Saturday

notebooks from the philippines that remind me of ice cream

My friend Prabda is in the Philippines right now and kindly sent me over these charming notebooks. He got them at the National Bookstore, across the street from one of the country’s most prestigious universities, Ateneo de Manila, in Quezon City (a section of Manila). Thanks, Prabda! I'd love to know what the bottom notebook says...

Monday

The First 1000 Days baby journal

The First 1000 Days baby journal Last week, my friend Melissa surprised me at work with this amazing gift: a baby journal by papercut artist Nikki McClure...."A place to record your baby's first puddle, rainbow, blueberry, tree." I'm so excited to start to fill it! I'm thinking the assignment might require the help of a Polaroid Pogo.

Thursday

the museum of notebooks' first mention in a book!

the museum of notebooks' first mention in a book! See my yellow and blue "66 notebooks" from Beijing here? They made it on to the cover of Timothy O'Donnell's book about graphic designers' drawings-- Sketchbook: Conceptual Drawings from the World's Most Influential Designers. Timothy mentions the blog in the book, and features a few more images of my notebooks.

Anyway, exciting news for the museum......

Monday

yellow and blue notebooks from laos

yellow and blue notebooks from laos My old friend Prabda in Bangkok kindly sent me these two notebooks. They're from Laos, and look so handsome together side-by-side. Thanks so much, Prabda!

notebook from a china trip

beijing notebook
A classic notebook from China, again courtesy of Prabda in Bangkok. I love the thick calligraphy strokes....they look so dignified. I imagine my grandfather jotting notes in a volume like this, sipping tea on a verandah.....

tamil writing notebook

tamil writing notebook
OK, so this isn't a traditional notebook with blank or lined pages. Rather, it's a writing exercise book in Tamil that I found in an Indian bookstore in Jersey City, NJ. I have such a fondness for these fine red and blue lines that I decided to slip this entry into the museum.

Wednesday

monastery notebook

The Monastery Notebook I can't believe I'd misplaced this notebook for so long! This is from my trip to Tibet in 2001, when I spent a lot of time at Buddhist monasteries. In Samye, I met some very kindly monks and, on the day of my departure, they surprised me with this delicate notepad from their monastery (the oldest monastery in Tibet actually, circa 775AD).

Saturday

green notebook

green notebook
lee gave this to me when we met and i'm happy to find it and add it to the museum.... a nice simple korean notebook

Sunday

tiny notebook with bird inside

bird inside notebook carrying notebook
Imagine my surprise when I received a small package on my third day at my new job...and found inside this adorable tiny (3x2 inch) notebook, a gift from my dear friend Henry. He must have known a new notebook would make my transition go much more smoothly... Thank you so very much, Henry!

I adore this little precious bird flying with a notebook in her beak greeting me on the first page. I'd love to hire her to work at the Museum...

Wednesday

monthly planning notebook

monthly planning notebook i found this at the bookstore at MACBA [museu d'art contemporani] in barcelona. it's similar to my nava notes notebook in that, at first, the notebook appears quite basic, but inside, you find pages that allow you to create your own calendar....

Tuesday

le tiger notebook

le tiger notebook a gift from abbey on my last day of work. i love the orange, i love the tiger! the backstory on this is that abbey and i love animals. we went to the zoo together a few months ago and brought home tigers. thus, the notebook for my tiger

Saturday

Apple Notebook

apple notebookfound this in a little shop in rangoon, burma. makes me wonder: do the burmese know what Apple Computers are?

"notebook from corsica" in use

notebooks from corsica
A French contact commented on my Flickr page that my so-called "notebooks from corsica" are actually designed to be used as tickets. here's a nice example: my ticket from "La Chapelle du Rosaire" designed by Matisse in Vence, France. My philosophy is that you can appropriate anything into a notebook.

Sunday

winner of best notebook paper 2007

winner of best notebook paper 2007
notebook by nava notes, a company based out of milan, italy. it looks like any other smart european notebook until you OPEN THE BOOK UP and see the "date it yourself" pages!

rhodia comes out with mini 3x4" notebook

rhodia comes out with mini 3x4" notebookit's a classic beautiful rhodia notebook from france, but in a very small size, like a notebook for a rabbit. after scanning this, i really see just how amazing the rhodia logo is. makes you want to jump on a plane for a trip to the swiss alps

Thursday

Tuesday

united nations notepad

united nations notepad
Bought this at the gift shop at the United Nations headquarters, New York City.

notebooks from corsica

notebooks from corsica I bought this is a tiny stationary shop in bonifacio, corsica. i asked a saleswoman take apart a set of 10 to get me a fresh yellow pad. she was so frustrated she exclaimed, "mon dieu!"

66 notebooks

66 notebooks

found this in beijing, china

Thursday

Air Mail Notebook

playful notebooki found this fragile, flimsy notebook of air mail paper in beijing

Sunday

Girl Notebook

girl notebookwith paper illustration that folds off the cover. measures 3 in. x 2 in. found this in tokyo

Grid-it! Notepad with Jan Tschichold Typography

grid-it! notepad

Found this one in a shop in London. It's got an amazingly subtle font

Wednesday

Playful Notebook

playful notebook
the best chinese notebooks i ever found were (sadly) in tibet....this one i found in a market in lhasa

Rainy Day Notebook

rainy day notebookfound this at some market in southwest china.

Panda Robot Notebook

panda robot notebookhere, my two favorite characters [by Aranzi Aronzo] unite on the front and back of a notebook. found this in tokyo

Smallest Notebook in the World

smallest notebook in the world
this measures a few inches tall. found it in a small town in southern Thailand. i reads: "good luck notebook"

Buddhist Notebook

Buddhist notebook
This is technically Buddhist sacrificial paper [paper thrown into a fire as a sacrifice to certain spirits]....but I like to use it as a notebook. Got it in Hong Kong

Cultural Revolution Notebook

cultural revolution notebook
This is from during the cultural revolution--my cousin saved it and i found it among his mother's belongings in beijing. no words inside. just this mysterious english writing on the cover...

Peaceful Notebook

peaceful notebookhmmm...don't remember where i found this one exactly. but the scenery reminds me of Yangshuo, China

Chairman Mao Notebook

chairman mao notebookvery sad. i found this in lhasa, tibet.

UPDATE: According to trium on Flickr: "the man isn't chairman mao!!! he is lei feng who is a very famous soldier in china."