Moleskine - The Legendary Notebook

I thought Moleskine was one of those classic brands that has been around for centuries so I was surprised to discover that notebooks were only brought back to life in 1997 by a small publisher based in Milan. It's the timeless story behind the legendary Moleskine notebook that goes back hundreds of years...

There once was a nameless simple black rectangular notebook with rounded corners, an elastic page-holder and an internal expandable pocket that was used by artists and thinkers including Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway. This notebook was created by a small French bookbinder in Paris and became a trusted travel companion of the greats. It was English novelist and travel writer Bruce Chatwin who named his favourite notebook 'moleskine' and despite all the popularity, in the 1980s, the small family-owned company went out of business and these notebooks were no more.

Sixteen years ago the notebooks were brought back to life and the company fittingly called the brand 'Moleskine'. Today, the name is synonymous with travel, imagination and memories in the real and digital world with their notebooks, diaries and journals, bags, writing instruments and reading accessories, making the brand loved by millions the world over - including me!

Although I love the fun, colourful stationery lines of Australian stationers, Kikki.K when I am looking for a more classic, substantial notebook, it's off to Moleskine I go. I don't hide the fact that the brand is one of my 'best things in life' - see our blog post on the subject here. Not only can you get simple, gorgeously bound lined, plain and squared notebooks, journals and diaries of all different sizes, I adore the ranges of limited edition collections, creativity, themed and travel notebooks.

Moleskine’s unique 'Themed' range features an extensive number of journals from dessert journals to baby journals, film journals to style journals. That brings me onto one of my favourite products which I featured as my 'top pick' for August - the Moleskine Wellness Journal. Read all about it on our 'Products We Love' page.

Next on my list of stationery to lust after (yes I am that sad!) is from Moleskine's 'Limited Edition' collection; an Evernote Smart Notebook. The notebook uses Evernote's Page Camera to capture the pages of the notebook! It then allows you to organise notes through Smart Stickers and Smart Tagging as the icons become searchable - great for those (like me) who love to be organised!

Moleskine's website is stationery heaven and I urge you to have a look. Not only at the vast array of quality products but they engage really well with online consumers. I particularly like the way they promote the Moleskine app by posting tweets from users on the website.

Now... I must stop looking before I get too carried away!

Jane x