Naked Binder Arrival
September 9, 2009
Just in time for back to school. Ken sent me a few samples of their binders.
I love how simple the design is. There not one drop of ink. The board is branded like leather with an impression. There’s not much glue either which means it’s less toxic. One thing that happens with plastic cover binder is that they melt in the hot sun and release a plastic smell. Also the plastic tend to get wrinkled.
I like the architect version for long landscape orientation drawings. When I was working at an architectural office we had 11 x 17 size drawings which we had to fold to fit the 8 x 11 three ring binders. Not any more. There is a line geared towards the architect or any one in need of this size and proportion. The name comes from binders that are not wrapped in plastic or cloth or leather. It is made of recycled material which I really like. The covers look like the chip boards architects and designers use to make building models from. It is also raw surface for kids to draw on and personalize. I also like the design of wrapping to caress the three metal rings. It can still received the labels and seems to be nicer on backpacks (without the sharp corners).
http://twitter.com/nakedbinder
Rustico Arrival!
August 13, 2007
To ease the pain of Manic Mondays, I received from Isaac Childs, the founder and designer of Rustico, a beautifully hand written note and the Traveller’s Journal! The book arrived in shrink wrap to protect the leather. There are 5 signatures of hand torn deckle edge papers. The deckle edges alternate between signatures in a little dance to create a fluffy feeling when one ruffles through the pages, and the little bits of torn paper floats down like the clouds of a dream. A signature is a stack of paper folded in half. There are sixteen pages folded in-half to make a signature. There are 80 pages in 5 signatures making it a total of 160 pages per journal. The end paper is similar to the mulberry textured soft paper. The leather cover is of a dark luscious chocolate brown, affectionately called ‘Bomber Leather Jacket’. On the inside, the leather is left raw and exposed. On the spine one can see the threads (more like sinews) that bind, sew these signatures together. Because of the flexible but sturdy spine, writing on the (VERSO) left hand side of the book is pleasant. It can be laid flat, unlike the stiff bindings of thick books. There is not a drop of glue. This is a unique feature, as most books hide the way it is bound. It is like looking into the inner workings of a transparent clock. You can also request your name or logo to be laser engraved any where you want. The back of the journal has the Rustico brand and a proud ‘Made in USA’, ah that should be ‘Hand-Made’. The look and feel is rugged masculinity, something that would feel at home in Indiana Jones’s hands while he travels the globe to recover relics. It has a feel of something made by the hands of some fine craftsman. There seems to be a welcoming emptiness to be filled with clippings, pasting, of maps and the meaningful detritus of life. Unlike most books, the pages are not pressed, compressed and flatten, lifeless. Between the covers, the porous pages can breath. It is the sort of book that one might find in the hands of Ralph Fiennes as the English Patient; reading to Hana a quote from Herodotus, in the bombed-out Italian Villa.
I was inspired to find some quotes to write in the journal:
“All men’s gains are the fruit of venturing” – Herodotus
“Hoard moments that can be held in the hand and examined later, like found stones” – Alexandra Johnson, ‘Leaving a Trace’
2007/08/14/rustico-travelers-journal
Featured on notebookism.com/2007/08/rustico-travell
A friend on flickr will get his own Rustico!
ducly.wordpress.com/tag/reviews
http://rusticoleather.wordpress.com/category/testimonials/
tags: Rustico, Rustico leather journal, travelers journal,
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Hand*book journal Co
March 30, 2007
How’s this for coincidence? Some one just handed me a box from Dickblick, as I was looking at the post on notebookism about the very same product! I’m so excited to try this pocket portrait. The size is 5.5″ x 3.5″ same as the pocket Moleskine. It is thicker the the Mole. I really like the proportions of this book. It has an bright orange ribbon bookmark. The Ultramarine blue cloth cover is very sturdy. What is unique is the textured pattern binding band. Clearly, this is very similar to the Moleskine. But I think that Hand*book has improved upon the basic idea. The binding band doesn’t look like it came from some undergarment. And Hand*book has made a variety of size in both portrait and landscape. Clearly Hand*book has created a line of watercolor books that are very useful for the artist who wants to pack up and go out for a watercolor or any other medium sketch. Oh I forgot to mention one important factor. Because the Moleskine’s paper has a manila tone, the eraser marks can show up. In the white pages of Hand*book, you won’t have that problem. The spine is much stronger then the Moleskine.
hand*book is manufactured & distributed by GLOBAL ART MATERIALS, INC. Kansas City, MO.
Some related posts:
an-interview-with-ryan-loghry/
http://www.notebookism.com/2008/01/hand-book-artis.html
http://danvera.typepad.com/bloggo/2008/01/writing-tools.html
http://roossinck.wordpress.com/2008/05/12/review-quattro-notepad/
tags: dickblick, Hand*book co., paper, notebook, Watercolor
Epica Amalfi Journal Arrival
March 1, 2007
I’m excited to report that my Journal has arrived. UPS shipping is fast and convenient, with the ability to track it on the web or in your email notification or text message alert on your mobile phone.
Thank you Tari. (When I wrote to Epica, it was to the info customer service email. Little did I know that Tari, the president of Epica would answer my inquires.)
The Epica box fits snuggle into the UPS box. Epica has thought of everything.
Here are a few pictures of the Epica Amalfi Journal.
The great spin is very durable. It also opens to lay flat. Three place of stitched binding. It looks like one of those journal from the Medieval Monastery. The journals come in a variety of sizes. This journal is 6×9 in size.
The leather is ‘oh my gosh’ buttery soft and it feels so great in my hands. Like Toni said, it does feel like I’m carrying a bible. I’ve seen journals that purport to be leather, but nothing is as refined and detailed as this Epica journal. I can see the pores and the tiny fine supple wrinkles of the leather. I choose to personalized mine with initials and the Fleur de lys in a copper reddish tone. Looks great on this lighter leather version. One can request a logo of one’s choice. It’s great for corporate gifts with personalized company logo such as a Mercedes symbol.
The cloth bag is a nice touch. Fleur de ly seems to be a symbol for a few of the paper mills of Italy. There is a 20% discount for the journals with the Fleur de lys emblem. These items are becoming limited and soon to be collectors item. Epica is shipping new journals with out the emblem. If you still want the Fleur de lys, the website will allow you to personalize it.
Signum is a very hard word to track down.
The fly leaf has the Signum imprint and the page after that has a Signum watermark. The green paper matches the thin green bookmark ribbon.
Hand made paper has some tooth to it. Great for charcoal and inks. It soaks up the fountain pen ink very well, indeed. There is no bleed through at all. However, as the pamphlet warns: “If you are fortunate enough to own an Amalfi journal, remember that a fountain pen may cause the ink to skip.” It only skips on the Amalfi handmade paper. The skip isn’t too noticible. I think it’s fine for my fountain pen. The tooth is great for pencil or charcoal drawings. I wrote in my book straight away because (like bungee jumping, don’t hesitate or you may not do it at all.) Don’t hesitate, you may not write in it for a long time. “One final caveat: don’t let yourself be intimidated or afraid to write in or mount pictures in your Epica book. Believe it or not it’s our most common concern from our clients. Capture your most treasured memories & explore your life on paper. It will change you forever.“
The corners of some Amalfi pages have a watermark of an anchor, perhaps to reflect the coastal town of Amalfi. Notice the warm and fussy edges of the paper. No paper cuts here.
ducly.wordpress.com/2007/09/22/epica-ink-h
flickr.com/photos/ducly/tags/epica
trooji.wordpress.com/2008/01/06/epica-imports-fine-italian-leather-journals/
tags: Epica, journal, leather journal, Epica journal, notebooks, Tari Mannello,
