Omom Blog | Omom

A handwritten blog by Hansjörg Schlüter. Though I’ve seen others before I still find it a neat idea that there should be more of.

Montblanc asked Wes Anderson to direct its ad. He did – and designed a pen | Vogue Business

Anderson agreed to their brief, which involved directing a short film focussed on the brand’s famous heritage and craft, but he also wanted to be the main character in front of the camera. Then, when he showed up on set in Berlin, the filmmaker presented a prototype pen of his own design that he asked the German company to manufacture. He’d even named it: the Schreiberling, which means ‘the scribbler’ in German.

10 Things Jerry Seinfeld Can’t Live Without | GQ – YouTube

Even if you’re writing comedy, a legal pad says. “I am taking this seriously.”

What we believe in.

(via Cultural Offering)

A tale from “ye olden days” of graphic design that taught me to love and embrace constraints — Rohdesign

It was an earlier time filled with layout boards, non-repro blue pencils that made lines invisible to production cameras, technical ink pens to create registration marks, and typography and photography output on photo paper.

It was hardcore analog, with nearly everything done manually.

What we believe in.

Robert Stephens on Threads.

Printernet

Your reading list, periodically shipped to you in a beautiful print issue… Each issue includes five slots for reading. You can pick an article, essay, interview, recipe, blog post, or almost any text-based content for each slot. Or you can connect your Twitter + Newsletter subscriptions and let us pick for you.

An interesting idea. Sure, you could print things yourself. But, likely not with the layout and binding this service provides. Might be worth trying with those really long reads I’ve have stored in Instapaper that have been guilting me forever.

On Keeping a Notebook by Joan Didion (PDF)

But our notebooks give us away, for however dutifully we record what we see around us, the common denominator of all we see is always, transparently, shamelessly, the implacable “I.” We are not talking here about the kind of notebook that is patently for public consumption, a structural conceit for binding together a series of graceful pensees; we are talking about something private, about bits of the mind’s string too short to use, an indiscriminate and erratic assemblage with
meaning only for its maker.

A wonderful essay about the what and why for the author, Joan Didion, of keeping a notebook. Which may be different than the what and why you may have. And it is a point she writes so eloquently about here.

I may have to copy this whole delicious thing into my commonplace book.

A good assistant to your future self – Austin Kleon

He touches on why I keep a diary, why I keep it on paper, and the magic of keeping a logbook. The mundane details can bring back sublime memories, and what you think is boring now may be interesting in the future: “What seems bland when you write it down… will seem epic in thirty years.”

What we believe in.

Fun facts about the BIC ballpoint pen (video) – Boing Boing

Some interesting history and details here. I learned a thing or two.

What we believe in.

The Typewriter Revolution blog: Notebooks I have known

Bob Sassone was curious to know more about the notebooks I use. So here is a rundown—of interest, maybe, to readers who love to write by hand (I suspect there’s a significant overlap with typewriter lovers).

A nice rundown or interest to readers here. Also highlighting because Typewriter Revolution is a blog worth following a well.

I was in New York City recently. It was mainly to tour area colleges and see a few Broadway shows in the evening but we did manage to get one day of shopping in and it was during this time I was able to sneak a visit into two stationery stores that are worth a check out.

Goods For The Study has two locations and is a nicely curated selection of both pens/pencils and notebooks/paper. The location I visited actually has these divided between neighboring storefronts with the writing utensils on one side and the paper goods on the other. Everything was nicely organized and I was a bit enamored with the fact the notebooks/paper goods area was organized by color versus brand.

Measure Twice is in Brooklyn and is absolutely adorable. Less of a straight ahead stationary shop and more of a gift shop, there is a little bit of something for everyone. Owned and operated by a warm and lovely husband and wife team (who I have a personal connection to), it is the sort of place that you could browse through a few times (as I did) and have something new and interesting catch your eye each time. Looking for an unusual gift or card? They have everything to fit any occasion. Plus, they have their own book publishing imprint, mainly specializing in poetry which is worth a browse all on its own.

So, if you happen to be in or visiting NYC, make some time for both. You won’t be disappointed.

Paper Apps Galaxy: Mini Notebook Space Adventure Game – Boing Boing

A few years ago I wrote about a fun paper, dice, and pencil solo game called Paper Apps Dungeon. The creator just announced a new game.

Looks fun! What a lovely idea. The other Paper Apps games look great too.

Thinking Analog – The Brooks Review

It’s possible that this is the best ‘hack’ I have.

The way this works is simple: use a notebook and a pen when you need to work through a problem of any kind.

Not a tablet with a stylus. Not a notetaking app. Not a pencil. Paper and pen.

What we believe in.

Embroidery Journaling

Since January 2020, Sophie O’Neill has been keeping an embroidery journal. Each day, she sews an “icon” to represent that day’s events and memories.

Wow, what a novel approach.

I enjoyed this video walkthrough of how my friend Mike Rohde uses sketchnotes in his everyday life.

Day One Paper Journals

Well, this is interesting. Day One, the (fantastic, by the way) digital journalling app has rolled out a collection of paper journals.

One of the features I love and have long used is Day One’s built-in feature that allows one to order a physical book of your journals.

Paper Apps – Gladden Design

Delightfully simple and simply delightful, Paper Apps are a fun, smart alternative to screen time. Check out our solo games like DUNGEON, GALAXY and GOLF, as well as gamified tools like TO•DO and NUTRI•TRACK. For the full experience, we recommend grabbing a couple of Pencil Dice as well!

These look delightful.

(via Boing Boing)

The Field Notes Thing — 512 Pixels

At the end of every year, I publish a photo on Instagram cataloging the Field Notes notebooks I used over the previous 12 months. Here is the most recent picture.

Every year, I get questions about this. I wrote a bit about the topic in 2014, but I thought I’d do it again here. So, uhhhh, here’s an FAQ.

Super fascinating.Lots of interesting workflow details. I love getting a look into what and how other people do things.

I took the occasion of Shawn’s deciding to update his portion of the What We Use page to update mine (which had not been done since 2018!). I’ve found that I’ve simplified quite a bit since then.