A Martha Stewart Small Journal/cahier

[Margana]

Martha Stewart is famous for a lot of things but her robin's egg blue/aqua color is the first thing I associate with her name. Her beautifully composed rainbow follows just behind. The Martha Stewart line of home office products from Avery and carried exclusively at Staples celebrates the best of her color sense. Even the red, usually my least favorite color, hits the mark. Mix and match or go monochromatic at your desk for an inspiring, creative environment.

 

There are far too many items to cover here so check out the website for the entire line. Everything I picked up was made in China and much of it cello-wrapped, so I cannot vouch for paper quality throughout the line. However, there were no obvious imperfections and that is encouraging.

 

The item I purchased is a stitch-bound cahier notebook, a small journal with a flexible cover. To my surprise the Martha Stewart Notebook paper outperformed a Moleskine journal! The scan shows less feathering and none of those inky spider lines that Moleskine paper may suffer. The outlines are more consistent to the naked eye and only show slight imperfections. (If you want paper perfection, Rhodia is the journal most likely to meet your standards.)

 

The Martha Stewart Notebook has a Personal Reference page in front for contact information should your journal become lost and two pages listing holidays for 2012-2014 if you really must plan ahead. The closer for me is that every sheet is perforated so notes can be detached without spoiling other pages. Finally, somebody understands my work flow.

 

Also worthy of note is that this cahier has a textured cover, sewn binding, very smooth paper, and will lay perfectly flat without any fuss. The exterior label detaches leaving an unmarked cover, one that is more sturdy than comparable products.

 

On the downside the paper is thin enough to suffer the same show-through and bleed-through as a Moleskine. However, it is closer to white than Moleskine and, at least in the aqua journal, the lines are the same blue as the cover and dotted rather than solid.

 

Looking at the two journals, the Moleskine gives the impression of vintage goods while the Martha Stewart Notebook looks cheerful and contemporary. The latter does come in black if you prefer to split the difference with a conservative cover and modern interior pages.

 

With spring flowers blooming and the weather warming, a bit of cheerful color at my desk is very welcome and it might be fun to add a few more touches of Martha Stewart color to my otherwise neutral workspace.

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5272/6903491308_8757ba1a57_b.jpg

 

 

Excerpted from my review at An Inkophile's Blog.

[zebra baker]

It is a cool color. How great to know the paper stands up to fountain pens. Thanks!

[empyrean]

I love Martha Stewart products! I was wondering what kind of fountain pen she prefers....because ya know,,,,,she has got to have a fountain pen!! She may even be a member of this board! Are you here, Martha!?

[comfortableshoes]

I suspect there are some manufacturing differences from notebook to notebook. My fine TWSBI (writes wet) had slight feathering and wicked bleed through with Noodler's Heart of Darkness. My Serwex 962 with a EF nib has no issues, nor did my EF Airmail 69. I like the notebooks, but find the perforated pages a nuisance.my review is here.

[goldiesdad]

I was waiting for my "Field Notes" to arrive and found them on Saturday great price and decent paper for around 3 bucks.

 

Been using them all day ...

[Margana]

I suspect there are some manufacturing differences from notebook to notebook. My fine TWSBI (writes wet) had slight feathering and wicked bleed through with Noodler's Heart of Darkness. My Serwex 962 with a EF nib has no issues, nor did my EF Airmail 69. I like the notebooks, but find the perforated pages a nuisance.my review is here.

 

Getting the right combination of paper, ink, and pen is often a challenge but also part of the fun. How dare they be so finicky! At least you were able to find two pens that worked.

[comfortableshoes]

It gives me a great excuse to ink up some of my F and EF nibs...

 

I suspect there are some manufacturing differences from notebook to notebook. My fine TWSBI (writes wet) had slight feathering and wicked bleed through with Noodler's Heart of Darkness. My Serwex 962 with a EF nib has no issues, nor did my EF Airmail 69. I like the notebooks, but find the perforated pages a nuisance.my review is here.

 

Getting the right combination of paper, ink, and pen is often a challenge but also part of the fun. How dare they be so finicky! At least you were able to find two pens that worked.