Tag: journals

Sunday Leather Craft- Travelers Notebook 1

December 5, 2015

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.

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).

The Quest journal- thanks for the photo, Pat @ http://becomingsleek.com!

Let me know if you come across any more, or have some favorites you want to share.

The Giving Journal by CBTL

November 29, 2015

by tintinpantoja

comment 1

Hi folks! Liz Lanuzo of Project Vanity graciously lent me her Giving Journal for me to check out. I thought I’d share with you some shots of the cover and interior for you to make up your minds about whether to go for this yearly diary, the Starbucks Moleskine 2016, or Seattle’s Best diary. I hope you don’t go for all three- you might get diabetes from all those crazy frappe drinks they make you buy to get one of these!

Here goes:

The cover. It’s tan faux leather, very simple and clean design. Quite smooth and slick. I’m not sure it’s waterproof- water might stain it, so keep away from coffee.

Cover

There’s some info about CBTL. Next we have some background on The Giving Journal. Apparently it’s working with the Real LIFE Foundation which has something to do with education.

This seems like a worthy endeavor although who knows what that really means? Do they get a portion of each Journal distributed or what??? I wish they’d tell us. I hope those street children are getting something out of this!

About the Giving Journal and some social media stuff

Then we have a recommended user’s guide to the Journal, as well as a “Vision List” to help you list your various Goals for 2016. I kinda like this part, it seems useful for those January 1 resolutions that we always forget (or ignore) in a week.

Guide and Goals

Then there’s some self-empowering poetry. Moving on….

There’s a page about drawing your inspiration for the year. Again, I like that they encourage you to visualize your goals. You’re out of luck if all you can draw is a stick figure though. I guess you can write them down. But all in all, it’s a great idea to visualize your goals, desires, and inspiration.

Coffee drawings

Next, a page of your best 2016 moments of the month, and Travel Plans. I like the Flavorful Moments one better because in a way, it encourages you to be grateful for the joys of the year- and gratefulness leads to health, as they say.

As for Travel Plans…one can dream. Sigh.

Flavorful Moments and Travel Plans

Ah, a calendar! Finally, we get to the bones of the diary. Let’s not forget the coupons though. I seldom use them because I hate tearing things out of a planner, but if you drink CBTL enough to get a Journal, I suppose you will have lots of use for them.

12-month Calendar and coupons

I love this! So much space to mark with washi tape and stickers and your plans, of course! You have one month spread over two pages.

One Month calendar dates

Then you get one week over one page, and notes to elaborate on the facing page. Again, I like that the days of the week are dated. The Midori planner doesn’t have dated weeks. And I really really love grid layouts. Reminds me of the Hobonichi. You can also easily use it for Bullet Journaling.

One week

There are both blank and grid pages at the back for final notes. Good to use these pages for important information like address and passwords (in code, preferably).

Finally, you get a pocket folder for receipts and ephemera and stickers. Stickers!!! I wish they included more, but at least they have them.

Back Pocket

Stickers and backpocket

And there you have it! Here’s a final assessment:

The whole shebang

PROS:

Very sturdy binding.
Orange ribbon to hold it closed.
Simplicity in style- besides the coupons and extra goals pages, the calendar pages themselves are clear, well marked, and well arranged.
The paper is thick and can withstand fountain pens.
Ribbon bookmarks.
Cute stickers.

CONS:

The smooth cover feels like it will scratch easily and will be a fingerprint magnet. I wish they’d put some texture on it, like the Moleskine covers.
Hardbound- this is a con for me because I like lighter journals, but for others this might actually be a Pro. I’d like a softbound journal so I can insert it into my fauxdori covers.
It’s very…sepia. Which makes sense, since that’s the color of Coffee and Tea. If you don’t like brown or variations of it, there’s no other option. EDIT: I think there are other colors for the covers, but I’ve no idea about the insides. Thanks for the info, Pat!

All in all, I think I prefer this journal to the Starbucks 2016 Moleskine- but then again I’m biased because I don’t like Moleskines! Thanks for reading!

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

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