Notebooks
New sketchbook
November 2024
I ordered a sketchbook from Hemlock & Oak by suggestion of Jedda. It ticks a lot of my boxes:
- A5
- 150gsm/100lb paper (though white, since it’s a sketchbook)
- Pretty! I got it in the deep forest green colour.
June 2025
Been using this sketchbook for the past few months. Impressions:
- Cloth cover: this isn’t specific to the brand, but I do not recommend getting a notebook with this kind of woven cloth cover if you plan on taking it out with you. It gets dirty/scratched much more easily. At one point I accidentally smushed food onto the cover and it’s just stuck there now! Embedded forever!
- It’s bigger than I’m used to, which makes me hesitant to bring it around with me. This is notable especially when travelling.
- Using heavier paper that doesn’t bleed is great. I’d been using thin notebook paper for so long that I forgot how nice dedicated sketchbook paper is.
- I find myself missing having a back cover pocket more than I expected.
My main gripes are the cover and size; I think I’ll switch back to Leuchtturm next time, though I’ll try the sketchbook variant rather than my usual notebook. This H&O sketchbook would work better if I kept it exclusively at home; it’s less good when I’m taking it out with me and putting it on dirty cafe table surfaces and stuff.
My notebook criteria
October 2024: I’ve been using a Leuchtturm1917 A5 notebook for at least the past five years, and I would continue to buy it because it suits my needs perfectly, but I’m not against branching out, particularly for notebooks that are more beautiful.
Mostly shaped by Leuchtturm:
Requirements
- Lay flat when open — need to be able to write in it with one hand; don’t want to have to use my other hand to hold it down; I want to leave it open on my desk without holding it down with anything.
- Plain/blank pages (i.e. not lined, grid, or dot grid)
- A5-ish size (145mm × 210mm) — Not too big that I can’t fit it into various bags as well as on my desk. Pocket-sized notebooks are too small.
Strong preference
- Bookmark ribbon
- Hard cover — useful for when not at a desk, but this is infrequent so it’s not a hard requitement
- Pretty / comes in nice colours — huge plus if the cover or colours are beautiful. Text, slogans, quotes, or the like are unappealing.
- Cream / off-white paper colour — pure white is too stark IMO, but not a deal breaker
- Ships to Canada at some reasonable cost.
Nice-to-have:
- Back cover pocket — occasionally useful
- Personalization options (e.g. embossing)
- Minimal ghosting — I’ve gotten used to ink ghosting in my Leuchtturm and sometimes find it charming because it adds to the used/messy look, but I sometimes also skip pages where I want to avoid that.
Don’t want:
- Spiral-bound — ergonomically awful
- Too few pages (let’s say, <100 is too few)
- Overall fussy to handle — e.g. the Traveller’s Notebook system
Other considerations
- Primarily use a black ink pen — mostly a Muji 0.38 gel pen. Occasionally pencil, but only for sketching. On occasion, a brush pen when drawing.
- Used for sketching art, designing, and writing brief notes. Not used for longform writing (e.g. paragraphs of text). Not used for more serious or polished art. Not used for scrapbooking.
The standard to beat: Leuchtturm1917
- Size: Medium / A5 (145mm × 210mm)
- Paper weight: 80g/sqm
- Colour: comes in many solid colours
- Personalization: yes; line of text at the bottom
- Other features: has two ribbon bookmarks and back pocket
Options
Need to investigate
- Mossery: considering, but hesitant due to shipping costs. Otherwise I love their art.
- Midori
- Moleskine: I used to use this, and I liked it less than Leuchtturm. But it’s been a few years and I could revisit it.
- Rhodia
Options I’ve dismissed
- Notebook Therapy: super cute and I love the vibe, but only has dot grid options
- Archer & Olive: only has dot grid options
- Shinola: I used to have a large linen journal, but it didn’t open flat. Unsure if that’s the case for the smaller sizes.
Suggestions
I am taking them! Feel free to suggest.