Share pics, tips, inspiration and ideas for however you plan, record or reflect using good old pen and paper.
Journal brand recommendations
So! I've been using moleskine pretty much exclusively since I was in my teens, but my journal use has definitely changed drastically over this past year to incorporate more of my collage ideas, mementos (stubs, tickets, small things like that), and basically it has become a creative outlet for me. Thing is: I'm starting to find my current moleskine too restrictive. So I've come to y'all for help! There are a ton of brands out there, and I'm finding it a bit overwhelming to sift through everything.
Do you have a favorite brand? What kind of journaling do you do, and would you recommend your current brand to someone who likes to experiment creatively? Do they offer a variety of pages?




Leuchtturm1917. By far and away the best notebooks for journals/planners. You get index pages, you get choices of lines/graph/dotted, it's fountain pen friendly but with a nice texture to it, it's got two bookmark laces sewn in, it's got stickers for labeling the outside of the journal to keep track of them. And they've got really great colors to choose from too. I've had one for a little while now and I'm never going back to anything else.
Have you used any of the softcover journals they offer? They might actually be the perfect solution to my problem. Thanks!
I haven't tried the softcover versions yet - especially since I'm a hardcover fan. So I unfortunately don't have any insight on what they're like.
I personally like Staples Arc. You can easily add & remove pages. You can buy (or I suppose create) folders. Various things like that. There's a hole puncher, so you can create your own pages.
As for journaling... lately, basically just quick notes. :) My permanent notes are in the computer.
Oh, there's other brands compatible with Staples Arc. Like Levenger.
:/a This is actually perfect for writing stories. Thanks!
Whew! Glad to hear.
I fell down the moleskine hole myself... But I also have a soft spot for hardcover sketch books and journals.
Oh, me too. Such a soft spot. I have some really pretty ones that I want to use, but the way I'm utilizing my journals right now translates into my needing the kind of binding that's a bit more flexible. ;-;
Throwing my vote in for the Leuchtturm1917, I have found the grid to be perfectly suited to my needs, helps me keep things even and symmetrical when I paste things in or do handlettering or whatever. On top of that the quality of paper is good with minimal ghosting on most pens I use and there's so many pages. It's September and I haven't used the whole thing AT ALL, I'm maybe halfway through and that's with more than a few wasted pages!
I use Leuchtturms as well and love them (migrated from Moleskine to them), but they're very similar, it's like a Moleskine plus, so I'm not sure if that will solve your creativity problem! I don't paste in mementos like you mentioned, so I don't have suggestions for you there. In what way are they restrictive? Perhaps I can elaborate.
Rhodia makes a good range of notebook sizes with nice quality paper. They're often sold in art stores, so I presume that means they are art-friendly.
You might also look into Midori/Traveler's Company notebooks? They're an interesting size/shape, but if you go on like Pinterest or other places, you can see tons of amazing things people have done with them!
I don't think the Rhodia is going to work for me. :/a It looks like it has the same kind of binding as moleskine-brand journals, which is my primary problem right now.
But the Midori looks so perfect, omg. I wasted so much time (and fell down an IG hole) just looking at all the pretty and interesting ways people use it! Thanks!