I LOVE stationery. There are certain tech tools that make my life easier, but at the end of the day, I still love writing. With a fountain pen. on paper. in a notebook. or on simple stationery paper with a fine tooth to it. There is a special process that happens when you commit words to paper, rather than simply tapping a keyboard.

Here’s a snapshot of my current notebook:

Back in the day, when summer was drawing to a close, kids were excited about their new school clothes & backpacks but I was freaking out about school supplies. Who remembers TrapperKeepers? New notebooks, fresh crayons, pencils and folders.
These days, I have a notebook that I have nicknamed my Production Bible. It’s my daily companion.

Here are some things I love:

Moleskine notebooks & Rhodia notepads are popular these days and can be found in any bookstore. But my heart belongs to the Leuchtturm1917 notebooks. These have a similar look to the Moleskine - hard cover, elastic band closure, and fold-out pocket in back. However there are a few key details that set the Leuchturm1917 notebook apart, at least in my book (pun intended).

The front page has a content page.
The pages are numbered, so you can refer back to a certain project easily, using the Content page.
It comes with STICKERS. (Refer back to my love of stationery in this entry) - they are essentially labels for the spine of the notebook, making it handy for archiving your notebooks,
You can add a pen look to hold your writing utensil. These cost $2 extra, but it keeps my travel fountain pen in place. I like to get contrasting or complimentary colors to liven this up. (I may live in NYC but I love color)
They offer a DOTS pattern, rather than just lined, blank or graph grid. If find this gives me more flexibility to use the pages as I want. To make my to-do lists, but also make a sketch if I want. (Yes, you read that right.) I like drawing my boxes myself. And then there is the ultimate satisfaction - checking off a box. DONE! And on to the next task.