moleskinerie

DETOUR Artist Profile: Todd Kelly

Todd Kelly Graduated in Architecture at Andrews University, Berrien Springs and MFA at the School of Visual Arts, New York and Full Fellowship Residency at the Vermont Studio Center. He now lives and works in London and in the last 2 years his work was featured in the group show ‘Hidden Talents’ at the National Portrait Gallery, London, George Polke Invites, Vertigo Gallery, London, SevenSeven Contemporary, London, and a Solo Show at Idiom Gallery, New York, Broadway Gallery, NY, Visual Arts Gallery, NY (SVA). fmsartst@hotmail.com.

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Learn more about the new Moleskine City Notebook.
Dealer List (.pdf)

Featured Artist: Paul Soupiset

My current project is a Moleskine watercolor journal series I began in late February: I embarked on a daily discipline of creating simple watercolored sketches during Lent (a 40-day period of self-examination observed between Ash Wednesday and Easter in more orthodox Christian traditions), as a way to slow down, think about the passage of time, meditate or pray, and then to root myself in my surroundings. I work at a design firm in downtown San Antonio and I steal away during lunch breaks to chronicle my day, or to consider the architecture, discarded objects and infrastructure that I encounter while walking around. Every night the day’s work gets scanned into a lentenblog entry at soupablog.com.

This loose chronicling style feels very natural for me; over the last two decades I've kept ongoing journals full of cross-hatched travelogues and layered collage elements that inspire/fuel my other art (paintings, songwriting, etc.). I was very inspired by the Journals of Dan Eldon... but when I was handed my first Moleskine journal as a gift around 1999 or so, I was hooked. The notebooks were harder to find back then; I used to have to make intentional road trips up to Austin’s fabled Book People. Now, I’ve got large “office Moleskines” for client thumbnails, a small “GTD Moleskine” that organize my life, and my sketch journals as well.

I talk more about my supplies list and my process here. Lately I’ve been ignoring my larger scale paintings and making my Moleskine sketches my primary medium. Hope you enjoy.

Paul Soupiset
28 March, San Antonio, TX USA

Paul Soupiset
More on this series at his blog, "soupablog"

[via Ian McKenzie]
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- Hand Book Artist Journals   
- Inspiration: Mario Hugo Gonzales   
- Very Rare! Red NANCY DREW Private Eye Diary with Lock!

Today on Notebookism

Best. Bookmark. Ever.

The Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild

[Image via Sylvia's "Classical Bookworm"]

Discover and join our Moleskine communities on LiveJournal, MySpace,  Moleskinerie FLICKR and Meal Moles.
Get out - have a life and write about it. Enjoy your weekend. We'll see you on Monday.

Special edition Adobe® Moleskine set

" This is a Special edition Adobe Moleskine set for the guests at launching of Adobe Creative Suite CS3. London, Soho, 27.03.2007

Only invited attendants (designers, advertising industry) received them as a gift from Adobe at the yesterday's launching.

And yes - these are actual notebooks :-)
Absolutely real. No idea if they will be available in stores (I doubt).
Set comes in stylish black packaging and inlcudes Adobe branded storyboard, memo-pockets and sketch notebook..."

Staszek Błędniak

Adobe^® Moleskine Set
View his FLICKR photoset

© All rights reserved SB
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- How to wreck a journal   
- Lewis Carroll’s Ocean Chart   
- Blank Page # 36

Today on Notebookism

Modding the Moleskine

Here's a modified memo Pocket Moleskine complete with a pink ribbon lining. Cute! 

By AK
Photo © 2007

Visit her blog.

Spring Gremlins a.k.a. Domain Mapping Issues

The domain mapping issue for Moleskinerie.com seems to have been resolved.  Kindly contact us if you encounter any problems viewing the site.

Thank you for your patience. We will resume normal posting on Thursday.

- Armand

[Special thanks to Jen and the TypePad Team for their assistance]

SXSW Sketches by Khoi Vinh

What better way to document SXSW than to doodle.

"For my part, I brought along my less visually accurate but infinitely more convenient Moleskine notebook and, much as I did recently in Paris, did a lot of sketching. I’m liking this.

So, herewith, a sampling of the off-the-cuff doodles I made while sitting around the Austin Convention Center, watching panels or chatting in the hallways with other attendees. One thing these drawings don’t do well that photographs do better is capturing some other mode of the attendees’ activities other than… just sitting around. That’s the hard thing with sketching a business conference: not much happens aside from sitting around on one’s ass. It makes for rather boring drawings, to be sure, but to add a little excitement, South by Southwest attendees may want to see if they can spot themselves amongst the doodles, as there’s a chance I drew you… hours and hours of fun!.."

Earlier doodles, also from. Khoi:

"Remembering back to the last set of on-the-street sketches I did in Paris, I made sure to bring my little Moleskine pocket book and a pen with me just about everywhere I went last week. I managed to knock out several pages of drawings, the highlights of which I’m posting here. There aren’t as many as I’d like, but I came up with some stuff I was happy with.

I had a good time with these doodles; I always do have a good time doodling. I don’t know exactly why it takes traveling all the way to Europe for me to actually do something I enjoy so much. Well, I guess the obvious reason that, I’m usually not working when I’m in Paris, and when I’m in New York, I usually am working. Funny what a little bit of free time can do for one’s more artistic pursuits.
Smaller and Smaller

Towards the end of my trip, and my sketching, I started working smaller and smaller (the sketches below are not shown in order, nor are they shown to scale with one another), and enjoying it more and more. There’s something about working at a reduced scale that’s very satisfying, and if I had to put my finger on it, I think it’s the idea that every line matters more, and yet there’s less cost to messing up a drawing."

Khoi Vinh
More at his blog, "Subtraction"
Image links 1 2

© KV All Rights Reserved

[Thanks Mike Rohde]

Well, This Just Really Sucks

Well, This Just Really Sucks
A shirt by Kevin Ryan
at Threadless

[via Bibliophile Bullpen]

Why GTD Converts Should All Start with Paper Systems

"As I’ve said in the past, I was an analog GTDer (but have since converted to a kick-ass digital solution). I used paper products for absolutely every aspect of GTD when I started and found the experience to be extremely valuable. So much so, that I’m going to tell you now why every single person who chooses to embark on the journey that is GTD should do so with a pen and a notebook instead of a stylus and a PDA.

Think about driving for a moment. Many people (myself included) learned to drive in a car with an automatic transmission. Move the little needle above ‘D’ and stand on the gas - you’re moving. But what if your buddy (who drives a car with a manual transmission) breaks his leg or - for whatever reason - suddenly needs you to drive him to the hospital in his car? Sure, you could clunk yourself down the road, stalling the car at every red light, but you’d eventually get there. But wouldn’t you rather spend 10 seconds getting to know how sensitive the clutch is, then driving it like you were born to?.."

"4 Fantastic Reasons Why GTD Converts Should All Start with Paper Systems"
The Cranking Widgets Blog

Visit

Image: "Fountain Pen" by Cunning Stunt
@ Moleskinerie/FLICKR
© All rights reserved

Lock Up Your Private Writing

"If someone has read your diary, or even rifled through your desk drawer looking for it, you can relate to my feelings of anger and betrayal. In an ideal world, we would all respect each other's privacy and wouldn't dare to read another's diary, even if it were lying open on a table. However, human nature is curious, and so our private writings are vulnerable. This doesn't mean we should abandon them, though. It just means we must become more determined — and creative — in our resolve to protect our diaries from prying eyes..."

"Lock Up Your Private Writing"
Guard your diary from trespassing eyes with a little creative protection.
by Diane Weiner

Image: © 2005 ABF
Originally posted 7.29.05

Modo e Modo Quality Control & Replacement

Moleskinerie pal Patrick Ng writes about quality control issues with his notebooks:

"A month ago I reported that 3 of my Moleskine (2 pocket size, 1 large size) had problems with the elastic band. The large size M has a very loose elastic band it won't hold the book close anymore, while the two pocket size M have "shrinked" or "melted" elastic bands (as seen in the pictures). I never exposed these notebooks in adverse conditions so they are under my normal use, in fact the large size M is my journal about my son, so it stays in a glass cabinet all the time. 2 weeks ago I received an email from the distributor saying that they would love to give me a replacement and I received the notebooks a few days after. I'm relieved that Modo e Modo is really committed to maintain good quality products despite there were probably some problems with certain production lots. I'm asked by the distributor to find out the quality control number but I purchased these notebooks before Modo e Modo implemented the quality control number system. So a little advise to all of the M fans: Keep the insert or cut the quality control number out from the insert and save it in the back pocket. It helps to identify problem lots for Modo e Modo and you may be able to get a replacement if something is wrong under normal use..."

LINK
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- Notebooks by Molly Jean Henson   
- Inspiration: Robin Cameron   
-Jotting down thoughts a pressure valve

Today on Notebookism

Greetings to our friends in Hamburg, Wallsend, Costa Rica, Malta, Novi Sad, Malaga, Yanlin,  Ad Dammam, Schenectady, NY, Manama,  Orensar, Pande,  Lillehammer, Kharkivs'ka Oblast', Montevideo, Queensland, Nottingham, Kissimmee, FL., Nervi, Once, Damansara, Kingston, Araijuku, Nesher, Ramsis, Bangkok, Gujranwala, Moscow and Tegucigalpa.

What pens/markers do you love to use in your Moleskine sketchbook?

biffybeans:

I recently bought one each of the large/small Moleskine sketchbooks without knowing what kind of paper was in them. It reminds me of the "Oak Tag" paper used for Manilla folders. It seems that my regular pens/markers are reacting differenty to this type of material and I was wondering what kinds of writing impliments people favored for use in the sketchbooks.

*athena says:

Sakura Pigma Microns. I love them, but I go through them very quickly. The nibs break fairly easily too. Though I am currently using a Pilot G-Tec-C4. I use a Lamy Vista fountain pens for my journal though.

23rd spiral says:

in my new London City Notebook my trusted Waterman fountain pen bled odly and horribly. On cheep paper it beeds out in all directions, in this moleskin it bled in small lines like streams away from the writing. Argh!!

So, in starting my first Moleskine pocket weekly diary i had a crisis... risk streams of ink or use a biro! I had no gel pens left, and needed to start on new years day of course. Also, because i only get 7 narrow lines to record a day's activity, the pen can't be too thick. Any UK-avalible ideas?

I see many of you use fountain pens, any ideas why mine went so wrong?

[Photo by jez zimbo/      © All rights reserved]

Join this ongoing discussion at Moleskinerie/FLICKR

How do you keep track of your ideas?

Peregrina Historiae has it pretty much laid out:

"Replace the Hipster PDA for a small moleskine or moleskine weekly agenda and the rest is pretty much the same… Particularly the Moleskine Notebook part (I have a lined one instead of gridded) and the switching back and forth between scribbling on a paper and typing on a computer."

Can't get simpler than that.

Visit

Image/text © PH 

DETOUR Artist Profile: Chris Dent

Chris Dent is an illustrator fascinated by city environments. He uses a range of intricate mark making, creating energetic visions of city life. Chris recently graduated from Camberwell College of Arts where he gained a BA in Illustration. Chris is the co-founder of a new collective called HYBRID BUNNY – a group of illustrators and designers which is responsible for icy2.com, a project for all illustration students at Camberwell College of Arts to show off their portfolios. Chris has been invited to appear in 3x3's 'New Talent Gallery' and is featured in October's ‘Dazed and Confused’ interviewed by Jason Jools.

Play Video

Learn more about the new Moleskine City Notebook.
Dealer List (.pdf)

Discover and join our Moleskine communities on LiveJournal, MySpace,  Moleskinerie FLICKR and Meal Moles.
Get out - have a life and write about it. Enjoy your weekend. We'll see you on Monday.

Etsy Finds

Moleskinerie pal Keykalou is at it again!

"Pretty cover to protect your precious Moleskine journal and all your sketches, notes, stories & secrets it may contain. Cute elephants march across a grey background on the adorable Japanese light cotton canvas fabric.

The inside is lined in unbleached cotton canvas. The flaps have been designed so you can still access the pocket that makes it a "Pocket Moleskine". Close it up securely with the strap and velcro closure--and your pen will fit nicely between the strap and your journal if you want to keep it all together.

Fits Pocket Moleskine journals or any journal 3.5" x 5.5" x about 0.5" deep. Journal is not included..."

Marching Elephants Pocket Moleskine Jacket
At Etsy
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- Dear diary, how I yearn to be dazzling 
- Welcome to Riffdreams
- Cross Botanica Pens

Today on Notebookism

Welcome Riffdreams

I would like to introduce everyone to Riffdreams, a new blog by my dear friend Gary Varner:

"This blog/Web site is an online presence reflecting my renewed interest in music, specifically guitar playing and songwriting. I’ll keep this intro short so you can get back to browsing RiffDreams.

I had a minor musical upbringing, the embarrassment of saxophone lessons at seven, piano from nine through 11, but finally discovering coolness in the form of guitar playing at 14. I played in rock bands (lead guitar) through high school and early college, but at some point life got in the way, I sold my gear, and took a long, non-musical path…until now.

I’m a late-middle-life professional, whose day job keeps me mentally in the world of strategic planning, work process improvement, teambuilding, process mapping, and other forms of corporate cruelty. I write heavily in my work, and have pursued writing as a creative passion, but since I do so much writing in my day job I'm less-than-eager to devote nights and weekends in pursuit of the written word. I still write, but only as the muse beckons and usually during periods I'm not doing so at work.

And so, in one of those retro-vision moments we male humans are famous for in our later years, I turn to a long-forgotten passion of guitars and music.

So it seems I'm diving back into the world of expensive gear, socially odd musician-types, and the whole genre of a niche passion. Hope you enjoy the chronicles here of my return to a musical life on RiffDreams.com.

Riff well in whatever you do!"

Visit!

Marieke's Treats and Treasures

Just a quick note to tell you that I am much enjoying Moleskinerie! For a year now I am posting my Moleskine pages online everyday on www.treatsandtreasures.com. I went from small reporter squared, to big sketchbooks trying everything in between :-)

  Recently I Gocco printed these small notebooks for my wedding party.

- Marieke
Visit her blog, "Treats and treasures"
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- The Great Notebook Roll Call
- The Scottevest "Tactical 40"
- Inspiration: How to be an Explorer of the World

Today on Notebookism

Fun way to use a Moleskine: Autographs

2006 Olympic gold team

"We were at the Brier (Canadian curling event) which was in Hamilton this year. After the games we saw some players going to the edge of the stands to give autographs. Handy always having a pocket moleskine on me, now I have something to get people to sign..."

Dave Numan
Visit his blog, "i spoke too soon"
LINK

The travel notebooks are back in Galassia

MoleskineCity.com has more on the travel notebooks in Galassia:

"They can be considered real self-made books, both artistic and narrative works, where writing and drawing cohabit in order to tell real and imaginary journeys.This year's edition is dedicated to sea journeys and the notebooks on show can be divided into three categories: the collection of travel watercolors which is destined to become a refined editorial product; the noteboks written for passion which can be turned into artistic travel books; the notebooks proposed as a collective game, new views on the cities, between artistic expressions, reports and personal diaries..."

LINK

[Grazie Claudia!]

Shown: Cecilia Battimelli
© All rights reserved

Show us your stack!

How many moleskines have you filled?

If you can, take a picture of your stack of moleskines and post it here...filled and unfilled!

I'm working on filling Moleskine #3 (pocket, squared). My journals are becoming increasingly visual though, so I'm thinking of switching over to a pocket sketchbook for #4.

I'll post a picture of them later today if I get the chance.

-Crystal

Photo by Thomas Boesgaard
© All rights reserved

Join this discussion @ Moleskinerie/FLICKR
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- Blank Page # 35
- Inspiration: Good at Art
- Notebookism Notebooks?

Today on Notebookism

Moleskine CityNotebooks now at Barnes & Noble

The Moleskine Team announces the availability of the City Notebooks
at Barnes & Noble.

"The Moleskine City Notebook encourages you to explore and embrace the cities you love. Written in your unique voice, the book lets you create itineraries and trace your journeys through the streets of Rome, Paris, London, Amsterdam, and other great metropolises. The City Notebook is the first guidebook that is entirely written by you. You decide the top 10 things to do, spots to see or places to go. You rate the restaurants. And you choose the memories worth saving."

LINK

The Travel Journals of Olivier Ozoux

I recently came back from a trip around the world, using a Moleskine City Notebook for the first time and creating my own version for cities that are not published yet.

After Barcelona, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, the last part of my round the world trip took me to Tokyo, before returning home to Los Angeles. Japan is both very familiar yet utterly alien at the same time, which is part of the attraction.

Olivier Ozoux
© 2007 All Rights Reserved
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- Catfish Hotel
- Pilot Petit1 Mini Fountain Pens
- TOM BIHN Bags

Today on Notebookism

Strangers on a Train

Here's a nice review of Curry Long's new book:

"In this city of eight million-plus people, there are certain rules by which we must abide in order to preserve our sanity. Take the subway for instance, those mobile zoos of human exhibition. The unofficial MTA code of conduct states that one must not maintain unnecessary eye contact (lest you unwittingly imply you’re in need of a new dance partner); one must not peruse another passenger’s reading material, even if it features naked people; one must not graze elbows or any other body parts; and one must not converse with other riders (particularly not about their aforementioned lurid reading material). But one man has found a way to quietly connect with his fellow New Yorkers, bypassing convention without breaking any rules.

Cully Long is a theater set designer by day and a subway sketch artist by night. With his moleskine sketchbook and ballpoint pen, 34-year-old Long boards the A Train at 59th Street and settles in for an interrupted ride up to 125th. Along the way, he draws whoever is seated near him. He’s not choosy, so Long’s sketches reveal a social equality present on the subway, despite its absence in the greater city. “Everybody in NYC, from the mayor down to the homeless, rides the train,” says Long, “So if you’re looking at these people, I think you can’t help but wonder about everybody else’s life … who these people are, where they’re going, why they’re wearing that particular thing.”

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN
Cully Long, subway sketch artist and renaissance man
By Kari Milchman

New York Press

Book link

Columbus Circle Compass

Just in time for the NYC Moleskine CityNotebook? :)

ColumbusCircleCompass.com introduces a proposal and petition to install a large-scale compass rose on Columbus Circle, a major gateway to the Upper West Side. So far, the support has been very positive.

Just this week, the New York City Department of Design and Construction has forwarded this recommendation to the Central Park Conservancy as well as Olin Partnership for their consideration.

ColumbusCircleCompass.com

[via David McNamara]

Image Copyright © 2007
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Update 4.21.07:

David writes:

"The idea has reached Mayor Bloomberg!

I received a letter today from Commissioner Benepe of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation reaffirming that, despite potential obstacles, the idea will be discussed with Olin Partnership.

The letter can be seen here:
http://www.columbuscirclecompass.com/nycparks.jpg "

Keeping a "one-sentence journal"

One of my successful happiness-project initiatives is to keep a “one-sentence journal.” For quite a while, I’ve been alarmed by how little I remember about my own past. As a consequence, I’ve become much more careful to take photos and videos regularly, as a kind of diary to keep my memories vivid. Also, I wished that I could keep a proper journal, to maintain a colorful record of what’s happening in my life, but that would just be too much work. Instead, I came up with the idea of keeping a “one-sentence journal.”

"The happiness of keeping a "one-sentence journal"
Gretchen Rubin The Happiness Project

Visit

[Thanks to Leslie Russell] [

[I'm having technical problems with TypePad. Will resume normal posting as soon as this is resolved.]

DETOUR Artist Profile: Pietro Ruffo

Pietro Ruffo was born in Rome in 1978.
He is an architect and currently works as part of the Foundation Pasticifio Cerere, which is now represented by Lorcan o' Neill in Rome.
He had exhibitions in Italy, Algeri, Sendai (Japan), Berlin, New York.
His work is very concerned with social issues and he has also worked in therapeutic art sessions with children from Beslan.
Two of his works are part of the Collezione del Ministero degli Affari Esteri alla Farnesina (Presidenza Italiana dell'Unione Europea).

Last solo exhibition: 'Flag', Galleria AKA, Roma.
http://www.pietroruffo.com/

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Learn more about the new Moleskine City Notebook.
Dealer List (.pdf)

Why I Bought a Moleskine

"As you can probably tell, I generally don't like silly accessories for writing. You hear people talking about how writing with a lead pencil on paper feels more natural, or about using a typewriter with one continous stream-of-consciousness roll of paper, like Kerouac, or sitting in coffee shops for inspiration, etc, etc... These are all just excuses for not having any ideas. It doesn't matter how or on what you write something. It's all just displacement activity (like ranting in a blog), so you don't have to do any actual writing. Think about it, you're at home, and you think, Hey, I'm going to go to a cafe and write the greatest dealie ever, so you have a shower, put on some half-decent clothes, get in the car, drive to a cafe, order a coffee, get out your Moleskine and fountain pen, tap the pen against your chin for a while, look at your watch, and decide that if you want to get home in time to make dinner you'd better finish your coffee and leave, and you're writing day is over, stopping to pick up a continous roll of typewriting paper on the way home, because maybe that's what's wrong, the lack of such.

I bought it 'cause I wanted something to write my rhymes in, in a more permanent sense. I have a million 32 cent notebooks for random ideas and on-the-run-drafts. Well, a million is a bit of an exageration, obviously. The Moleskine is for final drafts of wordy things under about 300 words.

I don't have any good excuses, really."

The Street of the Lifted Tom
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Visit.

Image: "Poppy 1" by Visual Impact @ Moleskinerie/FLICKR
Some rights reserved.

Originally posted 11.17.05
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- Dauphine Press Notebook

Today on Notebookism

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A personal note:

I'm in the process of adjusting to a new pair of glasses and the transition, coupled with a nasty cold has not been painless. Allow me to take an early weekend off. Will be back on Monday, hale and hopefully more focused.

- Armand

New York City Blog is online

This just in from Micol Rossini in Milan:

"Moleskinecity.com is becoming bigger and bigger!
Starting from today the New York City blog is online!

Visit it and post all your comments!
Make your own contribution to the growth of the Moleskine Community!

MoleskineCity/NEW YORK

Mostra di carnet di viaggio a Galassia Gutenberg

Simonetta Capecchi's new exhibition  on travel sketchbooks / carnets de voyage, in
Naples - Italy

For details, visit her blog

Download the exhibition guide.pdf
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- Blank Page # 34   
- Her Story
-  Il Lee: Ballpoint Abstraction

Today on Notebookism

In any order?

cherryblossom in japan asked:

Here is a thought for all fellow Moleskine Junkies.
As I am *new *
to the phenomenon that is the * Moleskine*
could anyone let me know if they have an order for their Moleskines?
Does anyone keep journals separate from *travel journals, etc etc.

88echoes:

"currently, i own about 3 moleskines, and i am planning to purchase some more when i visit toronto next time.

- large ruled or blank: for writing extensive  thoughts, ideas, etc
- large ruled cahier: for school
- reporter pocket squared: thinking about changing cahier to reporter squared. i find cahiers too thin. also i want to try the "reporter types" since i am mostly left-handed (ambidextrous)

-pocket music: musical ideas ;melodies, harmonies, etc
-pocket blank cahier: simple doodling, writing whatever  ;)
-pocket daily diary: for daily stuff "

Image by artandstory
© All rights reserved            

Join the discussion at Moleskinerie/FLICKR

Notebookism is today's TypePad Featured Blog

“An empty book is like an infant’s soul, in which anything may be written.” That's a line from poet Thomas Traherne, but it may as well be the mission statement for notebookism. While some of us may associate the word “notebook” with 6th-period Algebra, not so blog founder Armand B. Frasco, who writes of his target audience: “We all share a pleasant affliction -- the urge to create on paper. The smell of smooth creamy paper sends our hearts aflutter...We stare endlessly at the first blank page." Frasco and friends have parlayed this charming fetishism into a lovingly crafted destination for those who want to keep up with a primary way of turning thought into expression. Typical posts include an entry on the visual diary of a former New Orleans resident and one on a soft rubbery prison pen that bends under the slightest pressure. Every Wednesday, check out Blank Page, “your chance to ask, answer and discuss anything notebook-related.” In this era of ubiquitous electronic communication, how nice to see a site devoted to good old-fashioned pen and paper.

LINK

NOTEBOOKISM.COM

Big thanks to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
for the mention, to Blick Art Materials
and all our visitors and friends for your support.
- Armand

Jim Woodring's Moleskine Popups

"New techniques for collapsable 3D sketchbook art are being discovered every day; soon it will be possible for the amateur recorder of the modern scene to recreate the Euclidean forms of the city, wilderness and mythical barnyard between the leatherette boards of his beloved pocket pal. Though the photo does not show it well, these two Jerry Chickens are not flat, but a cylinder and a cone."

Moleskine Popups
By Jim Woodring

LINK

Photo: © JW 

Sketch-Crawl To Revive Creativity

Sometimes it's difficult reconnecting with creativity. Life's responsibilities can often get in the way of a certain freedom our minds need to create art. For some people creative blocks are a constant struggle, while others have found ways through it. Personally, I need to get out in the fresh air for about ten minutes and take a walk. I like the way walking allows my eyes to wander and land on just about everything around me without placing judgements, and how my brain starts working on all the stuff that's going on in my life without any pressure to resolve. I usually come back happier and suddenly motivated to complete that project I've been working on. That's why I was so excited when I came across a website called sketchcrawl.com, the perfect antidote when you're losing your creative edge.

Sketchcrawl.com. is the brainchild of cartoon artist, Enrico Casarosa, who after a night participating in a pub-crawl for a friend's bachelor party, where a group stops in at multiple bars on a given route and has a drink in each, came up with the idea of a sketch-crawl. Armed with some pencils and watercolors, Casarosa spent an entire day walking through the city, stopping to sketch whatever interesting came into view.

"Giving yourself this kind of mandate for a full day changes the way you look around you. It makes you stop and see things just a tad longer, just a bit deeper ... needless to say I loved it," writes Casarosa on the website.

Sketch-Crawl To Revive Creativity
By Maria Williams-Russell

Mindsisland.com

Related link:

SketchCrawl.com
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-  Five and a Half Journals
- Discovering Your Own Productivity Profile=
- The power of the pen writ large
 

Today on Notebookism

The International Vintage Poster Fair

The International Vintage Poster Fair is the only show in the world devoted solely to original vintage posters with over 30 dealers offering more than 25,000 original posters online and at our three annual Poster Fairs.

The International Vintage Poster Fair
Chicago Cultural Center 77 E. Randolph
March 16, 17, 18, 2007

LINK

Angelina Jolie's Notebook

Photo: Per-Anders Pettersson / © Getty Images

Video courtesy of UNHCR ©

March 11, 2007 - Angelina Jolie began traveling as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations some six years ago. She has visited the victims of violence in Africa, Pakistan and Cambodia—first as an observer in the background, then using her fame to draw attention to the plight of the helpless. The movie star spoke to NEWSWEEK's Christopher Dickey about her recent trip to a camp housing Darfur refugees in Chad, her response to critics of 'celebrity tourism' and why she and Brad Pitt like their current home in New Orleans.

Read the full story at MSNBC

Related link:
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

[Thanks Elisa!]

Grand Opening: The American Gallery of Juror Art

"This post inaugurates the American Gallery of Juror Art, the first in the nation of its kind so far as I know, showcasing art done by actual jurors while they were actually on jury duty.

[Never Eat Alone & Milwaukee County Jury Duty, by Mike Rohde]

Mike Rohde, a visual designer who, like me, lives in Milwaukee, has kindly agreed to allow his drawing to be the inaugural work in the American Gallery of Juror Art.  Mike is also a blogger, it turns out; he blogs "about design, writing, mobile computing, technology, travel, cycling, books, music and other stuff"..."

The American Gallery of Juror Art

Deliberations

[via Mike Rohde]
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- Rollabind Disc Dispenser 
- The New Travel Notebook on Mumbai 

Today on Notebookism

Greetings to our friends in Reutov, Surabaya, Janowo, Darfur, Meridian, ID., Mauritius, Tallinn, Le Me-sur-Seine, Cairo, Taschereau, Timisoara, Mevo Modi`im, Gatwick, Fuzhou, Kathmandu, Kangar, Algeria, Maracaibo, Botswana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Parow, Angra Do Herosmo, Envigado, Isola Di Fano, Cascade Locks, OR., Ghana,  Albania, Faisalabad and Chiapas.

Writing by hand vs. typing

I'm a recent moleskine convert. Before that I tried to do everything on my laptop, but then I started feeling the onset of RSI every now and then and now I try to limit my use of the laptop keyboard. I was wondering if there was any information about whether writing with a pen was more/less/equally conducive to RSI as typing on a computer. My guess is that it is safer, but I've heard that you can get RSI writing by hand too.  I'd like to know more. Anecdotes are certainly welcome, but it would be cool if there were any studies or at least expert opinions on the issue, because as a Moleskine user who sometimes writes over 12+  pages a day with a pen, I would like to know what the health risks are.

Daniel Choi

Join the discussion at Moleskinerie/GoogleGroups

DETOUR Artist Profile: Chris J. Dent

Chris J. Dent was born in Sydney, where he now lives and works as art director having worked for several ad agencies as a creative director.

Funny drawings and odd collages of photographs make this notebook hilarious and full of life

Play Video

Learn more about the new Moleskine City Notebook.
Dealer List (.pdf)

The World Disaster Map

One site to check before you and your Moleskine leave for that adventure.

The Havaria World Disaster Map

LINK

Thanks JC, who is safe in Vienna;)

Discover and join our Moleskine communities on LiveJournal, MySpace,  Moleskinerie FLICKR and Meal Moles.

Get out - have a life and write about it. Enjoy your weekend. We'll see you on Monday.
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-  "Word of a Man's Mouth"    
-  Never Mind Cursive -- Will Children Still Write? 
-  The Hymn Book

Today on Notebookism

Moleskine's Maria Sebregondi on Lovemarks

"Moleskine is a family of notebooks with a rich history that has captured the hearts and minds of people the world over. Maria Sebregondi is in charge of brand equity and communication for Moleskine and she shares her thoughts with Lovemarks.com about Moleskine and what makes the brand a Lovemark.

Lovemarks: Why do you think so many people feel passionate about Moleskine?

Maria Sebregondi: Moleskine is culture, travel, imagination, memory, personal identity. It is a collection of independent tools that accompany everyday and extraordinary events. A Moleskine notebook becomes an integral part of one’s personality. It is a basic, compact and intelligent accessory. Symbolic and practical elements are combined in one story-telling object that releases energy and emotions collected over time.

LM: Lovemarks is premised on the Love/Respect Axis and attaining both High Love and High Respect. How do you relate the ideas of Love and Respect to the way your business works from day to day?

MS: Attention to quality, consumer relations and authenticity are the basis for Love and Respect. Moleskine is obsessed with quality. We are constantly in conversation with our consumers through customer care (we reply personally to everyone!) and direct contact with various Moleskine communities. We do not hesitate to put ourselves on the line and face criticism – which is more than compensated by the gratification we receive.

LM: Great stories feed Mystery. How does Moleskine use storytelling to add Mystery to its business?

MS: Moleskine is a notebook that tells a story. Its place in history is as an anonymous keeper of sketches and notes, before they became famous pictures or pages of well-loved books. Moleskine is also a ‘book yet to be written’ and the notebook’s owner is the person writing it. The Mystery, therefore, is two-fold: in its legend and future destination. Moleskine enhances its creative and dreamlike aura by involving artists, writers and designers in interactive exhibitions and events, such as the group show Detour and the My Detour events to be held in June 2008 in New York; by offering itself as a pocket-sized trusty companion for meaningful existential experiences; and by interfacing with communities on the Web."

Read the full interview

How to Make a Killer Wine Journal

"If you love wine you’ve probably at least glanced at the fancy wine journals you can buy from the likes of Wine Enthusiast and elsewhere. They let you scrawl a few tasting notes and scrapbook labeles into a central repository that you can file away and look up the next time you want to know what you thought of a particular wine.

Much of this functionality is now replicated with a bunch of the new wine sites online, but for me there is something very attractive about having a tangible thing in my hand. Ephemera, a physical token of an experience - whatever you want to call it - just appeals to me.

The thing is every journal I’ve ever seen has been so unbelieveably overpriced and downright fugly that I just never bothered. I don’t want some overly-serious leather bound tome with flowery script on the cover - or worse - some lame still life of a wine bottle or a vine peering back at me every time I decide to do a little scribbling. Yet at the same time a plain old spiral bound notebook didn’t seem to fit the bill either. I’m a Mac user after all, and I want my tools to be beautiful as well as practical.

Enter the Moleskine...."

The Pinot Blogger

LINK
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- Start Here Linkable Notebooks
- Inspiration: Edward Monkton   
- Britney Spears told to pour heart out in her journal

Today on Notebookism

 

Moleskine Mod

This is my moleskine blank reporter. I modified it using paper i found in my art store, flax in san francisco. I was working on my website when i realized i had a scanner next to me and my newly-modified moleskine. All i did was wrap it around and tape around the insides. Iv'e been listening to a lot of music that the pattern seemed to connect with, and thought what better spot to put it on.

Pmi

Preview: Moleskine City Notebook NEW YORK

"As you may have seen here before, we like city guides at MoCo Loco. So it was with much interest that I looked over the *New York City Notebook that Moleskine sent earlier this week by mail. Each City Notebook has 228 pages including lots of maps (for streets, subways, zones), tabbed pages for different categories (restaurants, shops, hotels) and blank pages for everything else. Other nice touches include translucent sheets for tracing itineraries over the maps and adhesive labels to personalize the sections. All in a package that easily fits in one hand. Each city guide will also have its own Moleskine City Blog where "Moleskine enthusiasts" will feature cultural and travel updates. Currently there are four city blogs; London, Paris, Milan, Rome. Here's an idea, speaking as an armchair designer, the web part should be where City Notebook users can download and print out neatly laid out cultural and travel updates so that they can slide them into their guide before they travel... and what about a place where users can upload images of pages they've filled out or sketched? That would be a useful subscription service..."

MocoLoco

Book: A Line

A collection of ballpoint pen portraits drawn while traveling in the New York City subway system.Sketches are presented in chronological order, and at actual size. Everyone from the mayor to the homeless rides the subway in New York, and I am presented the opportunity to sketch an amazing variety of types, and characters, and I try to capture as much of their personality and attitude as possible. Hopefully I have captured the sketch equivalent of a candid snapshot of each of my subjects.

A Line: Sketch Portraits From The New York City Subway
By Cully Long

Book link
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- Blank Page # 33   
- New Orleans as it Was   
- eBay Item: Illustrated 1931 Diary

Today on Notebookism

Customized Cahiers

Want your very own notebooks? Ararething will customize a set of Moleskine cahiers for you.

"Everyone needs a little notebook...how about 3? Small enough to tuck in a pocket or purse, these journals are great for jotting lists, notes, or drawings. The outside cover is made from white heavyweight laid-finish cardstock and the inside pages have an antique looking parchment finish.

But here's the best part - they're totally customizable! Add your favorite photo, your child's art (or your own), your favorite saying ...the possibilities are endless...."

Etsy link

Tim Baynes: Marrakech Sketches

The city has been on our ‘to do’ list for sometime so it seemed churlish not to accept the invitation to work at a conference there for three days. Blue skies and 18 degrees of heat is the perfect counter point to London in December.

Marrakech the city of four colours the Tourism Office representative told us as part of his obligatory local colour speech at the beginning of our conference: Pink for the colour of the buildings, green for the gardens, blue for the sky and white for the snow on the Atlas Mountains, always visible from any point in the city.

Morocco a land of mountains, deserts and coastline that faces the Mediterranean and the Atlantic on the North West tip of Africa; it has 26 political parties where the King as ruler of state and head of the Faith decides everything. These gems were revealed by our tour guide Mohammed in the mini-bus on as we sped past the Jacaranda trees with purple blossom and Orange trees on fruit, reminding me that it will be time to make Marmalade in a couple of weeks time. 

BUS TIME: Mohammed also spoke of Marrakech being after China and Amsterdam, the biggest cycling capital and I was convinced, having seen our bus come perilously close to most of them on our way into the city on the morning of day three. This is land of two races the Arabs and Berbers who lived in North Africa long before the arrival of the Arabs, with its culture probably dating back more than 4,000 years. Between the 11th and 13th centuries, two great Berber dynasties - the Almoravids and the Almohads - controlled large parts of Spain, as well as north-west Africa. 

We stopped off at Koutoubia Mosque constructed around 1162 it is one of the largest in the western Muslim world. Actually it was it built by the Almoravids and sacked by the Almohads!

Ophiophilia: For a pound (£1) you can have you photograph taken with snakes draped round you neck. I went for the two snake shot, me a latter-day Indiana Jones. In fact one of the Indiana Jones films was made in Marakesh and the surrounding country. My viper photo call took place in Djemaa el Fna a square and market place in the medina (old city). Its name it means Assembly of the Dead in Arabic and until 1800’s the square was the place for many very public executions.

GROWING PLACES: The bus pulled up outside The Majorelle Garden created by the expatriate French artist Jacques Majorelle in 1924, during the period when Morocco was occupied by France. This is his creative masterpiece. The villa he built, in an Art Deco-Moorish style is decorated in a sparkling shade of bold cobalt blue which zings out across a landscape of cactuses, palms, bamboos, yucca and cypresses. For the last 30 years the gardens hav