Customer Reviews

Moleskine Small Sketch Notebook

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I originally bought this book for a friend of mine since she likes to draw. The notebook small enough to fit in her pocket, so if she ever has a idea pressing in on her she can whip it out and let her creativity take her. There's also a small pocket on the inside of the back cover. Very convient for stashing money or miscellanious (sorry not a great speller) things. I'm thinking about getting the agenda varient to it. Oh! Almost forgot! There's a rubber band that wraps around it to keep everything inside. I've got to get one for myself, and I think I've got my friend hooked on it too. ;p

The notebook, made by Modo & Modo, a firm created in the 1990's, is fine overall. But the paper quality could be higher-I can clearly see the writing on the other side, no matter what pen I use. I find the elastic band unnecessary and an annoyance upon closing the notebook. The binding and cover are sturdy though. So overall, it's a fine notebook, but nothing exceptional, and thus overpriced. There are other notebooks of similar format with equal or superior quality.

So my friend's enthusiasm for it perplexed me. To hear him, the "notebook" had just been invented; a new tool was available. As if no one had used a notebook before. I soon discovered the trigger for this attitude was the proclaimed "legendary" character of the notebook, with past users apparently including Hemingway, Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, and others. The thought of using the same notebook as such intellectual giants was exciting to him, and unconsciously made him unduly pleased with his notebook.

This claim perplexed me, as years ago I saw Picasso and Hemingway notebooks, and my recollection of them was different. Hemingway was well-known for writing on notepads or in "blue French notebooks" and you can find several references to this on the Internet. On the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum web site, you can also see a picture of Hemingway's notebooks, which look just the way I remembered them, and nothing like the Moleskine notebook.

Another claim by Modo and Modo is appearances by its notebooks in various movies. It claims the Grail Diary in "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" is a Moleskine. In fact, the diary is a prop made for the movie. You can see pictures and descriptions of it on the Indygear Web site. It has a soft, brown leather cover. The elastic band is loose, sometimes used horizontally, sometimes vertically. So the diary has nothing in common with a Moleskine.

The Modo & Modo claim of legendary history is thus deceptive. Their trademark of the word moleskine is also suspicious. Years ago, many notebooks had an oilcloth, moleskine cover, then the cheaper alternative to leather for a durable cover. These notebooks were not superior to what we have today; it was just what was available then. But there are many instances of people in the past, famous or not, using a moleskine-covered notebook. The trademark is a clear intention to be the exclusive beneficiary of this history. It's akin to getting a trademark on the word "leather", making notebooks, and claiming that anyone who used leather-covered notebooks used yours.

Modo & Modo is evidently using a deceitful, manipulative marketing campaign that plays on people's desire to have something in common with the legends. It claims a legendary history to get people unduly excited and affectionate of its notebook, promote sales, and command a higher price. Falling for this deception is certainly not the way to join the intellectual elite.

As an artist, I can't predict when inspiration is going to strike and so I have learned to carry a small sketchbook with me everywhere. This one is almost perfect. The paper is heavy duty, the sketchbook is lightweight, and the quality is excellent. The only thing that I could possibly wish for would be that the cover be a bit more flexible. However, I would not want to sacrifice the quality for the flexibility. Every artist should make it a habit to carry one of these around!

Product was given as a gift and recipient loved it! Thank you for timely delivery and confirmation.

I like the size, hate the price, and love the paper in this sketchbook. I've bought several and really like the small size for it's portability.

This is a great little drawing book. the pages are great ands the size is just right for a pocket. This is moleskin #4 for me having used a larger size and this size. I just love it. I find myself not only drawing in it but also keeping all types of notes and shopping/to lists in it. In short just get one.

I use these notebooks to write my journal. I know that this is a SKETCHBOOK, it has blank thick pages which makes it awesome to write with any ink without bleeding into the next page.
It in not very small, not very big, it fits your coat inner pocket with no problem.

Esta libreta es lo mejor para salir de viaje o a la calle y tomar apuntes o bocetos rápidos, las hojas son gruesas y aguantan mucha tinta, está muy bien acabada, lo único es que las hojas tienen un leve color amrillo y no son completamente blancas.