How Do I Start Midoriing?

[olden days Jo]

I've only just seen the Midori notebook concept today and it's fair to say that i'm pretty impressed at this point. There's just a couple of things that i'm unsure about that I thought you guys would be able to clear up for me.

 

The primary concern for me at the moment is the refills. Can you only use the Midori refills or are there other easier to source notebook inserts that can be use as an alternative. This stems from the fact that it seems quite difficult to find those refills in the UK and i've got no idea about the quality of the paper.

My second query is related to the first one in that I'm finding it quite difficult to source anything Midori in the UK, is there a reputable UK website that stocks them?

 

Thanks for your help guys, i'm looking forward to hearing about how you use yours and any other bits of advice that you may have such as alternative brands that do a similar concept.

[Ted A]

speaking only of the regular size Midori, not the Passport.

 

Banditapple makes an insert, I understand.

 

You can make your own inserts very easily.

 

1. The TN notebook is 110mm x 210mm.

2. A4 paper is 210mm x 297 mm

3. Get whatever A4 paper you like to use.

4. Cut 77 mm off the bottom of the A4 paper.

5. Fold the paper in half so it's 110mm x 210mm (same as TN)

6. You can staple or sew several of these together to create a booklet, or you could just slip the folded sheets behind the elastic insert. You can use cardboard, bookboard or a file folder to create a cover.

 

If you want lines, a grid or dots you can get a template to print at http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/

Edited September 16, 2013 by Ted A

[olden days Jo]

I've seen those Banditapple inserts and they look quite good, I have only been able to find them abroad though. Do you know if there is a UK stockist of Banditapple?

As for making my own that seem like quite a good idea, i especially appreciate you giving me the dimensions as that would have been the stumbling block. Definitely food for thought there.

Do you have any experience with the Midori branded inserts, are they any good?

[m k]

The Journal Shop (http://www.thejournalshop.com) has the Midori Traveler's Notebook line available and is located in the UK.

[olden days Jo]

Thanks, that sight looks fairly reputable so i'll probably get a notebook pretty soon.

Does the notebook come with the elastic band to secure additional notebooks or only an elastic band for the supplied insert? I saw that it was supplied with extra bands but are these nly for the outside fastening?

Edited September 16, 2013 by olden days Jo

[Zanshin]

The full size Midori inserts are the same height as A5 paper and I find Muji A5 notbeooks a good alternative to Midori. They just need trimming to size with a sharp knife, about an inch off the side and at less than a pound each they're much more affordable than the four pounds that Midori originals cost.

[olden days Jo]

Thanks guys, I just took a chance on the website linked earlier so we'll see what happens now. The only problem is that they were out of stock with the joining bands so i don't know quite what i'm going to do about that, i'll cross that bridge when I get there I suppose.

[m k]

Thanks, that sight looks fairly reputable so i'll probably get a notebook pretty soon.

Does the notebook come with the elastic band to secure additional notebooks or only an elastic band for the supplied insert? I saw that it was supplied with extra bands but are these nly for the outside fastening?

The extra band is a spare for the one that goes around the notebook, if you want to add extra inserts, you have a couple of options: buy the elastic bands available from midori, use some other suitable elastic bands or try to fit another insert into the second elastic band on the inside that is a bit shorter. For great videos explaining all you want to know, see the videos from Brian Goulet on YouTube:

 

 

and

 

 

Highly recommended (as well as their shop gouletpens.com!).

Regarding The Journal Shop, I've ordered a few times there and the service is excellent!

[olden days Jo]

The extra band is a spare for the one that goes around the notebook, if you want to add extra inserts, you have a couple of options: buy the elastic bands available from midori, use some other suitable elastic bands or try to fit another insert into the second elastic band on the inside that is a bit shorter. For great videos explaining all you want to know, see the videos from Brian Goulet on YouTube:

 

 

and

 

 

Highly recommended (as well as their shop gouletpens.com!).

Regarding The Journal Shop, I've ordered a few times there and the service is excellent!

Knowing that you've used them before has put my mind at rest

 

I did watch those goulet videos, or at least the first one he did. They were really informative as ever and were what really sold me on the concept, he really goes above and beyond in those videos. If i was in the states i would order fro Goulet all the time but it becomes too expensive and is too much of a pain for me to ship it into the UK when it's already available here unfortunately.

[olden days Jo]

I just had a look at the goulet video that I hadn't watched and there were quite a few solutions to not having the elastic band at least one of which will tide me over untill the band arrives from a different retailer that does have them in stock. Great post so thanks for putting them up, And thanks to the Goulets for making it.

[The Good Captain]

I'm really tempted to get one and make the 'books' myself. Possible QC or Ryman Bank paper with thin card covers. I've an extendible stapler which will easily reach the fold so that could be the answer.

Well, maybe!

[TMac]

For joining bands, I bought large rubber bands from Staples. They worked perfectly and were much cheaper than the Midori bands.

[Albertine]

I bought some recycled leather from Etsy (I'm a vegetarian) & some midori innards from the Goulets. I'm going to make a DIY cover, string the whole thing together.

I'm getting ready for a month-long trip in December through Chile. So I'm going to test out the traveling aspect of the traveler's notebook. Passport size, so it will hold a single blank notebook as well as my passport. I got the craft folder & the zippered pockets & want to see how it functions, holding all of my itinerary information.

 

I'll be off the grid for long enough that I need something that can function like my smartphone, basically.

 

[N2theBreach]

For those who want to make their own, I believe people have posted their own videos on Yahoo about how they approached it.

[Centopar]

Another recommendation for The Journal Shop: I buy a lot of things from them (at least a couple of orders per month) and they're lovely to deal with. Things come nicely packaged and in good time. They also do free samples of the various Midori papers, so you can try them before you commit to a whole refill.

 

It is nigh-on impossible to buy a non-Midori refill which is the right size for the full size TN, but then again, there are few papers I like as much for a fountain pen as Midori's, so I'm very happy to buy the branded stuff. The very thin paper is downright remarkable; it reminds me of airmail paper from when I was a kid, only it's absolutely bleedthrough-proof.

[SallyLyn]

Extra bands have been well covered, but remember there is one more band that comes with the original package. That is the band that secures the paper package. It doesn't look to be long enough to be the entire internal notebook replacement, but can can be used for outside closing replacement, in place of a rubber band to attach two more, or even as a spine band attachment. The last is not easy for me to explain but a band can be wrapped around the inside and outside spine and tucked into the small cuts in leather at the top and bottom. Seems to me using the extra band would be easier as an internal connector of two notebooks, but the above is an option.

[Zanshin]

For joining bands just look on your doorstep in the morning and pick up the ones the postman leaves lying all over the place. That's what I use and they're a perfect size.

 

Inserts are easy to make yourself. Google Ray Blake's blog My Life All In One Place for some useful templates for lined and grid inserts and various diary style inserts. It only takes ten minutes to stitch them together with some linen thread for a very nice finished product.

[olden days Jo]

Thanks guys, i'm really looking forward to this package getting in! I decided not to get the branded elastic bands, i probably would have bought them if they were in stock at the first place but it put a barrier in the way that let me come to my senses. I'll just see what i've got laying around elastic band wise when it gets here.

I've bought enough refills to last me a little while but I may well look into making my own refills before i've rune out of the first batch, it can't really hurt to test the waters and get exactly what I want.

Edited September 17, 2013 by olden days Jo

[Centopar]

Re the bands - they're silicone rubber, not the organic rubber sort that the Post Office wraps around bundles of letters, so they don't degrade with time and leave sticky residue on your paper or lose their stretch.

 

Some have great success with elasticated cloth cord, like you can buy in the haberdasher's department at John Lewis. I've also got some grosgrain ribbon in mine (ends cut on the diagonal and sealed with a lighter) to act as two extra bookmarks.

[olden days Jo]

Re the bands - they're silicone rubber, not the organic rubber sort that the Post Office wraps around bundles of letters, so they don't degrade with time and leave sticky residue on your paper or lose their stretch.

 

Some have great success with elasticated cloth cord, like you can buy in the haberdasher's department at John Lewis. I've also got some grosgrain ribbon in mine (ends cut on the diagonal and sealed with a lighter) to act as two extra bookmarks.

John Lewis is a good idea, i was just scratching my head at where abouts I would be able to pick up some elastic cord. When my notebook gets here i'll take it down to John Lewis and see what I can sort out.