I am really having a problem sourcing a range of reasonably priced note cards for my use in writing short notes. I would prefer DL size (110mm x 220mm) or a little smaller. Have to be FP friendly (the main problem). I want a fold over card as I am not a fan of postcard style but open to suggestions.

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http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Office-Shop


Also, I know that Fabriano makes a variety of card sizes.

http://www.fabrianoboutique.com/products.a...+%26+Stationery

Or find the quality of note paper you like and have a print shop cut some to the desired dimensions. You can fold it over your self or they can fold it for you.

Can I suggest you make contact with an FPN member by the name of Peachez, who trades on ebay as 'peachez111'

She paints and sells watercolours of flowers and landscapes. Sometimes she has sets of FP-friendly cards for
sale based on her work. There don't seem to be any cards on offer at the moment, but perhaps she would
run something up for you?

The 'reasonably priced' bit isn't a problem, although the postage from the UK to 'down under' would have to
be taken into account.

Thanks - I'll check it out.

Fabriano Medioevalis Stationery. Dick Blick has the best prices I've been able to locate: http://www.dickblick.com/zz100/32/

Mediovalis and Fabriano make some nice note cards.
What price is acceptable to you?

I would want to pay around $30 for 20 cards and envelopes. Would pay more if outstanding quality. There are plenty of good cards around but most have quite feminine designs - lots of florals etc. I would be quite happy with a DL card 110mmx220mm, with a plain front or just a border or similar and blank on all three other pages.

Thank you - they look like exactly what I am after. Have you used them? Are they FPN friendly?

$30 for 20 cards/env sounds like a huge amount of money to me, not what I would call "reasonable" at all!

Have you looked at Crane & Co.? I recently found that Office Depot was discontinuing carrying Crane & Co. papers, and was able to pick up quite a few boxes of letter paper and notes for about $2.00 each. I got maybe 800 sheets of letter paper and 100-150 notes in total.

Here in the land of Oz a decent greeting card costs between $3 and $5 with discount stores offering cheaper stock. A quality plain card and envelope at $1.50 or less would stack up rather well. Keep in mind I am expecting quality for that.
Crane is OK but extremely expensive here in Australia and I cdon't think they do a larger card (certainly not here). I find their traditional correspondence cards a little small for me.

I use a minimum of two of them per day - they are my favorite tool for short notes. Perfect for FP use.

Thanks WYB - and to make me even happier I have found a local supplier I didn't know existed that crries the range. And apparently they have a small ink blending business too making custom writing inks. I'm a little scared to go there with a credit card in my pocket.

Custom blended ink available in AU? Do tell!

I need to check the ink blending further. Will report in a few days.

Managed to source some locally to my surprise and they arrived today. Nice stock and FP friendly although on some pens they do tend to dry the nib a little. But no feathering or bleed. Surprised to actually find them in Australia.
Thanks for the tip - I think I'm going to use them a lot.
Have you tried any of their papers?

My dear human, if it is paper, no, *stationery* you want, you MUST get Amalfi. Amalfi is so nice, you'll want to write to *yourself*!
If your local store carries Fabriano, Amalfi should be on the next shelf.

But doesn't amalfi have some texture and thickness that makes it more feathery?

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Let's see...

PR Buttercup in Waterman Liaison w/B nib..light feathering.
Penman Emerald in Wality w/F nib...no feathering.
Summer Tanager in Waterman Rhapsody w/XF nib...light feathering.
Lamy Red (a red/orange/coral colour) in Romet Asia w/M nib...light feathering.

No bleed-through from any colour.

I guess the answer is yes then. Thanks for the examples!

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID...98/t_=134815298

here is a link where you can see the samples.

It is pic #2

Amalfi not available here unfortunately.

I had been able to put my hands apon a sheet but not write the odd feeling of the paper made me qustion it's usefulnes as a fountain pen paper. I was thinking of purcsing some of this paper but your photograph makes me confirm my doubt it's pleasure for my writing.

Dear Inkypete,
This is what I use.
Maruman wirebound sketch pads.
Its heavy paper. Textured. Most importantly, it takes FP ink perfectly. No bleeding. No feathering.
They take pencil, ink , washes as well.
It comes in various sizes. I use the A6 for short notes to write and mail out in nice Conqueror envelopes. For slightly longer notes, I use the A5 size. Either way, they fit the envelopes perfectly bcos they are in ISO A sizes.
Best of all, they come with fine perforations for you to tear out neatly.

This is what they look like.
Either orange or blue covers. I can't tell any diference between the two. The paper is identical. Wirebound.





The cover illustrates the perforations provided



On the inside, each sheet is perforated with very fine perforations. You won't be able to tell if they are torn from a bigger block.



The sticker labels bearing the specifications.



Lastly, they are affordable.
The small blue one retails for US$4.80. The orange A5 one sells for US$7. They are available from Kinokuniya.

I have seen but not tried Fabriano. They look good. Not sure if they can take ink. The paper looks feathery (pulpy).

Thanks TMLee - I haven't been able to locate the Maruman you show here in Australia as yet.
Re Fabriano, I was very worried when I first saw them figuring the advice was wrong - they do look likely to bleed. But they don't! They take my range of pens so well - I highly recommend them to you. Keep in mind I have only used their cards with matching envelopes.

Forgot to mention Pineider! The Papal Paper!

I also have to send a shout-out to Crane for high quality and FPN-friendliness.

They are normally prohibitively priced for me, but the summer sale is going on now. Lots of things are 50% off Many of their designs are bold, simple and could be construed as gender-free, or masculine if you want to view it that way.

Maybe these? http://www.crane.com/prdSell.aspx?NavName=...dEcruwhiteNotes

Don't know how deeply you're willing to search, but etsy has some interesting options.

Notecards are quite personal, best of luck finding the best item for you!

Amalfi makes a sharp looking top-fold correspondence cared with all edges hand deckled. Envelopes with a hand deckled flap to match. (Machine deckling looks awful - like someone cut the paper with serrated scissors). Amalfi has been making paper in Italy since the 1300s, and it seems they know their stuff. The paper takes my Aurora black ink without feathering or bleed through. Very nice.

My favorite Crane card is their triple debossed top fold correspondence card in ecrue-white kid finish - 111 mm x 167 mm. It's a very clean, masculine look - no borders - no pastels - and no flowers, butterflies, or chirping birdies anywhere near the product. This is the card I recently chose for engraving and embossing for some logo cards for my boat. The Crane product (also available in a larger flat card and in pearl-white) takes my fountain pens well too - no feathering. In the US, these retail at $13 for 10 cards with matching envelopes.

In Atlanta, we have an amazing stationer - Paces Papers by Jackie that actually does more than pump out wedding invitations. (no affiliation, your mileage may vary, objects in this mirror...). The proprietor, Jackie, seems to enjoy designing personal stationery. She knows all the arcane etiquette rules and has a larger selection of simple, plain stationery (including the Amalfi and the Crane) and has fonts suited for a man's desk.

Make your favorite fountain pen proud - buy some decent stationery.

My wife got me a box of notecards from Barnes and Noble that are pretty nice. They are Galison of New York. My particular box are Claude Monet paintings. Looking at their online catalog, it seems they have a variety of types in varying degrees of manliness.