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.
Hmmm…I’d go eat! I love food and other delicious things like…dessert, lunch, breakfast…second breakfast!
How funny-I just bought journals to cover then to give as Christmas gifts. I adore Journals as much as you do + the thrill of putting pen to new pages so excites me. What would I do when first arriving in Paris? I would go to the café at the top of Printemps. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
First thing I would do is walk from the Louve through Jardin des Tuileries then through Champs-Elysees all the way to l’Arc de Triomphe!!!
Place Dauphine! I’d bring a journal there and write…it’s a mysteriously quiet sanctuary in the middle of the most beautiful city.
the first thing I do whenever I come in Paris is go to Montmartre… the view from up there..there’s something about it that makes my heart beat stronger, I feel more alive then anywhere else… :))) …
The first thing I would do… is just wander around the city streets and be inspired by the culture, architecture and history. Thank you for the daydream 🙂
My mum just surprised me by saying she’d meet me in Paris for Christmas, so the first thing I’m doing is picking her up at the airport! Second is heading to Le Rocketship, bien sûr!
Upon landing in Paris, the first thing that I would do is find a good boulangerie and eat some of the bread that I spend the rest of the year dreaming about.
Your first paragraph describes me perfectly-i have a chest full of stationary and a collection of journals-love paper- the smell of books -well you get the idea-and yes in my case the “we’ll always have Paris” is true-mon petit copain from way back when i was 17-SUCH SWEET RECOLLECTIONS -le sigh
The first thing I’d do is go to La Maison du Chocolate for a chocolate eclair. They are divine!
We usually get the TGV to Paris, arriving in time for a late lunch. So the first thing I’d do is head for a steak-frites and a glass of red, somewhere with a great view for people-watching!
I’d hit a really local site – when I stayed in Montmartre, my first stop was the cemetary (it was close, and I needed to kill time until the apartment was ready). If I was near Sainte-Chapelle and it was a sunny day, that would be a great place to start. There’s the Tuileries, the Eiffel Tower. Basically, I’d head for the nearest ultra-tourist site!
Since I live here all year round, I’ll say that if someone were to offer me a surprise experience in Paris, it would be to have the Grand Palais temporary ice skating rink reserved entirely for me and my husband (hey, you didn’t say it had to be feasible!) 🙂
Love these notebooks!
The first thing I would do is head over to the café at the top of Printemps to get some caffeine and enjoy the beautiful view!
Oh, these are ridiculously clever and cute.
I’m landing in Paris in about two weeks and while it isn’t a surprise, I know exactly what I would do if I was magically transported to my most fave city: I’d grab my handy journal and wander the streets of Montmarte finding things to write about!