My SNC Traveller's Journal: aka The Workhorse

SNC Traveller's Journal ("The Workhorse")

I've been using my Traveller's Journal from the Stamford Notebook Company since July. I've made a couple of modifications along the way, but I'm still using it every day, which for me is a major change! Normally I'm chopping and changing Filofax binder/size/style more frequently than I can keep track of! To still be in the TJ after almost 6 months and with every intention of staying in it, is amazing.

So, what's in there? How have I got it set up? And why is it working so well?

The Cover:
The original cover had a leather thong closure which wound around a button on the front, but the leather was a bit too thick and it didn't feel as if it was closed tight. I fairly quickly changed it so that there is a loop of elastic secured with two buttons to the back of the cover. It's still a bit bulky but it's not annoying me enough to change it! I still love the button on the front and the leather loop just hooks over it and holds everything closed.

My button/elastic loop modification

Back cover - beginning to get a few scars...
but still gorgeous

Originally, the booklets were held in by leather thongs too, but again, they were too thick and bulky so I replaced them with elastics threaded through the holes for the thongs. I currently have four elastics in, though am contemplating putting another two in.

What's in there? How have I got it set up?
Around the first elastic are the zipped pocket (Midori 008) and the card holder (Midori 007). I blogged about both of them here. The zipped pocket holds coins, the card holder unsurprisingly holds cards and the other half of the zipped pocket insert holds paper money and receipts. I originally had these on two separate elastics (as shown in the picture) but now they are both slung around the first one.

The paper is hiding my cards! The planets washi is the edge of the diary.

The zipped pocket insert is great; the card holder holds cards quite loosely to be honest. If the slots faced outwards rather than inwards, I may well have lost cards. They seem to stay in solely because the openings are next to the elastic so there's a limit to how far out the cards can come. Some of this slackness is ameliorated by having more than one card in the slot, but even then, some of them are a little loose.

Next up is a home-made monthly insert for the last few months of 2015. Entirely as expected, I'm not looking at it and it isn't actually helping me to schedule tasks any better than just leafing through the weekly diary and seeing how much is already going on in a week. I'm probably going to take it out because it's taking up an elastic that I want to use for something else!

After that is the week plus notes diary that I made myself from the Moleskine squared cahier. You can see the layout here. (Interestingly, right at the start of that post, I said I would be staying in the Adelphi for the rest of 2015. Uh huh?)
Clipped to the back cover of the diary is a Stamford Notebook Company week + notes insert that they sent me for feedback. They sent me both a week to view (all of 2016 in one booklet) and the week + notes format (2016 split over two booklets). It's not quite the layout that I want as I've got used to the 8 boxes on the left and squares on the right, but it's not bad. I've divided each of the left-hand pages with a vertical line so that I can put appointments on the left and tasks for the day on the right. The right-hand page is a bit free-form as a single lined page but I'll see how I get on with it. I may divide that vertically too. This will move on to an elastic of its own when I ditch the monthly insert, but at the moment, it's held in place by the sweetest clips from OHTO. Who doesn't need a smile?

OHTO smiley slide-clip

OHTO smiley slide-clip

SNC 2016 week + notes diary (cover)

SNC 2016 diary - first page (year diary)

SNC 2016 week + notes diary - interior.
I added the vertical line on the left

Right at the back is another horrible Moleskine cahier which I'm using as a notebook - general jottings, things to look out for, reminders etc.

Why is it working so well?
I've always used a ring-bound planner before and frequently struggled with the size of one - how to be big enough to hold what I wanted but not so heavy it was a pain in the neck to take everywhere with me. The TJ is pretty much the perfect size. I can easily trim A5 inserts if I needed (and have done so with Rhodia cahiers which are ready and waiting in the cupboard for when the horrible Moleskines have been used up). It is also pretty minimalist - the covers are sturdy without being bulky and although I have several booklets and inserts in there, it doesn't feel like a giant lump when I'm out and about. The diary size is large enough that I can probably work just from the week + notes and not need the day-planning that I do in a reporter's notebook (but the extra space in a day in that allows me to time-box).

What will I be using in 2016?
Well, as you'll have seen from my last post, 2016 should be an exciting year. I will also be spending the whole year 'working for myself' rather than working at the university and so (as I am now) in charge of my time to a much greater extent than ever before. Whilst this has many benefits, it's also a responsibility and my planning system will need to work as well as it ever has.
I'm anticipating using the TJ with the week + notes, with longer term plans held in another notebook that can live at home. In conjunction with the TJ, I'll be using the day per page Quo Vadis APB2 (which I reviewed here; then I broke its spine a lot so that it would lie flat and posted pictures here).

I'm honestly quite impressed that this system has been working out so well for me. I genuinely wasn't sure if I would transition to a multiple-booklets system from a ring-bound one very easily. So far, so good though!

Traveller's Journal - update

Stamford Notebook Co.
Traveller's Journal

I've now been using the Stamford Notebook Co.'s Traveller's Journal since June 15th so it's time to tell you how well it's working out. I blogged about the set-up here.

Order of stuff in the TJ:
At the front, I have the zipped pocket/two slip-pockets Midori insert (Midori 008, blogged about here). That's wrapped around a card-holder insert (Midori 007, blogged about in the same blog post).
I did have them around separate elastics, but then slipped them around the same one so the cards are in the middle.
Then there is a Moleskine (spit, spit, spit... horrible quality, NEVER buying them again) cahier with the week plus notes diary.
At the back is another Moleskine cahier (still spit, spit, spit, horrible quality, never buying it again) - this one is lined and is for notes.

How it's all been working out:
The home-made week plus notes diary (blogged about a lot - see here for main post) is working REALLY well. I may not continue blocking the RHS into eight zones next year, but I will continue to write next-action lists based on life areas. The only reason I might not block the RHS out into eight equally sized blocks is because I sometimes need more space on some things than I do on others.

Week plus notes diary

The tracking boxes are also working really well and remind me to do stuff I keep forgetting to do!

The notes cahier is also useful - I've always had a notes section in my Filofax, so no great surprise there.

The Midori inserts are okay. Because there's no pen holder in the TJ, I've popped an erasable pen (uni-ball signo TSI; freebie from Cult Pens!) in the zipped pocket and that's okay as long as I don't have a lot of cash. If I do have a lot of cash, the pocket gets a bit bulky with the pen in there too.
The cards can sometimes seem a bit loose in the card holder. They won't fall out, but sometimes they do move significantly towards the outer part of the slot. For a couple of them I've put two cards in because the slot really has seemed too loose and things were almost falling out. Likewise with the slip-in pockets (other side of the zipped pocket insert) - receipts almost fall out and the paper money in there feels like it's held very loosely. I'm contemplating getting something else to hold the wallet aspects of it all but I'm not sure what. Suggestions? (Remembering I'm based in the UK and shipping from the US can be prohibitively expensive).

What I do miss is an address book. Yes, I'm only needing to look for addresses at home and yes, I have them in a Filofax at home but for some reason I want them in the TJ. Though probably not enough to get an address book insert for the TJ! I know - go figure...

Other than those minor niggles, it's still working out well for me.

My Traveller's Journal Set-up

Stamford Notebook Company Traveller's Journal

Okay, so I bit the bullet (see this post) and moved into my Stamford Notebook Company Traveller's Journal. How have I set it up and how is it working out?

1. How have I set it up?
The SNC Traveller's Journal came with the booklets held in with leather cord and a leather cord to wrap around a button on the front to close it (see photo above). I've changed both of those. My inserts are held in with elastic cord. I've got 4 cords in total, threaded through the two holes (so yes, they are in the same place inside, but it's working without any problem - the inserts just move to the side). I found the leather cord too thick around the inserts so writing on the page was affected. It looked nice (and different to other Traveller's Notebooks/Journals) but it wasn't all that practical.
I've also swapped the leather cord that acted as a closure for an elastic loop that is secured to the back of the cover with a couple of buttons (to stop it falling off), but I may move back to the leather cord because I quite liked it. It's just that it makes a big lump in the back of the cover where the knot in the cord is and it's hard to write in the notebooks with it in.

Any organiser I use has to act as wallet, diary, planner and notebook or I'm lost. I've tried having them separate but I invariably leave the house without one and then find I need it. Hence the set-up I have.

First up are two Midori inserts - the zipped pocket and the credit-card holder. I have these around the first two elastics, with the zipped pocket first then the credit-card holder.

Coins go in the zipped pocket. I can't cope with not being able to see my coins now, having used a clear pocket for several years. I like to know when I go to pay for something whether I have enough change or whether I need to split a note. The zipped pocket insert is pretty sturdy and holds the coins well. I sometimes have my Zebra diary pen/pencil in here too as I haven't put any kind of pen loop in there yet.

Coins in the zipped pocket at the front

The other half of the zipped pocket insert has two slip pockets. I have paper money in one side and I put receipts and vouchers in the other side. For some reason, I thought I was short of card slots and so I put a stick-on one on the back of the slip-pocket. I could unstick it but I'm happy to leave it there!

Slip pockets. The paper behind them is to hide my cards

Next up are cards. I don't really want to show you them. I'm sure you all have enough imagination to be able to picture bank and credit and store cards in a plastic card holder. It holds three per side and 12 in total. I use one for stamps. The slots are quite loose and so some cards are doubled up.
 
Then comes the home-made week + notes diary in the (horrible) Moleskine cahier. The washi tape and sellotape holding it together are because I was slicing out some pages I had been experimenting on and sliced a bit too close to the spine! The stamps and washi are me just playing about. To be honest, I rarely even see the cover!

Paper is hiding my cards. The notebook on the right is my week + notes diary

The week + notes layout

I've deliberately photographed an empty week! But it hopefully gives you a bit of an idea about the layout. On the left are the days and a box for tracking things; on the right, the page is divided into eight - six life-areas (currently unlabelled), 'other' and 'next week'. Tasks and to-do items are assigned to one of the boxes and the next week box is so that I know what's coming up as I am pathologically incapable of turning the page and looking.

The day stamps on the diary side come from a set I bought from eBay. The Things to Do stamp came from Hema. I use the Things to Do stamp to write down my most important tasks for the day. The rest of my day planning is still being done in a reporter's notebook that stays on my desk. I use that to block off time for tasks and as a general scribble pad and then throw it away when it's finished. Despite having written the date range of the diary on the front cover, I'm likely to throw that away when it's finished too. Don't all gasp in horror. I keep a separate diary in which I jot important things about the day that I will want to remember in the future, and knowing that I needed to arrange a chimney sweep in such and such week is never going to be important to me and so stays in planners that I throw away when they're done. It's a planner. I plan in it. Once the plan is finished, why would I want to keep it?
[Sorry - I've never understood why people do, unless they are planning and journalling in the same thing, which is also a concept that defeats me - why would you want to muddle all that up?]

Anyway, moving on...

After the diary is another (hateful) Moleskine cahier that I am just using up to use up. I will never buy them again. I learned my lesson. I'm using it as a scribble pad. In it are going order numbers (crossed out when the item arrives), books to look out for, things to remember to do (noted down while I'm out and about; things that occur to me at home tend to go on the reporter's notebook page) etc.

Back of the week + notes diary (l); notes cahier (r)

Okay, that's the set-up...

2. How is it working out?
It's been working out really well so far. The footprint of the Traveller's Journal is bigger than a personal Filofax but the layout is working much better for me and the overall weight is about the same as a personal Filofax (though more than a slimline, naturally). The larger footprint is no problem as it's not really much heavier/larger than the Filofax and to be honest, the better layout of the planning bit more than makes up for it. Being able to see my weekly tasks, set out in the different life areas makes me see where I end up doing too much and what I still have to do in the week. Using time-boxing in the daily plan in the reporter's notebook stops me from overloading a day (and procrastinating!). It's all working pretty well at the moment.

Marvellous Monday

For two fabulous reasons:
1. I have been for a run!!!!

Okay. It was 10 repeats of {30s run, 1 minute walk} slotted into a 3.5mile walk, but...

It was a run!

And anyone who knows me will know JUST how much that means to me.

and...

2. I have been sent some stationery to review and give feedback on. The lovely people at The Stamford Notebook Company have sent me samples of their diaries for the Traveller's Journal for me to play with and give them feedback on, so that's what I will be doing this afternoon.

So, all in all, it's a marvellous Monday!

Hope everyone else is having a good day too.

(Brief) review of the sketch insert from Stamford Notebook Co.

When I bought my Stamford Traveller’s Journal, the company also sent me one of their sketch inserts for me to review. I’m absolutely sure I won’t do it justice, because I don’t really draw! What I’ve decided to do though, is to do a quick overview of it and then give the insert to a friend who is much more likely to draw than me and see if they will do a review of it from a drawing/sketching perspective.

The insert is the same size as the other booklets in the Stamford Notebook Co. range: 21cm tall x 12.5 cm wide, with a card cover (made from recycled coffee cups) and rounded corners. The Stamford Notebook Co. logo is embossed in gold at the bottom of the front cover; the back cover is completely blank.

Like the lined or grid booklets, the sketch inserts have 60 pages (despite the website saying they have 64). One side of the paper has a slightly rougher feel to it than the other and the paper is very thick.

Close-up of the texture of the paper

From the days when I did draw, I would say that the paper would be good for most types of art – pencil, charcoal, inks and watercolours. I’m not sure I would use it for pastels as it is smoother than the pastel papers I used to use and anyway, pastels in a notebook would smudge. Charcoal would probably smudge too. Anyway, I am no watercolourist and although I could do pencil sketching in it, I would prefer to give it to my friend in a pristine state and let him play with it!

More, as and when I get a review from my friend.

Supplies for the Stamford Traveller's Journal 1: Midori 007 and 008

I am well on my way to pimping my Stamford Traveller's Journal! So far I have bought for it:

• Midori 013 insert (128 pages, extra thin paper; see review here)
• Midori 007 refill (card holder)
• Midori 008 refill (zipper pocket)
• Rhodia cahier grid notebooks
• Rhodia cahier lined notebooks

[I also bought Moleskine cahiers but they are too shite to go on about and will never make it into the STJ! See here for details!]

I realise of all the extras, I have only reviewed the Midori 013 refill. Let me make amends!

Midori 007 refill (card holder)
This only arrived today and was bought in case I start to use my Stamford TJ as a wallet and carry-around planner (which I will... let me get 2015 out of the way!). I bought it from a Japanese store, via Amazon and although the delivery was a little slow it was free, the price of the refill was reasonable and they sent me an origami crane as a present!

Origami crane

The card holder holds 12 cards in total: each half of the insert holds 6 (3 in each side of the insert). The slots are a little bigger than the slots in a Filofax card holder insert but are not so roomy that the cards will fall out. The openings also face inwards so there is no chance of the cards falling out.

Still in wrapper

Opened out

As with all the Midori Traveller's inserts, they are designed to be held in place by elastic though they could also be put in so that they wrapped around a notebook and not need an elastic loop of their own. I've chosen not to do that as I would rather have all my cards together so I have replaced the leather thongs in the Stamford TJ with elastic and put 4 loops in - 1 for the zipped insert, 1 for the card holder and 2 for notebooks.

In situ at the back of the Traveller's Journal

There are no pictures of my cards in the holder as I would have to redact everything, but rest assured that they fit in easily. Top opening slots might be easier to access than the inward-facing openings but would be less secure. Get organised as you're standing in line to pay for things so you don't end up in a flap!

Midori 008 (zipped pocket)
I ordered this from The Journal Shop (no affiliation, just a happy customer). One side of it has a zipped pocket and the other has slip pockets.

Still in wrapper

Zipped pocket (L); slip pockets (R)

Slip pocket on each side of the RHS

It could be slipped into a Traveller's Journal so that it wrapped around a notebook, but again, I have put mine in on its own elastic so that it is at the front, rather than the slip pockets coming between the notebooks or having the slip pockets and the card slots all at the back.

In situ

In situ showing both sides of the insert

Both of these inserts are made of fairly sturdy plastic (polyethylene?). I haven't used them yet but they feel as if they will stand up to the rigours of use very well. I'll report back on their durability (and usefulness) after I've used the TJ more extensively.

I'm still LOVING the look of the TJ and itching to get into it. I love the fact that the cover is sturdy rather than floppy. The floppiness of Midori (and most 'fauxdori') put me off getting one but this one is pretty rigid. That, the colour and the fact that it is closer to A5 (and less tall and narrow looking than a Midori) are what made me buy this rather than any other brand and I'm not regretting the decision!

Stamford Traveller's Journal thoughts

I know, I know. I'm already all set up for 2015 with the Holborn filofax, but I'm thinking about how to use the Stamford Traveller's Journal instead... 2016 at the earliest though! I am all set for 2015.

For it to work, it would have to be able to function as both a planner and a wallet.

Planner:
The page size is big enough to have a good-sized week plus notes and I've been playing around with the squared Moleskine cahier, not because I will use it for this, but to get some ideas about a possible layout, to then use in a booklet with proper paper.
After a bit of playing, I think a 16-block spread would work - 8 blocks on each side.

Week to view
effectively week + notes

The left hand side would use 7 blocks for Monday - Sunday and use the 8th block for a tracking block.

Left hand side - weekdays + tracking

The right-hand side would use two of the blocks for 1) key things this week and 2) key things next week. The other six blocks would be to note the next-actions/to-do in 5 life-areas, plus one labelled 'other'. I've just put 'Life area #1' etc. because my life areas are my life areas!

Right hand side
to-do/next actions split into life areas

I don't know which notebooks I would use - possibly a Rhodia cahier (though I've not road-tested them yet). Almost no potential books would have the right number of pages to be able to have the whole year in, so I would probably remove the staples, add in enough extra pages to be able to do the full year, replace the cover with some nice card, sew the pages back in (rather than re-staple probably) and then trim the whole lot up to 12.5cm width.

I am also still doing well using a 'day-page' with time-blocking down the left side and the right side as a list/scratch-pad area. This has morphed from a reporter's notebook and A5 filofax diary (see here for details) into just a reporter's notebook, one page per day, divided vertically. The reporter's notebook is about the same page size as the Traveller's Journal booklets, so a simple lined booklet would suffice for these and I could therefore have my week+notes booklet and a day-book in the TJ very easily.

So, that would sort out the planner side okay, but I also carry an address book and a few information pages. These could fairly easily be moved into another booklet if I thought I needed them with me, but to be honest, I'm questioning that. If I need contact details I have them on my phone which is always out and about, and if I'm at home, then my filofax will be nearby (even if it's on a shelf rather than open on my desk) and easy to refer to.

Wallet:
As well as being my planner, my filofax is my wallet and a shift to any other system would have to encompass that too. The all-in-one aspect is too ingrained in me now to think about having to grab more than one thing when I leave the house! I wouldn't cope with having to find planner and wallet.

Obviously, filofaxes come with zipped pockets and card slots and what have you, which the Traveller's Journal doesn't. I would need to be able to carry cards with me and also money in a zipped pocket. Thankfully, Midori do inserts that allow both of these. Sadly, The Journal Shop was out of stock of the credit card insert, but I did order a couple of zipped pockets to try out and I found an alternative source for the card inserts. I'll review both of these when they arrive.

Overall, depending on a) finding notebooks I want to use in the cover at a reasonable price and b) the card insert and zipper pocket being okay, I think this could work pretty well as planner + wallet. How many others do this? And how have you set your Traveller's Journal/Traveler's Notebook up?

Compare and contrast: notebooks for the Stamford Traveller's Journal

I bought a gorgeous Stamford Traveller's Journal the other week (see here for my review) and have also looked at a couple of other potential notebooks to use as refills: Midori 013 refill (reviewed here) and the Moleskine large cahiers (see review here).

Today I'm going to do a compare and contrast with the notebooks that came with the Traveller's Journal (and which can be bought from Stamford Notebook Co.). I'll compare the size of the notebooks, how well they fit in the cover, the paper quality and value for money.

Size and how well they fit in the cover:
The original notebooks are 12.5cm x 21cm. The Midori 013 is narrower at 11cm x 21cm. The Moleskine large cahiers are a smidgen wider at 13cm x 21cm.

L-R Moleskine cahier, Stamford Notebook Co., Midori
(the Stamford is clipped shut for the photo!)

How well do they fit in the cover?

Original:

Two notebooks side by side

Both notebooks in

Midori:
The Midori notebooks are narrower and I was worried that even though it's only 15mm difference, it was enough that they would look swamped by the cover.

Midori on top of the Stamford

Two notebooks side by side

Both notebooks in

It certainly feels smaller. I would have to road-test for longer to see how much it would bug me.

Moleskine:
The Moleskine are only 5mm wider and to be honest, it's hardly noticeable.

Moleskine top; Stamford bottom

Stamford on top of Moleskine (honest!)

Two notebooks side by side

Both notebooks in

Size-wise, I don't think there's much in it. The Midori might be a shade too narrow.

Paper quality:
Well, the Stamford wins hands-down. No feathering, silky smooth, no bleed-through, no show-through.
The Midori is second. Silky smooth, no feathering, no bleed-through but significant show-through with most pen/ink combinations.
The Moleskine would be good for ripping up and using to make papier-mache models. Not all that smooth, significant feathering, significant bleed-through, significant show-through. Horrible.

Stamford, front

Midori, front

Moleskine, front

Stamford, reverse

Midori, reverse

Moleskine, reverse

Value for money:
The Stamford notebooks are £4.95 for 60 sides (8.25p/side)
The Midori notebooks are £5.95 for 128 sides (4.65p/side)
Moleskine cahiers are £6.20 for three; £2.07 per cahier; 80 sides per cahier (2.59p/side)

Yeah - there's a reason the Moleskines are that cheap!

Overall:
Depending on how much the narrowness of the Midori notebooks bugged me, I would think strongly about using them as replacements when the originals run out. If the narrowness bugs me too much (or I want to be able to use a wider range of pens) I would buy the Stamford notebooks. The Moleskines could have been an option if I just wanted to use them as a scrapbook and not for any writing whatsoever.
I'll also be road-testing some Clairefontaine notebooks and Rhodia cahiers soon. They're A5 but can easily be cut down to fit.

It's here! Stamford Traveller's Journal

It's here!! Actually, it arrived yesterday, but I've only had a chance to look at it all today.

Clockwise from left:
Traveller's Journal in calico bag
A goody
Sketch paper insert

I ordered the red version, with two lined notebooks from The Stamford Notebook Co. They very kindly also added a sketch notebook for me to review and another goody which I will tell you about on another day! [None of my photos manages to capture the right colour! They all look too orange.]

It came in a calico dust bag with black leather cord. To be honest, it would be easier to use the dust bag if it were a smidgen wider as it was a bit of a wriggle to get the journal in and out - too much of a wriggle for me to use it regularly. Not a major problem for me as I wasn't intending to be keeping it in the dust bag on a regular basis.

Red leather thongs are from the TJ;
Black thongs are part of the bag

The system is similar to the more famous Midori Traveler's [sic] Notebook, with notebooks held in place in the book and a closure, keeping the cover shut. Where the Stamford version differs is that it has leather thongs holding the books in place and a leather thong and a button to wrap the thong around to close the journal. I really like the button/thong combination but I realise that although you can trap a pen with the elastic system, you can't do that with the button/thong combo and that I'll need to think about the best solution for carrying a pen. I'm not keen on the Midori clip-on pen-loop as it will crush/mark the leather and I don't want to stick the Leuchtturm pen loops on the leather and they would be an expensive (and irritating once the book is complete) solution if they were stuck to the notebooks. I think I've seen a metal pen clip that could clip to the notebooks but any suggestions in the comments will be welcome!

You could (if you wanted) change the leather thongs holding the notebooks in place to elastic as the holes cut into the leather would allow you to string elastic through instead. I'll see how much the leather thonging hanging out of the bottom of the journal annoys me when it's in more use.

Okay, more detail on my journal!!

Cover:
The colour of the leather is fantastic. It's a red at the bluer end of the red spectrum (rather than orange - none of my photos show it accurately) with variations in the shading both inside and out. I had my initials blind embossed into the cover and the bluish shading in the letters looks divine (covered deliberately in the picture).

Front

Back

The leather has a lacquered feel to it (which I hadn't expected - I had expected it to be softer I think) and the cover is very sturdy/stiff; not at all floppy. It is about 2mm thick. The inside is less suede-like than I expected and in a good way! I'm not a great lover of furry-feeling suede so the fact that this is harder is a bonus. There's a great leather smell to it too!

Inside front. The knot is for the button

Inside back. The knot is for the closing thong

The leather thongs are dyed to match the cover, as is the button. The thongs are made of 2mm leather. They are a little bit bulky behind the button and the knot holding the leather closure thong in the back cover. As these have to be in line, it does mean that there is some bulk at that point when the journal is closed. 1mm thonging might be better than 2mm, throughout.

Close-up of the button

The leather thong holding the notebooks in is a single strip, with the knot on the outside at the bottom. The notebooks are held in securely but don't have quite the feeling of tightness that you get with elastic, naturally. There's no way they'll fall out though!

Close-up of the top of the spine

Close-up of bottom of spine

The lined notebooks:
These were described as having 60 pages on the Traveller's Journal part of the site, with refills described as having 64. This is perplexing in itself, and then in the first notebook I counted 38 pages (76 sides) and in the other book 30 pages (60 sides). Maybe there were just bonus pages in the first book? Both notebooks are stapled, but both show extra holes in the centre-line as if they have been re-bound or re-stapled.

Extra holes like it's been re-stapled

The notebooks are 12.5cm x 21cm and more 'open' than Moleskines - i.e. the middle pages don't touch each other. This might be because the leather thong is quite thick, but the sketch book insert is also like that without having been in the journal.

Front cover of the notebook

In situ

The paper is off-white and each pages has 24 lines. Line-spacing is 8mm with a wider top and bottom margin. The corners are rounded off.

Notebook open (please excuse my fingers!)

The cover is made from 50% recycled single-use coffee cups from a place in Kendal, Cumbria. I think it is the same place that makes the red paper for the Royal British Legion's poppies. Normally, disposable coffee-cups have been difficult to recycle because of the layer of plastic on the inside, but (assuming it's the place I think it is...), they have found a way of extracting the paper pulp and saving the cups from having to go to landfill.
The front cover of the notebooks has The Stamford Notebook Co. logo in gold and the cover is a lovely ground-cinnamon brown.

Pen tests:
I don't really like having pen tests in the book so I did the test in situ and then I'll remove the paper afterwards, which is why I've done the pen-test in the middle of the 38-page book.

The paper of the notebooks is Scottish and comes from a paper mill in Glenrothes. The company used to have another paper mill in the village a few miles from me, but sadly it closed a few years ago.

The paper is glorious quality. It is silky-smooth and fantastic for fountain pens. My very wet nibbed Pelikan Script laid down a LOT of ink and it took a while to dry so, as is often the case, lefties, check your favourite ink/nib combo dries quickly enough for you.
There was zero feathering, zero bleed-through and just the faintest show-through to the other side.

Pen tests - front

Pen tests - reverse

The biggest issue was not the paper quality at all - it was the leather thong being so bulky that it creased the paper and was bumpy to try and write across.

[I will review the sketch paper insert later when I have had more time to play with it]

Overall:
I love it. I may contemplate replacing the leather thongs holding the notebooks in with elastic, just because the leather thong is pretty thick and makes it difficult to write in the middle of the book. I may also pimp it with a couple of Midori TN accessories (such as the zipped pocket). The size is great - almost A5 and crucially, even though it's only a couple of cm wider, it feels like a better aspect ratio than the Midori TN.