I'm A Sad, Pathetic Stationery Junkie.

[inkypete]

11 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

There is the occasional bit of bleed-through, but not as prone as Paperblank 100gsm paper (in Flexis notebooks). It has a little more show-through than I like, but I suspect it'd be somewhat tolerable for reading over pages that have been written on both sides, though it may bug me more while I'm writing on the reverse side of a page in the first place. As cheap scribble paper, or for practising my handwriting or drawing techniques — especially if I'm only going to use one side, before ripping it out and tossing it in the bin — I think it's great, especially when it cost me so little per sheet.

Value plus! No question about that.

[A Smug Dill]

On 8/6/2021 at 12:48 PM, A Smug Dill said:

… the outlet store's policy of just silently cancelling any part of an order it cannot fulfil at practically the same time as dispatching the order, without consulting the customer or giving him/her the opportunity to modify the order or cancel it altogether if it cannot be fulfilled as originally submitted. I got a prompt reply, a few minutes after 9AM, that there were still fourteen units.

 

Well, I got an email this morning from the same manager who replied to my initial query, saying there was an error in the system's data, and the outlet store did not actually had any units in stock come actual order packing time.

 

Credit where credit's due; at least she informed me, and also asked me whether I wanted something else instead, and suggested (complete with hyperlinks) a couple of alternatives, instead of just cancelling and refunding that part of the order. (That would have made me very, very angry, on account of the fixed-price delivery charge outweighing the total of the item prices in the remainder of the order.) Except, of course, for the issue that not only are there no other available products with nearly the same page count, but also certainly not for that unit price.

 

On 8/6/2021 at 1:45 PM, inkypete said:

Value plus! No question about that.

 

I replied that I'd gladly accept the 224-page B5 notebook (with no printed calendar and date markings), to which she volunteered a link, suggested as a substitute if I'm not required to pay the price difference. Later in the afternoon, she agreed to send me fourteen of those instead to fulfil my order. The substitute product has a list price of $24.95, now offered in the outlet store for $18 apiece. There's a ‘seconds’ version of it (sold devoid of shrink-wrap, but is otherwise new) listed for $10 apiece. Given I only paid $2 per unit, I'd be happy to take either as an alternative; we'll see by the end of the week whether I actually receive them, but I have confidence I will. 😃

 

Luckily I still have most of the first fourteen 432-page Non-Diary Daily notebooks I bought earlier this year…

[A Smug Dill]

Wow. 😃  Milligram delivered, and then some. Not only did I get fourteen units of the sealed spiral-bound B5 notebook product (instead of the ‘seconds’), they had also included a gift: a Studio Milligram linen cover B5 notebook with 192 pages of Fabriano paper. I can't find the retail product listed anywhere, and it's possibly old stock from before Milligram decided to discontinue all use(?) of Fabriano paper in favour of the Milligram maple paper (and I've written to seek confirmation just now), but that doesn't change how beautiful the item is, or how delighted I am by the unexpected gift.

[inkypete]

Diary time for many. What are you guys using? I have finally ditched my paper diary and now use a combo of online diary and a notebook that I can just date at the top to support the meeting or event.

[yubaprof]

15 minutes ago, inkypete said:

I have finally ditched my paper diary

So are you ditching the moniker inkypete and going with laserpete instead? 😉

[inkypete]

1 hour ago, yubaprof said:

So are you ditching the moniker inkypete and going with laserpete instead? 😉

Touche - I think the diary bit is more about working in a team where invitations etc are sent via email. One diary is replaced by several notebooks so I think inkypete moniker is safe. 🙂 

 

[essayfaire]

15 hours ago, inkypete said:

One diary is replaced by several notebooks so I think inkypete moniker is safe.

I started using the bullet journal method so that I could reduce my (more than) several notebooks down to one at a time.  I have found it makes my life much easier, even if I use legal pads for other longer-format things. 

[Runnin_Ute]

Just ordered three of the Clairefontaine Neo Deco A5 notebooks. My preferred cover pattern is constellation,  but they only had one. So I got all three in the shell pattern instead. Just looked, and I have two more of the constellation. I thought I was out of those. (96 pages/48 sheets) I had bought one of the diamond pattern on a previous order. I had forgotten that. 

[AmandaW]

On 9/15/2021 at 9:53 AM, inkypete said:

Diary time for many. What are you guys using? I have finally ditched my paper diary and now use a combo of online diary and a notebook that I can just date at the top to support the meeting or event.

 

I gave up using a pre-dated paper diary a few years ago because I missed so many pages it felt a waste of paper. For events I use a cloud calendar with reminders switched on. And everything else is in a journal - a plain Clairefontaine A4 notebook, with the date stamped at the beginning of each entry and a line ruled at the end. No wasted pages. If I forget to write for a month it doesn't matter. If I decide to write lots of pages some days, that's fine too.

 

New stationery that I don't need? Just one watercolour block. I have a drawer full of watercolour paper. But this one is really small and I'm thinking it doesn't require lots of time to use do something. Anything. And it will be lovely with pen and ink. Maybe I should have bought more than one.

 

[A Smug Dill]

Hi @AmandaW! I'm delighted to see you more active on the forum again.

 

4 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

I gave up using a pre-dated paper diary a few years ago because I missed so many pages it felt a waste of paper.

 

Whereas I've just gone the other way: I (only) started a proper attempt at journalling — in a Paperblanks Embellished Manuscripts: Marcel Proust “In Search of Lost Time” journal, no less, to track where all my hours are ‘wasted’ and hence what I could do to reclaim some — but I'm finding not having a structured way of recording each day quite difficult, if I'm not prepared to maintain the discipline of writing every day. By the time I get to fill in four days' worth of entries, I've already forgotten a lot of the details I want to capture, if I haven't scribbled it down on scraps of paper for committing into the journal later. So, I guess one could say I've already broken my promise not to acquire any more pen, ink and paper products for a year, I just ordered and received a Hobonichi Techo Weekly Mega Planner for 2022 (with a suitable compounding of discounts) to see if it makes my endeavour easier to stick to.

[AmandaW]

Sad pathetic stationery junkie requires assistance...

 

I am looking for an inexpensive A5 FP-friendly dot grid notebook to use as a first Bullet Journal. I don't want to use the recommended/fashionable Leuchtturm because I might not continue with it. A book with less pages rather than more perhaps: enough to try the system and move on to something better or ditch it and forget the whole thing...

 

For Aussies: is there something at Officeworks / Kmart / Daiso et al that might do? The biggest issue is avoiding bleed & show through.

 

 

 

 

[N1003U]

1 hour ago, AmandaW said:

Sad pathetic stationery junkie requires assistance...

 

I am looking for an inexpensive A5 FP-friendly dot grid notebook to use as a first Bullet Journal. I don't want to use the recommended/fashionable Leuchtturm because I might not continue with it. A book with less pages rather than more perhaps: enough to try the system and move on to something better or ditch it and forget the whole thing...

 

For Aussies: is there something at Officeworks / Kmart / Daiso et al that might do? The biggest issue is avoiding bleed & show through.

 

 

 

 

Do you all have ‘Black’ n Red’ products from (Oxford Products?) down there?

 

I believe they make an A5 notebook in both wirebound and hardbound, and are not terribly expensive.

 

Edit: on second thought, they may only make notebooks with lined pages, so never mind…but the paper is very smooth and FP-friendly, and not terribly expensive.

[inkypete]

59 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

Sad pathetic stationery junkie requires assistance...

 

I am looking for an inexpensive A5 FP-friendly dot grid notebook to use as a first Bullet Journal. I don't want to use the recommended/fashionable Leuchtturm because I might not continue with it. A book with less pages rather than more perhaps: enough to try the system and move on to something better or ditch it and forget the whole thing...

 

For Aussies: is there something at Officeworks / Kmart / Daiso et al that might do? The biggest issue is avoiding bleed & show through.

 

 

 

 

Officeworks carries this Clairefontaine.

 

https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/clairefontaine-a5-age-bag-notebook-dot-grid-grey-cfcr793435

 

They also have a few in the Otto range that are less expensive. I have had ok results with Otto but you would need to check individual products re FP friendliness.

[AmandaW]

9 minutes ago, inkypete said:

this Clairefontaine.

 

That would be a safe choice and it even has a grey cover.

 

The Otto does look interesting, but i worry at the price that the paper might be really unfriendly. Not expecting perfection, but have never tried the brand to even take a guess.

 

I'll look around Black n Red too, just out of interest. Thankyou.

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, AmandaW said:

For Aussies: is there something at Officeworks / Kmart / Daiso et al that might do? The biggest issue is avoiding bleed & show through.

 

Peter Pauper Press has one that is often available from Amazon.com.au for $17.95 (with free delivery if you're a Prime member), and in my experience PPP's paper is more fountain pen friendly than, say, Paperblanks. However, it went up to over $23 two or three days ago, and I don't know when it'll return to the $18 ‘norm‘.

[brokenclay]

I'm a broken record on this, I know, but Rhodia side-stapled classic notebook: https://rhodiapads.com/collections_classic_stapled_A5.php

 

The black on has dots.

[Misfit]

I received the 3rd installment of my Field Notes subscription today. That makes 6 more pocket notebooks. 
 

My birthday is this Sunday, and I expect to get pens, paper, inks gifts. 

[inkypete]

6 hours ago, Misfit said:

I received the 3rd installment of my Field Notes subscription today. That makes 6 more pocket notebooks. 
 

My birthday is this Sunday, and I expect to get pens, paper, inks gifts. 

Happy Birthday - hope it is filled with love and stationery.

[A Smug Dill]

23 hours ago, AmandaW said:

For Aussies: is there something at Officeworks / Kmart / Daiso et al that might do?

 

I had a look in Daiso today, while I was trying to get more of a particular type of mask that's very comfortable. (We have three different types of reusable face masks from Daiso; the other two are so-so. Alas, what I was after — and wearing at the time — was sold out.) Nope, nothing in A5 or even B5 with dot grid markings, let alone being such and made in Japan. Sorry, it's not like the Chinese is completely without the capability to make good paper, but when I see notebooks “made in China” the first thing that fills my head is doubt about the paper quality with respect to use with fountain pens and inks.

[AmandaW]

1 hour ago, A Smug Dill said:

I had a look in Daiso today

 

Thankyou for looking, that saves me a long wasteful drive just to see. It also confirms that I'm going to go with the Clairefontaine since I already use their A4 notebooks as journals. I was holding out a final decision to see if I could get to Daiso.

 

That means I get to go to Officeworks...