Ecosystem and FieldNotes!

Two reviews in one! yes! I have a lot of extra time tonight, can you tell? Anyways, I have been meaning to review these guys to quite some time. I picked them up via online shopping and they've been sitting on my shelf for a while.

Are you guys ready for this? TWO fountain pen friendly brands!

First up is Field Notes. This brand has because pretty popular with fountain pen users, and I now know exactly why. They are fantastic. Equally as fantastic as EcoSystem products. The paper is smooth, but not slippery like some thick papers can be, and it has a bit of a grip.

In the Field Note's online shop, I purchased the Original 3-Pack, in graph and lined.

These guys are adorable and resemble pocket sized Moleskine Cahiers, but oh so much better! They are even covered in Kraft! The Original 3-Pack are offered in four varieties:

- ruled. 
- graph.
- plain.
- mixed.

These tiny guys run at $9.95 per package, with shipping at $5.50 for USPS Priority, which is actually a pretty good deal, right? Right.

These beauties measure in at 3-1/2” by 5-1/2” and are bound using a "rugged three-staple saddle-stitch process." They contain 48 memo-sized pages of gorgeous paper!

As well as a information on both the inside front cover and backside inside cover. Note, I only photographed the backside.

As far as fountain penning goes, FN's react great! These samples were written with my orange Lamy, Medium Nibbed Safari, filled with a dark blue-purple mix that I accidentally made.

Front:

Back(what bleedthrough? I see no bleedthrough? What's bleedthrough? haha.):

*Also note, that in both samples(Eco and FN), I also did squiggles over each other 1, 2, 3nad three layers.)

Overall, absolutely wonderful, right!? If only they came in larger sizes. *sigh*. HOWEVER...they do come in colors! If only I could get my hands on some of those puppies!

ONTO THE NEXT ONE....Ecosystem! I love these notebooks. The colors are great! I got myself the lime green/kiwi 'Author' in the small size. Measures in at 3 5/8" x 5 5/8". This particular version comes in other colors such as: Onyx, Lagoon, Kiwi, Watermelon, Clementine, and Grape. I would LOVE to try out some of their other items, too! The colors are memorizing!

"Each ecosystem author journal features lined paper so you can write with well-being and sustainability of the earth in mind. The 100% post-consumer recycled paper is smooth and the lines are begging to be written between.
Choose a cover format, flexi or hard; choose from our wide variety of colors; and, for a final touch, think about a pocket-insert for added functionality." Eco Website

 These guys are fairly affordable and the small version that I have was $9.95 at our local bookstore. Sadly, they only had the small ones!

The paper quality in this notebook is wonderful. I think I am in love. With my wet Safari, I had no bleeding. NO BLEEDING! I used the same exact ink as I used above and had even better results! There is also an elastic band to keep your goodies from falling out of the book, as well as a colorful flap on the back!

Flap:

Front:

Backside:

Fabulous, right? I think so. I plan on converting mine into an address book! Be sure to check out more of this environmentally friendly company's products! The Advisor Planner and Pocket Inserts look really cool!

J.Herbin Violette Pensee Ink Review

Some of you may know that I am a fountain pen ADDICT. Well, okay, a lover. I'm too cheap to be an addict, and there is NOWHERE to find fountain pen around here! Anyways, I got lucky and found some J.Herbin ink in a pen shop in San Francisco. The one I chose was 'Violette Pensee'. Sounds fancy, right? Turned out pretty cute, too!

All testing was done on my one Rhodia N.19 bad. Also my only one! I need new ones but they are nowhere to be found in my area!

Here's a swab test. I forgot to label them, but from top to bottom, its one, two, and three swabs with a q-tip.

Pretty, right? Not too dark, not too light. I do wish that it was a bit more saturated. On the wrong paper, it tends to come out watery, but it looks nice in general. The ink flows BEAUTIFULLY, too!

Bleedthrough on paper:

Not too bad for a swab test, right? I would assume it would do great on other fountain pen friendly papers, but as this is my only one, this is all you get!

I thought a video might be best for showing everything in a short version. Unfortunately, Ms.Blackberry was pulling an attitude and I am still learning how to use her!

And finally, the bleedthrough from the writing up close!

I would most definitely recommend this ink! I havent been able to try and other colors yet as they are a bit out of my price range, but I would assume that they are all just as fabulous!

COMING SOON!
-Apica
-Miquelrius
- Triplus Fineliners
- Hi-Tec-C.

Waterproof?!?!

Yes, waterproof! WATERPROOF NOTEBOOKS! I purchased some noties from "Rite in the Rain" and am extremely pleased! it must have taken a genius to figure this stuff out! I purchased All Weather Journals in models/numbers: 390-4F, 374-M, and 393. 374-M is a memo book, actually.

The 390-4: Measures in at 4 1/4" x 6 3/4". It contains a normal page ruling, with 1/4" ruling and 160 pages. It is also bound, which is nice for hanging about in your bag! 


374: Measures in at 4 5/8" x 7 1/4" with 128 pages of a rather unusual rule...it's called 'Universal'. I would have taken a photo but Ms. Blackberry wasnt being nice! Oh, and the binding is a flexible type of binding.

393:  A wirebound one! yes! Measures in at 4 5/8" x 7" and contains 64 pages. Standard 1/4" ruling.

These books are rather fascinating, actually. The paper feels normal with almost a sticky sort of feel, but nothing to be irritated with. And they have TONS of types!

Some Examples:

 

They have a paper type for everyone, and even do custom work. I highly recommend these notebooks, especially if you happen to work in the field or in wet conditions. I used a basic Bic on mine! See below! They truly are waterproof!

Edgewise Journal!

I love this one. I'm not really sure if it is because it's edgy or because it's flocked with a damask pattern. Probably three of my most favorite things!

Unfortunately, it is HORRIBLY hard to photograph! Thus, I will need to resort to website photos. :/

This journal really is a unique one! I have never seen one like it! It measures at a medium size of 6" by 9", and has 176 pages, so not too big, not too small. Small enough to fit in a purse. At almost 14 dollars, it is pretty affordable for what you're getting!

 Now onto the kickass details! The maker really put a lot of cool things into this notie. First off, are the pages! They are TWO colors! The pages in this guy alternate between a light green(almost matching the cover) and a VERY light beige, almost eggshell. The lines are brown on both page types and are not thick. In the photo below, you can see the page color as well as the 'EDGE' part of the notie!

Now, keeping on the subject of pages, they are great quality. Really smooth, and almost fountain pen friendly. Everything I used except for my super wet FP's glided wonderfully. The paper is not slick like most are, and it has a bit of grip to it if that makes sense at all. Also, there are cute designs on the eggshell pages! Even my Hi-Tec-C pens worked and those scratch up on EVERYTHIGN!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this notebook to anyone who wants something new and unusual! Orange Circle Studio makes a variety of awesome produces including planners, and many other types of journals!

Galison Green Notecards

Well, I must say, these notecards are FANTASTIC! Shannon of Galison sent this little number out to me quite some time ago, but I managed to get myself rather sick, and along with overtime at work, havent had a chance to review them! *smacks self*.

Anywho, she sent me a package of The Little Blue Birds Writer's Notecards. I am so pleased with them! In fact, I only have two sets of card and envelope left!

I was completely blown away by how well these guys took to my fountain pen...even the most wet of pens! And they were great with my Pilot G2's and Hi-Tec-C's! Typically, My Hi-Tec-C pens get all scratchy if I dont use the write paper, but I had no problem with them!

These guys are from the Galison Green Collection and are made out of 100% recycled materials, so you can go green whilst you write!  The collection also includes notebooks, note pads, notecards, and more writers notes!

Now lets talk design. These are adorable.
The end. These come in two colors of card, with blue envelopes. I only had the red left!

 

Cute, right? The other color is shown here, via the Galison website: 

I think the cutest thing though, is the envelope! It has a little blue bird on the front, and then a blue bird and flowers on the back. Very mod-ish! The envelopes also include 'To' and 'From' and three lines a piece for return address and the postal address of whoever is receiving this fabulous note! 

Please excuse the lighting! Blackberry photos! I'm not allowed to sue the camera. :/ 

Back:

Overall, these guys are fantastic, and I do plan on purchasing another set or two once I have the money! At $11.00 for twelve notecards and envelopes, it's practically stealing! I plan on hopefully getting the William Morris Evening Garden Cards, Bon Voyage writer's notes, and perhaps even the Leaf garden set!

You can check out Galison at:

www.facebook.com/galisonmudpuppy  and www.twitter.com/galisonmudpuppy