Traveler's Notebook Setup Revamp

I should have posted this right after the post on the 5th Anniversary London Gifties TN cover but here it is now, another TN update with some major changes!

Not only did I add one regular TN but I did let one go, which was the Ace Hotel passport. I wasn't using it as much as I wanted to and decided to add whatever I was doing to my FiloFax. I am selling it on Mercari if anybody is interested and wants a bundle with inserts and accessories.

Now I have two regular TNs again. This time I don't plan on changing this up since they are both my favorite color and they fit so well with my green and yellow Superior Labour engineer pouch with pockets.

The London Gifties 5th Anniversary TN is used for all of my active blog drafts ca.crea premium notebooks. I was looking for a better cover for my blog drafts but nothing really felt sturdy or was able to hold more than two notebooks. This cover holds three notebooks very well, is a lovely shade of fresh green plus it feels amazing. I have no intention of adding things to this cover as it is perfect the way it is.

The olive TN is now my hobby notebook since I have been using it as a sketching notebook when outside and swap my stamp collection insert, reading insert and sticker insert every once in a while. Very intrigued that it evolved this way as I slowly got these inserts as time went on and now they are all part of this cover. In the future, I hope to get a pocket added to the front just so when I go shopping at a stationery store and find some stickers I can hold them there until I transfer them over to my sticker insert. 

BK Sketchbook Insert

Traveler's Company Sketching Insert

Sticker Release Paper Insert, Regular Insert, and BK TRP Insert

This might be the last Traveler's Notebook update until I actually travel so I hope you all enjoyed it! See you guys next time and remember to stay hype!

London Gifties 5th Anniversary Limited Edition Traveler's Notebook Cover

I am very happy to say that I finally ordered from the magical, amazing, full of care and ephemera online stationery shop, London Gifties! For a bit, I have been looking at all of the stunning stickers, washi tapes, and papers and at last, I did it and bought the bundle with the 5th Anniversary TN along with the My Trust TN original pin.

This post will focus on the TN but I must say that the prices paid are so reasonable even with the shipping that I really hope in the future I will order so much more!

Taking a second to say that their packaging is so lovely, it made me feel like it was my birthday. The wrapping paper, stickers, washi tape, and ribbon almost made me feel bad for opening such a well-made package. It even came with sweets and teas which I am currently loving very much. By the time anyone reads this I have eaten all the sweets, just letting that out.

This cover is so very different from all other TNs as it is a fresh Spring green that is completely embossed! The design is curled leaves with fully opened flowers. I don't think the pictures I show in this post do enough justice as it is so very beautiful and amazing to run your hands over. The embossing adds depth to the leather which I don't see that often unless it is a custom-designed cover. On the back, it has "London Gifties 5th anniversary" in a cute typewriter font.

I am so happy to own this cover and will continue to order so much more from them! This TN will be loved and used regularly for my ongoing blog drafts in ca.crea premium notebooks. Very much recommend getting this cover if you were looking for a green cover that is in regular size!

Thank you for reading and until next time, stay hyped!

Traveler's Notebook Update 2021

Hello everybody, long time no update on my regular size olive Traveler's Notebook. It has been a weird time in general as I am still 80% working from home and 20% going into the office as well as improving the apartment even more.

Cause I am still mostly at home I had a bit more time to rework my setup. What ended up happening is that I made it a lot more centered around what I am doing from home cause I am not outside or traveling as much as I thought.

First is that I took out the insert pouch cause I wasn't using it since I was using my Superior Labor Engineer pouch with pockets from Baum-kuchen and a small pouch from The Stationery Selection. In the future, I hope to get it customized with leather pockets as well so I won't need another pouch insert.

Now the inserts in this right now are the 012 Sketch paper refill from Traveler's Company, ca.crea premium notebook, and the Baum-kuchen x TRC grid notebook.

012 Sketch refill

ca.crea premium notebook

BKxTRC Grid Insert

The sketch refills are for doodles and helping me use up some of this ink I have. The ca.crea premium notebook for my blog drafts and is being used a lot as I am trying to publish more posts on here. The ca.crea is in the band because it is a bit larger than a Traveler's notebook standard insert plus it helps keep it in place the best. I am using the BK x TRC insert for what I finished reading where I write about the books and helps me track what I finished.

This setup is simple and easy cause its what I can use every day. I will switch it up if I do go on trips and travel but it doesn't seem like that will happen soon. Let me know if you updated your setup and until next time, stay hyped!

Hobonichi, Traveler's Notebook, FiloFax and Roterfaden Comparison

 At long last, it is time I do a full current planner system comparison with all the ones I have currently. Everything here is my own opinion and I purchased all of these for myself to use for different things.

I do hope to try out other planners in the future so please look forward to it in the future!

Starting with Hobonich Techo which is a planner from Japan, they have daily planners, weekly planners, 5-year planner, day free options, and plain notebooks. I use the weeks (weekly planner), daily planner in A6, day free and plain notebooks. The weeks is a great portable size with the left side of the page with the horizontal view of the week and the right side for notes. The daily planner and day free has quotes on the bottom of every two pages but it doesn't feel like its taking up that much space, unless you want to fill the whole page with writing. The plain notebooks are spilt into four different colors for you to organize your notes. Out of all of these I will continue to use the weeks and Hobonichi plain notebooks in both A6 and A5. The paper is fountain pen friendly which is geat for anyone that loves to write with their fountain pens everyday.

Out of the all the planners I own the Hobonichi does not allow you to easily switch paper or page type unless you switch completely from one notebook to another. However, Hobonichi does release amazing covers each year which add a lot of personality to your journal and planner and comes in a large range of material and designs that look stunning! The covers also have pockets and compartments to hold your stickers and washi tape samples. Hobonichi for me works great especially as a daily journal.

Traveler's Notebook is made by Traveler's Company formerly known as Midori. It is a multiple notebook/insert system that is kept thin and portable by holding the inserts in place with bands that are located in the middle of the leather cover. Traveler's Notebook comes in two sizes, regular and passport, both which I use for completely different things. 

The Traveler's Notebook gives you a lot of room to be creative because you can control the paper you use, the order you place your inserts and even how the cover is decorated with charms and paint! This system is the most portable along with the Hobonichi weeks, however the regular size is taller. The Traveler's Notebook for me works great as a list holder and a traveling journal.

Roterfaden is a German brand that makes high quality organizers. It comes in A5, A5 slim and A6 sizes and is made to hold full notebooks using sturdy metal clips. I only have the olive 2020 A5 which feels velvety and can hold full A5 notebooks by playing the clips in the middle of the books however having large notebooks in here makes it the heaviest system. 

Like the Traveler's Notebook Roterfaden gives you the freedom to make it customized how you like it which your choice of paper, notebook and inserts. Roterfeden however, has pockets in the front unlike the Traveler's Notebook where you would have to get it added by a shop. Roterfaden also is very minimal and there isn't much you can do to the cover itself so for me this is great as a tracker for all my stationery and indoor gardening.

FiloFax is a United Kingdom brand organizer that uses rings and has a large range of sizes such as mini, pocket, personal and A5. I got a personal size however I only use it for sticker sorting. FiloFax does have inserts and yearly diary setups but you can customize it using a hole puncher and whatever paper you want. 

With a hole puncher you can control what kind of paper you can use, make your own dividers and so much more. A hole puncher is useful if you want fountain pen friendly paper since many inserts are not great with fountain pen ink. For me the FiloFax is great for holding and organizing stickers and small items to decorate in the future.

Price wise Traveler's Notebook is least expensive followed by FiloFax, Roterfaden and Hobonichi being the most expensive. This can vary if you don't buy a cover for your Hobonichi or buy a limited run version of any system.

Overall I believe that anybody can make a system work for them with the right notebooks, paper and personalized inserts and add-ons. 

My Analogue Travel Pouch Setup

Hello and welcome to another setup post. This time I will go into my Analogue Travel Pouch, which helps keep things organized and compact. 

Before in 2019 I always carried a backpack with my Hobonichi weeks and later I also carried at least one Traveler's Notebook to and from work. My commute full trip is about 2.5 to 3 hours so I would use that time to read, write and scribble tasks I needed to get done. After a while, I decided to get a pouch to carry my fountain pens in as well as my Traveler's Notebooks.

To start off I am using the Engineer Pouch with Pockets in the color cactus. I bought this from Baum-Kuchen in May 2020. I got this one because I love the yellow paint with the green canvas and the pockets can fit a lot of stuff including a passport Traveler's Notebook. The best part is when the pouch is full it will stand up on its own.

I added two BKxThe Superior Labor leather pen holders with clips, one on each pocket to have dedicated pen space thus freeing the pockets for more stuff! Currently, the clips hold my TWSBI in Mint Blue from Goulet Pens and Moonman Wancai in Green Swirl from JetPens.

In the right pocket, I have my passport Ace Hotel TN which slips in there like a glove and that is including the cotton bag with patches. In the left pocket is a six-pocket Kitta file with tapes which I got from Yoseka Stationery and my Mono Air 5 whiteout tape.

In the main part, I have my Olive Regular TN along with either my Hobonichi A6 or my ca.crea notebook which is my blog book. My blog book and planner switch depending on if I am going on an actual trip. On a trip, I will bring my planner along with my Nichiban Tenori stamp tape but if I am just walking in the city I will take my blog book. Before trips, I will pre type most of the blog posts I want to publish and possibly set them to be released on certain days. 

That is everything in my Analogue Travel Pouch! I hope this helps because storage and carrying your planners is always a struggle. If you know exactly what you want to carry, you can research and find a bag/pouch that will your needs plus a bit extra, especially if you are like me and carry a small water bottle and a foldable tote bag. Please note, everything I didn't link in this post was bought off of Etsy and might not be available at the time I publish this.

Let me know if you have an analogue traveling setup in the comments!

Until next time, stay hype!

Traveler’s Notebook: My Uses and Setup Update for Late 2020 into 2021

New year coming up means updated Traveler’s Notebook setup! So, after this crazy roller coaster ride of the year 2020, I realized that my setup needed to be condensed and helpful with activities I want to do more of. So there are some major differences between my 2020 setup and this one that I am going to show the details of in this blog post so let us get into it!

The 2020 setup I had was a bit overwhelming and felt like I was only using one regular Traveler's Notebook instead of equally using both. Thus the main difference is that now I am only using one regular TN instead of two and using one insert for each of my personal goals. 

Out of the regular olive and black Traveler's Notebooks the olive I kept, and sold the black with a bundle of extra inserts and accessories. I still have my Ace Hotel passport TN with one insert.

My goals are to read more, create more, keep to a budget so that I can continue to work on being debt-free and pursue a more sustainable lifestyle. These led me to have three inserts in my olive TN and one insert in my Ace Hotel passport TN.

I love this olive TN, I really think it looks better every time I take it on a trip! I added one The Superior Labor brass tag and for charms, I have the PRADA and Log-ON X Traveler's Company Manual Factory bear charms. On the inside is a fourruof x Traveler's Factory zipper pocket in olive with a few postcards, sample washi tape, and business cards.

For my reading insert, I am using the GRID Baum-Kuchen x Traveler's Company insert. I love how minimal it looks plus it is fountain pen friendly! I will use this to write about the books I read.

The drawing insert I use is the Traveler's Notebook refill 012-Sketch paper. I used this before and I love it because it can handle all the random pencils, ink, and different pens I use while I sketch ideas. Some of the things I sketch end up as little art pieces I keep or give to friends as gifts.

My budget insert is the Ace Hotel regular insert. Each page has the budget for a separate paycheck. I use the zero-sum method to make sure each dollar has a purpose. I love carrying this around because if I go outside and buy anything I can write it down really quick!

The Ace Hotel passport has just a Superior Labor leather charm!

The Ace Hotel passport TN has an all canvas wallet in gray with aqua from Baum-Kuchen and one Ace Hotel insert.

The one insert is used to write any sustainability or eco-friendly ideas that come to mind as I walk about the city. I love sustainability something we can always improve upon!

Can't wait to use my Traveler's Notebook even more in 2021. Hope that these changes keep me on track. Let me know if you guys updated your Traveler's Notebook in the comments! Until next time, stay hype!

Traveler’s Notebook Insert Collection 2020

Hello everybody. Tsubaki here and back with more Traveler’s Notebook goods that I have been slowly obtaining as time goes on and as these treasures pop up, especially on Etsy. These will be all the limited edition inserts from collaborations of brands and companies with The Traveler’s Company. I love these inserts because they are super unique and they are still very practical, because I do plan on using them like the rest of my inserts. 

I will try to give as much detail about each insert such as when it came out so if anybody else is interested in getting their own. 

First set of inserts are from the PRADA X Traveler’s Company pop up in NYC. I am so happy I went because I had got the last light cameo/yellow rose they had. In fact it was the one they were using for display. This insert is so unique because you can start from either or both sides. Each side has the same starting page with the box in the middle! The inserts themselves wasn’t that much. I think I paid about $15 USD for each. The dark cameo has the red rose on the other side and the light cameo has the yellow rose. 

Next is the Manual Factory Log-On 20th Anniversary insert. It has the outline of the Manual Factory bear and the quote. It is a dark blue with white text. 

Next is also Manual Factory but from the Hong Kong caravan in 2019.

This insert brings back sweet memories. It is the Mister Softee regular insert from Hong Kong!

I love Mister Softee and remember the ice-cream truck strolling in the Summer days every time I look at it.

The last two are the most recent ones I got which are from the Ace Hotel Collab in both regular and passport. I love the quote "To Begin, Begin." It really fills me up with passion to do what I enjoy.

So far I haven't found any other inserts that I really felt passionate to collect but maybe in 2021 I will continue this with some awesome new inserts. Let me know which ones are your favorite in the comments!