I don’t know how I became obsessed with paper and notes. I remember having an excellent Electrical Engineering teacher who talked about a lab notebook as a resource for all your learning that you could refer to in the future. At the time, I wouldn’t say I liked several rules about notebooks: all pages had to be numbered, and you had to use a pen because you didn’t want anything to get erased or removed.
This was in college, so my affinity goes further back.
I’ve written several times about how I always carry a pocket notebook with a pen just in case I have an idea or need some paper to write things down. I’ve been doing this daily since about 2008. I miss days here and there, but I have a pocket notebook with me almost every day. I fondly review the old notebooks for ideas I may need to remember occasionally. Running through how I used to think helps me understand how I feel now.
I am not the only one with strong feelings about paper. There are a bunch of stationary writers out there. My personal favorite is Three Staples, though it has mostly gone quiet. Still, the photography and questions are the things I’m most interested in. I’m also partial to Field Notes and enjoy the edition ratings.
Another one is The Gentleman Stationer. This active blog has a shop where you can buy many of its recommended products. I have found some products I like through this site, like the book Darts and the Clairefontaine 1950s collection.
The first blog I found on this subject was Notebook Stories. This site occasionally has exciting posts and reviews of paper products, but generally, its cadence is slow. While I check out its posts, I often find little there.
This Post includes several other blogs I will check out, but many are already obsolete. As I learn more about this, I may post a curated list.
Here is the Field Notes Addict Tumblr I created a while back. It features a collection of images from my favorite field notes.