They’re lovin moleskine^® folio in LoFT.. whole bunch of stuff going on inside there. It’s no small task going up against the thousands of awesome notebooks, journals and fancy stationary products that are awash in Tokyo.

Here’s a pic:

We were pretty excited that day as our preliminary samples came through for the Molekind leather moleskine^® cover and they were grrrreat!

Yes!!

We just returned from a journey through the heart of England’s countryside to a mysterious place near the Welsh borders where we sat with a jolly leather professor who entertained and regailed us with technical details of his work.

The studio was perfect for us – all 19th centrury gear crammed into a tiny space with all kinds of bits and pieces – leathers, tools and pretty cool set of steampunk goggles.

We spent hours drinking tea and cutting things up to create Molekind V 1.0 – it’s a fine looking, leather smelling and tactile perfect accessory that’s now wrapped around my small moleskine^® and living in my pocket for a few weeks to build a relationship with (and to make sure it doesn’t drop apart).

Needless to say we’re very excited and looking forward to sharing pics and pieces.. That little snap on the right is a monster great machine that’s powered by jumping up and down. Huge wheels spin and specially designed knives go up and down to cut your pieces perfectly. Don’t get your fingers in the way…

We’re very happy to have found such a traditional craftsman to help us with the Molekind; it’s a one in a million workshop, truly! Whatever comes out of there is going to be individual, personal and durable. Fine companions for our little black books for sure!

Drop us a comment if you want to know more, I’m pretty sure one of us will crack and let some secrets out the bag…

I got bored on the phone with Virgin Atlantic and overdoodled.  Fingers crossed I get the confirmation emails through or I’m in for a long hold queue..

Bored In Flight

Keeping a pen with your moleskine^® cover seems to be a common theme of innovation.. Personally I just use my ultra slim, light Pilot as a bookmark and never have any problems, but if that’s not good enough – here’s a roundup:

@Cynthia at Journaling Arts has a solution almost as simple as mine, preferring to push her pen down the gap between the spine and the pages.  Works for thin pens and is probably a gem for that teeny little wallet pen you see around.

Instructables, as one would expect features many.. there’s one made of elastic, or the ubiquitous binder clips and even a slightly ugly one using iron on fabric. You might’ve seen the method using the bookmark and the Moleskine’s rubber band, and they have that too (never worked for me – I always got pen everywhere).

Elsewhere, Henrik Heigl transports and old lanyard into a suitable vessel for his pen and the_prodigal_untitled13 suggests grabbing your favorite silicone bracelet as a rubber band holder (pocket moleskine) and supporting a charity of choice.

If you like the idea of a basic pen loop on the outside edge of your Moleskine’s cover, try the classic simple duct tape version. This easy to make pen loop adheres to the inside of the notebook’s front or back cover, allowing the pen to stick out to the side for easy access.

For those who prefer to keep their writing utensils at the spine of the notebook, there’s another variation of the duct tape pen loop detailed delightedly by Gary V Vaughan called The Spine Pen Loop.

If you’re not crafty, or you don’t like the idea of gobbing great blobs of sticky tape to your lovely moleskine, there’s a few things you could pay money for:

One of my favourite makers, Midori, has a pen clip made for the Traveler’s Notebook. Midori stuff is a bit tricky to get outside of Japan, but these guys at Pencils.jp will fix up international shoppers. Check out the notebook too while you’re there, it’s very special…

The Container Store offers great, easy to use self-adhesive pen loops. The product features a black patch with a small elastic loop off to one side. You simple peel the backing off of the patch, exposing the adhesive, and press it firmly inside the front or back cover of your notebook. Slide your pen or pencil into the elastic loop and you’re ready to go. Pick up a few at The Container Store’s website.

Pencil Clips are simple, highly functional holders that slip over the top of the front cover of your notebook and hold your writing utensils in place with expandable loops on the face of the clip. Available with a single, double, or triple holder, these products make carrying up to three different writing tools easy.

Levenger provides writers with a product that will store your writing gear and mark the last page you used. Their Writer’s Book Bungee functions as a bookmark and a pen/pencil holder. You simply place the wood marker into your notebook, close the cover, and pull the elastic strap around the length of the cover. Your writing implements slide smoothly into the loops on the front of the elastic strap and you’ll know exactly which page you left off on.

Personally I’m not a big fan of fixing pens to the outside cover, I always forget to close them and then everything ends up being drawn on.. but the downside of my method is that the cover gets bent over time..

What’s your pen fix?

There’s something about these books that says scribble, sketch, think, mash and bash.. Even my old ones that I’ve used for notes of business meetings seem to become artworks a year on (at least, for me). ‘Skineart is a great place to feel like you should be drawing more than you are…

Speaking of which.. as I opened my book in an important meeting yesterday, I noticed my four year old had decided the same and kitaro’d my pages.

This is one I use all the time – it’s based on a medieval page layout and has been expertly put together by Rod Graves.  Oh, and if you’re into the Golden Ratio, you might like it…

Read and download PDF to cut out and print:

http://www.rodgraves.com/moleskine/

Thanks Rod!

Aha!  Time to zap that hello world post and get something here instead

If you’re here, I congratulate you on reading this far!  I’m just a big Moleskiner with a fancy for M’stuff.. so here we go..