Midori Belt Seal

November 21, 2011

I purchased a Midori "Belt Seal" at Maido Stationary on Market Street in San Francisco last week. It is a very good solution to the old problem of keeping one's pen or pencil attached to a journal. The Belt Seal is a plastic strap, nicely made, that comes with two press-to-stick attachments. On the back of the journal, the belt is attached directly to the cover. On the front, there is a conventional male snap that attaches to the cover and the end of the belt mates with the stuck-on snap.

In the middle of the belt, there is a loop that holds a pen or pencil firmly against the side of the journal. This positions the pen against the pages and between the front and back cover, which is pretty secure. The Belt Seal would work with almost any journal, although it would be a redundant closure on one with an elastic closure, like a Moleskine.

Belt Seal in package and the journal I used

Belt Seal attached to journal with pen in loop (you can see the adhesive around the snap on the cover)

Belt Seal unsnapped showing pen held in loop

November 21, 2011

If it is Midori, then I would have to say that it is well designed and executed.

I didn't know much about them until about 2 weeks ago, when I ordered a brass pencil from Baum-kuchen.

The little pencil was so nice that I placed an additional order.

If they keep this up, then Midori will become a major manufacturer of writing accessories...

Doug.

November 22, 2011

So So So jealous. I've purchased so much stuff from mymaido.com (purchases related to the Traveler's Notebook) and have communicated with Andrew on a number of occasions. I would love to visit the shop in person! Any photos from the shop?

November 22, 2011

So So So jealous. I've purchased so much stuff from mymaido.com (purchases related to the Traveler's Notebook) and have communicated with Andrew on a number of occasions. I would love to visit the shop in person! Any photos from the shop?

No, no photos. The shop is in a downtown mall that is very upscale, with Nordstrom's as the anchor store, right on Market Street at the foot of Powell. It is a fairly small shop with a huge collection of paper, journals, cards, Japanese school supply type goods, and many pencils, ballpoints, and, of course fountain pens. They will let you try any pen.

I was not pen shopping on this trip, so only bought a Pilot Petit for fun (about $5), plus journal, some pen boxes, etc., and the Belt Seal.

November 28, 2011

Hi guys,

A little clarification about this item. Is this a one-time, permantent installation? I'm concern regarding the adhesive. I use a leather bound journal (Wenger --sister company of Victorinox, see below ) with no closure straps and I'd like to keep it with no strap for storage. However, when using one of these i'd like the strap mainly to have a place to hold a pen.

My concerns are, 1- after installing the adhesive circles, can they be safely removed without ruining the leather? Or are they for good?

Thank you all in advance.

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Wenger-Swiss-Gear-Leather-Journal-Set-Pen-50-/00/s/NTgyWDUyMQ==/$(KGrHqZ,!pQE7BcvigKvBOyqFik,u!~~60_3.JPG

November 28, 2011

Hi guys,

A little clarification about this item. Is this a one-time, permantent installation? I'm concern regarding the adhesive. I use a leather bound journal (Wenger --sister company of Victorinox, see below ) with no closure straps and I'd like to keep it with no strap for storage. However, when using one of these i'd like the strap mainly to have a place to hold a pen.

My concerns are, 1- after installing the adhesive circles, can they be safely removed without ruining the leather? Or are they for good?

Thank you all in advance.

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Wenger-Swiss-Gear-Leather-Journal-Set-Pen-50-/00/s/NTgyWDUyMQ==/$(KGrHqZ,!pQE7BcvigKvBOyqFik,u!~~60_3.JPG

I can't be certain, but the adhesive looks fairly permanent to me. It might be possible to remove the clear plastic circles that have the self-stick adhesive on them, but I have no idea what impact it would have on a leather cover. I think I'd try something else for a pen holder, like perhaps the Traveler's Notebook pen holder that clips on, or something similar.