Mark's Original Notebook Calendar

This was a present from a friend, although in fairness I had waved it under her nose in the shop and repeated 'I'd like this for Christmas please' several times.  I figure subtlety is overrated sometimes.  Mark's produces some other gems such as the le + zippe pochette essentialle which I just happen to have an A6 version of.  However back to the schedule.

It, as the cover suggests, is a month on one page.  Now the boxes of course are not huge and so it cant be used to write in a lot of detail about many appointments.  That being said i have managed to put enough detail in for my purposes.  As I may have mentioned before I work from more than one base and keeping track of where I am going to be not only keeps me sane but helps me plan my future appointments.  Obviously I wont show you my appointment detail but I do like a bit of colour coding.....

There is a space at the top for each month where I guess you could put in your goals for the month or some wise words of wisdom or perhaps some vital must-do items.  The other neat feature is the the back of each month page is lined so that you can lay the whole calendar flat and write notes or tasks alongside each month.

The paper is more like card which I love.  I often write diary entries in pencil for obvious reasons but it also happily takes a rollerball or gelpen.  It is a very thin and easily carried calendar that I have found really useful so far.  it isn't my main appointment diary but more my planner to help me keep tabs on where I am meant to be and assess how my month ahead is shaping up.
This was purchased in Paper Tiger, a wonderful shop on Lothian Road in Edinburgh.  I haven't come across it on any of my usual online shops although the lovely Papernation do have some other items from the Mark's range.

Midori D-CLIPS

I picked these up from the journal shop. Paper clips shaped like mopeds. Every desk needs them. They are ridiculously expensive at £5.50 for 30 but do come in a cute Orange dispenser. You can also pick up ducks, cars, rabbits, penguins, pigs, elephants and many more shapes. Readers in the USA can get them from Jetpens for $6.73 

Sicura Large Journal

I bought this notebook in TK Maxx as it was £5 and I was slightly intrigued by this Moleskinalike.  Quite by surprise it has turned out to be one of my favourite notebooks so far.

It is the same size as a large Moleskine but has a slightly more textured cover.  This one has a black cover and lined pages.  I think there were also ones with a white cover and plain pages.  The pages themselves are a bit more interesting than the usual lined pages because they have a space at the top to record some title details including date and location for the notes you are taking.

The paper itself is thicker than Moleskine paper and in my opinion better.  I use this notebook for work notes and generally write with a ballpoint pen or a liquid ink pen such as the Pilot V5 Hi-Techpoint.  Both these pens work great on it.  I have used a Lamy Safari on it also which seems to work fine.  I don't tend to use a fountain pen for every day notes so it isn't a problem for me.

Of course the interesting thing for me is where are these notebooks sold?  Usually TK Maxx come up with a few odds and ends from the USA and the information on the back of the label suggests these are no exception.  It says Argento SC by Sikura Inc New York, New York.

I bought this just before Christmas in 2010 and have used it all of 2011 so far.  I came across some small notebooks of the same brand in TK Maxx today so had to purchase them too.  I shall pop them up on the blog at a later date.  Of course the disappointing thing is that I would buy this notebook again however it is unlikely I shall come across it again.  I have, however purchased a Leuchtturm as a replacement when I need it.  I shall include that in a later blog also though I fear the paper is too thin for my liking.