Ich schreibe mir viel auf, notiere hier eine Idee im Notizheft, schreibe da eine ToDo-Liste, Einkaufszettel und vieles mehr. Oft und gerne in kleine Pocketnotebooks, die in jede Tasche passen. Wobei ich sie meist in die Lederhülle Paper Republic „Grand Voyageur“ (Passport-Size) einhänge. Der Hype um die Field Notes Pocketnotebooks hat mich ja mittlerweile auch erreicht, aber manchmal darf es auch ganz einfach sein.

Inky Fingers Noitzheft

Zum Beispiel ein schickes, simples Cover, insgesamt 44 Seiten (80 Gramm/m²) mit absolut füllertauglichem Papier, das sich zudem noch sehr gut anfühlt. Optisch erinnert es ein bisschen an die früheren Hausaufgabenhefte, wie man sie in der Grundschule oft hatte.

Inky Fingers (Lined)

Fakten:

• Liniertes Pocket-Notizheft
• 89 mal 140 mm
• 44 linierte Seiten
• 6mm Zeilenabstand
• angenehmes, füllertaugliches Papier
• abgerundete Ecken

Inky Fingers (Blank)

Die Fakten beim blanken Notizbuch sind die selben, wie auch bei der linierten Variante und es ist perfekt für Skizzen. In Kombination mit dem Kaweco Grip ist es schlicht perfekt.

Papiertest

Ein kleiner Papiertest muss natürlich sein, mit dem Lamy Accent Al und dem Kaweco Sport lässt sich das Papier wunderbar beschreiben, lediglich der Online Kalligrafie-Füller blutet etwas durch, aber das ist ja bei dem Tintenfluss verständlich. Auch der Kaweco Kugelschreiber sowie der Fallbleistift beschreiben das Papier erstklassig.

In the age of smartphones, social media and all-things digital, it’s easy to forget the power of good, old-fashioned pen and paper. Put down your smartphone and pull out a Notebook. Write a note about something you would normally take a picture of. Notice what words you use to describe it.

pocketnotebooks.co.uk

Bei diesen kleinen Notizheften kann man also absolut nicht meckern. Vielen Dank an Pocket Notebooks aus England, die mir diese beiden Hefte kostenlos zur Verfügung gestellt haben. Meine Meinung wird dadurch natürlich nicht beeinflusst.

Pocketnotebooks

2015 wurde Pocketnotebooks gegründet, 2017 hat Stuart die Website von Tony & Dan übernommen und hat großes vor. Die Auswahl im Shop ist auf jeden Fall schon beachtlich, ich werde das ganze natürlich weiter beobachten und gerne darüber berichten.

Besucht zwischenzeitlich doch Pocketnotebooks auf Ihrer Website, bei Twitter, Facebook oder Instagram!

Interview

Zum Abschluss gibt es noch ein kleines Interview (in English) mit Stuart:

Why did you buy the business? What’s the motivation behind it?
I bought Pocket Notebooks having been a customer. Tony & Dan (Tony Short and Dan Smith, founders of Pocket Notebooks) blogged very openly on the site. I could read how frustrated they were as their other business commitments made it harder and harder for them to give Pocket Notebooks the attention that they knew it deserved. We started talking. I am a zealous convert back to the analogue world. After a few years on a pure-digital diet, I recently got back into pens, paper, and, of course, pocket notebooks. I’m doing something that I’m passionate about.

Are there any tips or quotes that you’ve been told that have helped you?
There is a truism, often attributed to golfer Gary Player. ‚The more I practice, the luckier I get.‘ There is no magic formula to business, or indeed to anything else. It’s about hard work. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Sometimes, getting a business going can be tough. At those times, this next one speaks for itself. ‚If you are going through hell, keep going.‘ Winston Churchill.

How has starting a business affected your life?
Pocket Notebooks is not my first business. I have been here before. It doesn’t get any easier. Maintaining any sort of life-balance is a challenge. I awake, thinking about the business, and fall asleep planning the next day. It is a stress, but it’s also invigorating. In my experience, these ferocious early years pass as the business grows and then I miss them. Starting a business affects those close to you the most. I am simply not as ‚available‘ as I was.

What motivates you to carry on when things are hard?
I believe in the business. Many people find it incomprehensible how much joy stationery lovers take from their tools. Opening a new notebook is almost a spiritual experience for me. (I know, weird.) A blank page, a beautiful fountain pen… Just typing that has made me smile. Pocket Notebooks will be a place where stationery lovers come to buy their favourites and discover new ones.

What’s your favourite thing about being your own boss or a business owner?
Being able to delight customers. I love it when a customer contacts me when we have got something right. I love it when a customer contacts me when we have got something wrong; because I can fix it.

What’s your least favourite thing about it?
It’s tough to switch off. There’s an irony in naming a company Loggedoff, then checking social media before bed. ;-) I will need to be more disciplined at that.

What do you think is most important when it comes to running a successful business?
Enthusiasm. ‚Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.‘ (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

If you could work or collaborate with anyone or any brand, who would it be and why?
That’s the thing. I can. Anything is possible. As a newcomer to the business side of stationery, I can tell you what a joy it is work with a community so brimming-over with passion, belief and commitment. Whether it be customers, the blogging community or the manufacturers, everyone has been so lovely. It’s a pleasure to speak to people like that. I dearly hope that I will be able to continue to work with Tony and Dan, two talented entrepreneurs doing great things.

If you could speak to your pre business self, what would you say?
„Take responsibility for your own happiness.“ There are times when things do not go my way. That’s life. What is important is how I react to those things. Setbacks, problems and failures are the stepping-stones to success.

Where would you like to see your business go in the next five years?
I want to build a big business that still feels like a small one. I want customers to be able to reach me. Not via several layers of managers and assistants, but directly. I want to preserve that immediacy and responsiveness. I want Pocket Notebooks and Loggedoff to be able to listen to customers, and supply them what they want to own.