Some people love stationery. A lot. These are the people who browse stationery stores like others do cheese shops, picking up notebooks and greeting cards, smelling, weighing, pressing the pages between their fingers, thrilled by the possibilities within. These people are often diligent list makers, brainstormers, budgeters and recorders of funny expressions overheard in the subway.
I am one of those people. I carry around a total of four notebooks with me at all times: the day planner for appointments (never, ever trust your iphone to keep up with time-zone hopping), the list journal, the ideas journal, and the diary. I have slimmed down over the years, shedding the fuzzy-heart adorned secret-keepers of my youth in favor of lighter, more “mature“ versions. Ahem. I swear.
During my last stay in Paris, I met Joel Sadler, a kindred spirit and founder of Bound Custom Journals. He could relate to my stationery issues: it’s hard – no, impossible – to find a journal that does it all. Joel’s solution was to create a platform for the journal-obsessed to compose their very own notebooks, filled with pages of only what they need.
Bound’s customizable journals are pretty awesome. Not only are they good-looking (love the vegan leather cover), they’re sustainable (acid-free and made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials), and entirely customizable. You can create a journal tailored to your needs in about 10 minutes on their website, depending on how decisive you are.
I’m outfitting my first Bound Journal with a city map, a checklist, a micro-journal section (perfect for brainstorming), and blank pages (because I’m spontaneous like that). This is to be my on-the-go journal, but there is a section for you no matter your creative bent: staff paper, wireframes, blank storyboards, and even a throwback games section with classic time-killers like TicTacToe and Hangman.
What’s more, Bound For Anything has just teamed up with Parisian store Le Rocketship to offer locals the opportunity to customize their Bound Journal covers right in the Rocketship store. If you stop by, you’ll find a selection of 2013 planners specially designed for Le Rocketship (with the awesome Rocketship logo, a monthly planner, checklists and lined pages), as well as a special set of notebooks with blank covers that can be customized in the store using Yellow Owl Workshop stamps.
For those who are still scrambling for gifts: order a journal today and it’ll get to you (or your loved one) by Christmas! I can’t think of a more perfect gift. To prove it, we’re giving one lucky reader a $40 credit to make your own Bound Custom Journal.
Full disclosure: when I met Joel, he gave me two of his adorable Paris city journals (pictured above). I just love the tongue-in-cheek covers, so we’ll be giving away one of these as well. To win (and get it in time for Christmas!) leave us a comment below telling us the first thing you would do if you had just landed in Paris for a surprise vacation.
We’ve got one more!
We’ll give one lucky winner who sends us a picture of a custom-cover made at Le Rocketship a $5 credit towards making your own custom journal! Email us at bound@haveninparis.com
Happy Holidays!
Order your own Bound Custom Journal here. You can also find Bound Custom Journals at Le Rocketship, 13 bis rue Henry Monnier, 75009 Paris.
Written by Geneviève Sandifer for the HiP Paris Blog. All photos by Bound Custom Journals. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, London, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.
WRITTEN BY
Genevieve Sandifer
Genevieve was born in New York City and raised between London and Paris. Genevieve is part of the Haven in Paris team and is the editor of the Hip Paris blog. Unable to stay away from Paris for too long, she now splits her time between New York, Honolulu and Paris, where she keeps tabs on the Haven in Paris properties and service providers and scours the city for great bistros, cocktail bars and vintage stores.
Go into a random bakery and get a croissant. I don’t eat airplane food so I am always hungry as I land. Croissant in Paris is magical. Yum!
The first thing I would do would be to visit Poilane in the 6th to get an apple turnover that I would eat out of hand and then head next door to La Cuisine de Bar to get my favorite tartine! <3
As much as i adore Paris, i believe that big part of what makes a city is the experience that people give you. So, the surprise vacation will start with a surprise call from me to dear locals while i’m losing my breath climbing the stairs which lead to my favorite kir drinking spot in Montmartre, conveniently named ”Au Rendez-Vous des Amis ”
The first thing I would do is grab a croissant aux amandes and a café before heading up to my favorite view in Paris – atop the Sacre Coeur!
Have lunch at Le Marche des Enfants Rouge and then meet my friends for cafe/vin and bobo watching at Le Progres down the street. In the summer stopping at the Square du Temple to watch the adorable well-dressed school children and their incredibly good looking parents.
I’d go ice-skating at the Palais de Tokyo! I wish I’d had time to go before I left but grad school finals kept me pretty under wraps :).
I would run straight to pierre hermé to indulge in some macarons !
I’d definitely check out whatever free exhibit was going on at L’Hotel de Ville, get my hands dirty at a French pastries cooking class at La Cuisine Française nearby, enjoy some baklava and hot mint tea at la Mosquée de Paris, take a walk in the Luxembourg Gardens, taking an especially long pause to appreciate just how beautiful the Medici Fountain is, and then meet up with friends for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, l’Annexe in the 18°ieme.
Xoxo
Ashley
My first stop would be for an espresso and some time spent drawing the streets of Paris… Bliss..
I would want to look at the beautiful lights, sipping a cup of hot chocolate, wrapped up in my favorite coat and scarf.
The first thing I would do upon arriving in Paris is go on a derive! There is nothing like getting lost in that magical city, letting your instincts guide you. I find that it’s the best way to uncover the many secret treasures in Paris that keep me falling in love with her!
I would go to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur first to look over the city! I remember how beautiful Paris looks from there! (I also remember the climb up!)
Transported to Paris I want to wander the city and just take it all in.
My favourite “first day” in Paris (that I would totally do again!) was:
Arrive in Paris at an ungodly early morning hour with a good friend, pick up cheese and bread from a local shop and sit at the base of the stairs of Sacré-Cœur Basilica – people watching, eating delicious food with great company. Perfect start to a day after a long flight!
First to the Jardin de Tuileries to soak it in, then off to the Louvre (must go back) then a lunch on the Champs Elysees. Not to forget about a macaron at Laudree. Then, the Cathedral de Notre Dame. When dark, off to the Eiffel Tower, a must see at night, and a nice late supper at Les Deux Magots.