Hobonichi x Steiff 2018-2020 review

After a lot of searches and saving up, I finally obtained all of my grail Hobobocni covers and wallets which is all the Hobonichi x Steiff A6 covers and wallets along with the teddy keychains that came out along with the Trinity theme. Since I have these now I want to give my complete review.

Note I did love the Steiff A6 techo even if the only difference was the bear symbol instead of the Arts and Science symbol and completely adored the Hobonichi Weeks with the fabric that they did in 2020 with the chocolate theme and 2019 with Sunday Best Teddy theme. Really wish that they would continue those even if they don't make any more wallets and covers because they looked very nice.

The teddy keychains were very difficult to get as they were a Japan only item, so I had to resort to eBay where the price is very inflated. The clasps on them are very well made and they are the same quality as small Steiff bears but even smaller! 

The covers are only in A6 size which is perfect for me as I love writing and journaling in A6. I do use A5 but for studying and keeping up my education and learning. I believe this is due to the fact that they are made of mohair which is specifically the hair of an Angora goat which is expensive. The hair is soft, has a bit of shine, and holds up well but in the end, this is a luxury fur. I have a feeling that if they did make an A5 size the cover would have been $500 USD which is taking into account that the A6 size and wallet goes for around $200. 

The sheen in the mohair is really noticeable in 2018 as well as the Cafe Au Lait cover and wallet which is very nice but also makes it difficult to get the color accurate in pictures with certain lighting. 

The Trinity cover and wallet in 2020 are unique as they used curly mohair which gives this amazing texture. All of the covers and wallets are soft but running your fingers on the Trinity cover and wallet is very nice. The rich chocolate color only makes you want to touch the cover and enjoy the curls. The Trinity cover is the only one with three book marks instead of the usual two! 

The 2018 cover is the only one out of everything that doesn't have the keychain ring but I love that they made a black mohair cover since it is the most natural fur colors and relates to the misunderstood near which is the teddy bear of Hobonichi! Hope to one day get the Misunderstood Bear teddy bear but it will be a challenge unless Hobonichi brings it back.

The covers have fewer pockets than most of the other Hobonichi covers cause they only have them on the right side instead of both sides. This is fine cause the inside is leather. The wallets have many card slots and spaces to hold cash, receipts, and other important items along with your Hobonichi weeks. The wallet is almost like a clutch that you carry in your hand while outside just without the strap. The pen holder is big enough for a pen clip so if you want to carry a pen with your weeks it is best to get a pen with a sturdy clip.

Overall I am so happy to have these and will continue using them for as long as possible cause I don't think I will buy any more covers after this. I do recommend these especially for Steiff fans and collectors cause now you can journal and write with covers that remind you of a nice cuddle teddy.

Hobonichi Covers I am Using for 2021

Hello there, Tsubaki here! Back with some more stationery that I am using daily! September 1st (Japan Time) was the day Hobonichi released the first wave of covers along with their planners and many stationery shops here also released their stock of Hobonichi covers as well. Either way it certainly has been an adventure getting these covers.

This year I didn't plan to get any covers but when I saw CANDY STRIPPER Spruced up Cat with the cute collared cats with sewn on bows I knew I had to get it. Thankfully Yoseka Stationery had enough in stock for me to be able to order the A6 size and then I order from JetPens for the A5 size.

I started using Hobonichi back in 2019 with a Steiff weeks. Later that year I made by first purchase with Hobonichi for an A6 English planner. The first A6 cover I got was the Trinity Steiff cover for 2020 which features the adventure of three little bears trying to find the perfect planner for their king! This cover is amazing because the mohair is actually curly and a delicious chocolate color. This planner also has three page holders with each of the different bears on them. 

Earlier this year (right before we went into lockdown due to COVID) I treated myself to the Cafe Au Lait Steiff cover 2019. I wanted to get it as soon as possible before Hobonichi ran out or discontinued it. This one is a blond mohair that is short but just as soft. It has two page holders with dark bears on them.

During September  I also found a good condition Hobonichi Steiff cover 2018. This is the first collab cover between Steiff and Hobonichi and it has the same shirt mohair texture of the Cafe Au Lait but it is black! In fact the King bear used in the Trinity cover's story is also a bear Steiff bear. So in a since the story went full circle in a very cute way. Turn around come mid September and I found the Hello Kitty Hobonichi covers in A6 and A5 on eBay and I grabbed those as quick as possible. 

Now, many might ask how am I using all of these, especially all at the same time. Now I will give a full breakdown on how I am using each of these now and through 2021!

The Steiff covers which are the(From left to right) Steiff 2018 black cover, Steiff 2019 Café Au Lait and Steiff 2020 Trinity are being used for my actual A6 English planner and two Hobonichi paper(s) which I tape my watercolor and small art pieces into. I switch them around time to time. 

The Spruced-Up Cat (Lilac) from Candy Stripper is being used for tracking TCGplayer orders and uses Hobonichi Day Free A6. I like to use the Day Free for this because I actually use the calendar to mark when each new booster set, special set and collector tin come out for Pokemon, Yugioh and Cardfight Vanguard.  

The Spruced-Up Cat (Candy Pink) from Candy Stripper is used is used for Latin Language study and uses a Hobonichi Day Free. I will use a Hobonichi plain notebook after this since I don't need the calendar and it is a bit cheaper to buy. I also only need the calendar once to write down the Roman calendar dates. 

Hello Kitty (Stripes) A6 is used for TCG deck editing. This has a Hobonichi plain notebook which works perfectly because it has four different color sections which I use for different types of decks! I feel like in the future I will buy even more plain notebooks for different trading card games, especially since I started editing my Cardfight Vanguard decks first. Sounds organized if I have one for Cardfight Vanguard, another for Yugioh and one more for Weiss Schwarz.

Hello Kitty (Polka Dots) A5 is used to study Spanish and uses a Hobonichi Techo Cousin 2021. I hope to just write Spanish phrases I learn daily in here and new vocabulary. 

It is quite a lot of books but only the English A6 will get super chunky with all the decorating I do. I use a mix of washi tape, stickers, instax photos and notecards which explains why it expanded as much as it did. Currently I have no plans on carrying any of my Hobonichi planners outside however I might update you all if I figure out a travel bag system with my daily planner once we are able to travel again!

Everything that I don't have in a Hobonichi is either in my Olive Regular Traveler's Notebook, my Ace Hotel Passport Traveler's Notebook or my A5 Olive Roterfaden, which I will explain my setup in a later post.

Thank you all for reading this! It means a lot <3 Let me know if you are using a Hobonichi Techo for next year in the comments! Until next time, stay hype!

Major Decluttering

Hello everybody, Tsubaki here! Changing living conditions will slowly but surely influence a person to either acquire more stuff and or feel a great need to get rid of stuff. In my case of temporarily moving into a small room that I share with one other person and then moving into our own actual two bedroom apartment, made it a necessity to get rid of everything I don’t need or want. This post will break down how I have been mentally breaking down what I get rid of and what I have been using to slowly make progress. 

The first item I started with is clothes. Personally, I was holding onto shirts and pants that were too small for me because I had either forgot about them all together or was hoping I was going to lose weight and would need them later. Unless you are going hardcore changing your diet, exercise routine and lifestyle there is a high chance your weight will stay the same or will change with time depending on the person. I also figured out these things were using up a lot of space and for some reason, many people have a habit of just holding onto clothes. That tight dress you got on sale last year, jeans from 3 years also, if it doesn’t fit and it is not being used, donate it or sell it. Places like GoodWill and Salvation Army are easy to find to drop off good condition clothes. If you realize you have a collection of old and worn or just completely uncomfortable undergarments there are certain collection services that will take them. Just cause they have a hole in it doesn’t mean the material can’t be recycled. Try to research services in your area that can take them, or start getting crafty and transforming them into pet toys, decorations, and so many other things. For all the socks that are completely destroyed or have horribly placed holes in them, they make great paper towel replacements depending on the sock but if its just not usable please donate them to a place that can recycle the fabric. 

The next cluster of items is books. Now this will vary depending on if you like to hold onto physical books or you like having a digital library of books since having digital books is a lot easier since you just need more online storage or a larger SD card depending on where you want to store them. If you have physical books you have to come to terms with yourself and if you are not willing to read certain books or re-read them at a later date, it is best to donate them to your local library, sell them to second-hand bookstores or even sell them online. All books you are willing to keep will take up space either digitally or shelf space so you have to be picky on what is worth keeping especially since there are ways to still be able to have access to the same titles by having access to a public library.  

The next cluster of items is collectible items. If you love blind bags/boxes and gacha machines it is possible you have full sets of collections or random collectibles. If you had bought a blind box/bag for one specific item, the rest should be sold off and or traded for the one you want. If you want to keep a certain collection then you must make space for it and maintain the items. In a case that you don’t want to keep a full set, selling it online as a bundle or selling to a shop that takes in said items will make you a bit plus get it off your hands all at the same time. DVDs and CDs and older media storage(cassettes, vinyl disks, etc) also count as part of this set. More often than not it might be easier and sometimes cheaper to obtain movies, videos and music digitally, especially if you aren’t super crazy about obtaining a favorite. I only keep favorite shows I can’t watch online as DVDs and it helps when you have limited shelf room. If you have physical ones that are still in almost new condition and have no need for them you can sell them online for a good price. Just remember to do research on what other places are selling it for so you don’t undercut yourself. 

The next cluster of items is tech. Tech can be anything from hardware, AC cords and actual sets of devices even with accessories. If you took the time and fully matched each cord with its device and realize that you have dead charging cables, AC cables to stuff you never had in years and batteries that were used. Please find your nearest tech recycle center. BEST BUY is an example of a retailer that actually will take broken devices and parts for recycling as long as you bring them to the store. There are also places to bring in working tech and will give you cash for them. If you do that do remember to clear all personal info and data on the device. You also have the option to sell it online. Just make sure to give a very detailed description of all defects. If you can’t do any of those then it might be best to find your nearest community recycle event where they will take anything from old TVs to paint cans! Please note depending on your location this might not happen that often and only at specific meet up locations.  

Those are my personal main clusters that I have been improving especially for the new year. To make these things more effective I have also taken upon myself to only buy clothes when absolutely needed like a new pair of professional pants for work, using what I have for tech to complete what I need like downloading a good drawing app for my tablet to do digital art, and donating books I either only need for school or will replace being of hardcover editions of favorite books.

 I just want to add one more on the side but I personally haven’t been able to declutter because to me it is items I want to keep, and that is video games. If you been here on my blog before you may have stumbled across many limited edition video game sets that I reviewed. I do a lot of research into games so if I buy a physical game I know that it is something that had replay value for me. Also if I am confused about getting a game physical there is a high chance there is a free downloadable demo or video of some gameplay up for me to try or watch so I am very sure of my choice when I buy a game. However, if you are willing to let go of working games, the best choice is to sell them at a store that will give you a better amount of money even if you trade it for another game. In my experience selling games to big retailers like GameStop have been poor with very little money for older games. If the game is more or less within a few months since it has been out then big retailers might give you more. If you sell older games to a shop that also sells more pre-owned and import games and systems, they might give you more money for it. Another option is to sell them online however, you will have to make sure there is no way they can get damaged on the way there. So be friendly on the bubble wrap! 

If you made it this far, I hope my experience will help you declutter. If you are wondering which app/site I use to sell my goods it is Mercari. Click here for a link to the app plus ten bucks off your purchase! 

See you next time and Happy New Year! 🎉❤️