Moleskine - The legendary Notebook

"The Moleskine notebook is, in fact, the heir and successor to the legendary notebook used by artists and thinkers over the past two centuries: among them Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and Bruce Chatwin. A simple black rectangle with rounded corners, an elastic page-holder, and an internal expandable pocket: a nameless object with a spare perfection all its own, produced for over a century by a small French bookbinder that supplied the stationery shops of Paris, where the artistic and literary avant-gardes of the world browsed and bought them. A trusted and handy travel companion, the notebook held invaluable sketches, notes, stories, and ideas that would one day become famous paintings or the pages of beloved books."  -Moleskine 

On my recent trip to Sydney, I happened to chance upon a book shop called Kinokuniya, it spanned nearly the whole top floor of the building known as The Galleries, in Sydney's CBD. There I found a stand of Moleskines. I had read about them before in various blogs and knew of their growing fan base among hipsters, artists, writers and other people who take notes. I picked one up and looked at the price $22.95. $22.95 for a small pocket notebook? I put the Moleskine back down and continued shopping.

That night when I was back at the hotel, I decided to do a bit more reading into Moleskines. The idea intrigued me. A small, hardcover notebook, complete with neat band to keep it from opening as well as an expandable pocket in the back. Added to this, the original Moleskines have a rich history with some of the most influential artists and writers of our time. After reading many rave reviews, I decided I would take the plunge into the world of luxury notebooks. I was not going to be travelling in the direction of the galleries the next day, so I searched for alternatives, Pen-Ultimate in the Queen Victoria Building did. Excellent! That was only a two minute walk from the hotel.

I purchased two moleskines that day. One Peanuts limited edition notebook with weekly planner; the other, a standard pocket sized lined notebook. Pictures of the limited edition moleskine have been added for your viewing pleasure.

My thoughts on Moleskine:

Expensive. Even if you import them from a site like Amazon, unless you order two or more, postage will add up to almost as much as if you were to buy it locally. Not to  mention 8-15 days shipping. This is not an all-bad point though. Because there is a relatively large monetary value attached to the book, I rationalised that I would be less inclined to throw it around in my bag or room or otherwise misplace it. 

Good presentation. The pages themselves are of a higher quality than those you would normally find in $2 pocket notebook you would find in places like Officeworks. Instead of the usual white pages with blue lines, you are greeted with a pleasant shade of yellow with black lines. The vinyl hardcover and band combination protect the pages from becoming folded and otherwise crumpled and dirty. It feels like a notebook I would be proud to pull out in during a meeting or on a bus. It tells people you mean business and not afraid to spend up on luxury items.

Moleskins are bound to be like books. No staples here here. Each little books is bound in a way so you can store them on your bookshelves like you would any other book. This also means the pages can not be ripped out. Well. They can be, but it would not be in your best interest. 

A book for everyone. Moleskines have a wide range of notebooks to suit everyone. From the basic plain journals, to hard and soft cover lined, blank and squared notebooks, to diaries, to various passions and creativity based notebooks. What other brand of notebooks have dedicated watercolour, storyboard, music, japanese album and sketchbooks?

Limited edition notebooks. Sure you could get the iconic little black book design, but what if I told you they also come in limited edition variations as well? The current ranges available include: Peanuts, Star Wars, Le Petit Prince, Lego and soon, Evernote smart notebooks. 

Great as a gift for the man who has everything.

Let me get you a number from my little black book.

Peanuts limited edition Moleskine (2012)