leather and wonderful, I’ve heard. I chose the MF because of the price: just under $20. It has a bookmark and looks pretty good. I also bought the Cheap Notebook Cover because of the price: $2.50.

Here is the MF cover open. I couldn’t help but think what a great piece to start a Fauxdori with. And the Seven Seas Notebook slips in beautifully.

And here is the filled MF cover. I quite like the double row of stitching. And of course the bookmark.

Here is the notebook inside the Cheap Notebook Cover (sorry for the glare). It’s fine too but let’s face it: the MF cover looks better. This Cheap cover fits standard A5 notebooks so I’m sure I will find a use for it, as I have a few of those (ahem).

I also bought the writing mat, which is exactly that: a mat upon which to write. You can slip it in between the pages of the notebook as they are super thin, one of the characteristics of Tomoe River paper. And when you are close to the bottom of the page you can use the mat to rest your wrist. The Nanami web site suggests using your smart phone to the same end if you don’t have a writing mat.

I have a thing for pen loops. I want every single one of my notebooks to have a pen loop. And this Hold-On Clever Pen Loop for Notebooks just might be the ticket. Too bad you can only buy 5 at a time. Seeing how great they work I should have bought more.

They are $3.60 US. And the website shows you how to make a “hack” for it, if you don’t want to get the sticky adhesive all over your notebook cover. A non-permanent solution, if you will. Luckily I had some Post-It Tabs handy and followed the instructions.

I stuck the tab on the inside of the back cover. I then stuck the Hold-On pen loop to the tab. To truly avoid sticky residue I only removed the backing from the pen loop to the width of the tab (got out the old craft knife). The sticky back of the pen loop is super sticky and will not come off the tab very easily. Whereas the tab is easily removable but not so easy as to fall off. Ingenious!

Here’s a quick ink test on the back page. Notice how sharp each example is. The paper is smooth like glass and there is no bleedthrough. There is a bit of a wait for drying time but that’s what the blotting paper is for.

There is definite show through but as my sister says, “I LIKE show through!” I realize some don’t and if you don’t just use one side of the paper.

I am thrilled with this new notebook. The service from David at Nanami was excellent and the products are superb. The feel of the Tome River paper is exquisite; smooth and buttery. There’s a reason it’s so popular with fountain pen enthusiasts. And if you want to try a sample David can help you out there too; he offers 6 sheets (3 white, 3 cream) of Tomoe River paper anywhere in the world for $3 and free shipping. Yes you read that right. You really should try it out because it is amazing.

No wonder there is a purchase limit of 5 for the Seven Seas notebooks. Get one while they last.