As we have reached the mid-point of 2025, I thought I’d do a little Techo Kaigi to check in with where I am at with my planners, journals, and notebooks. “Loosely translated [from] Japanese, Techo Kaigi is a journaling or planner meeting that you have (with yourself) where you reflect on what you’ve been using…
At a recent pen show, I picked up the Dominant Industry Takasago Fountain Pen Notebook (Blank, A5, $24). I did a little online research and discovered that Takasago Paper Mill has been in business for over 110 years and in 2020, they developed the Premium Takasago Paper, a paper specifically designed for fountain pens and…
Review by Tina Koyama Last fall I reviewed Notegeist Bindery’s Everyday line of pocket notebooks. Among the many designs owner Gary Varner has added to the collection since then are very limited handbound editions. He has some new size formats, too. First up are 3 ½-by-5 ½-inch Butterflys & Peacocks (currently discounted at 2/$12) with…
I was delighted to meet Lauren Phelps at the Little Craft Fest event in Houston a couple weeks ago. Owner of Lauren Phelps Designs and journal goddess, she is a fountain pen fan herself, she produces journal/planner/notebooks that feature Tomoe River 52gsm paper in her date-free planner/journals called Live | Plan | Dream series. These…
Review by Tina Koyama In the research world, a longitudinal study involves repeated observations of the same variables over long periods of time. (Although I’m not a researcher, I’ve seen some fascinating documentaries that followed this method.) Probably the closest thing I can think of to a longitudinal study of my own life is my Leuchtturm…
While at the Chicago Planner Conference last week, I was able to pick up some sample products from Happy Planner. I got a discbound notebook, some stickers and folder extras. I was familiar with Happy Planner as I’ve often heard other people mention them and had seen some of their products stocked in places like…
I grabbed a small B6 notebook called the Nakabayashi W/U ($3.20) while I was at the Dallas Pen Show. It is filled with 40 sheets of dotted line 5mm grid paper with a natural white color. The book is stitch bound with a glossy paper board cover. It’s a classic “cahier” style notebook. I wanted…
