Review: Sennelier Art Notes

[biffybeans]

Blogged here with pictures

 

I'm going to make this one quick & dirty.

 

From the Savoir Faire catalog: "...unique little note pads that come in three different colors and four unusual sizes. Perfect for a purse or a desktop. The Ivory color has 128 unlined pages and the other two colors have 128 lined pages...Weight: Varied"

 

It's French. The flexible cover feels like leather.

 

This is a 6x6 spiral notepad that HANDS DOWN is the smoothest paper I have ever written on with a fountain pen. Smoother than Rhodia or Clairefontaine, which tends to have a bit of "grab" to the paper that I can't really describe, and don't really like. It's very similar to Apica, but Apica will occasionally bleed.

 

This paper DID NOT feather, bleed, spread, or have any show through whatsoever. It is a shiny surface like Rhodia, and ink does take a few moments to dry.

 

Buy them here at Wet Paint Art the 6x6" pad is $9 and they are currently on sale.

 

From the Wet Paint Art Website: "An exciting collection of little Sennelier pads that come in three different colors & four unusual sizes. Green & brown covered pads are lined, ivory are blank."

[biffybeans]

Forgot to add, the ruling on this book is 6mm.

[encre]

Fantastic review, shame it doesn't come in notebook format. :/

 

Check out Exacompta Notebooks, they are built by Clairefontaine but use even better paper (and the price shows :/ ) and think you will like Quo Vadis Habana notebooks too.

 

Edit: Just read your blog. I am in awe of your work and it seems you have most brands and models covered thus ignore my prior comment.

 

Edited November 26, 2008 by encre

[donwinn]

Blogged here with pictures

 

I'm going to make this one quick & dirty.

 

From the Savoir Faire catalog: "...unique little note pads that come in three different colors and four unusual sizes. Perfect for a purse or a desktop. The Ivory color has 128 unlined pages and the other two colors have 128 lined pages...Weight: Varied"

 

It's French. The flexible cover feels like leather.

 

This is a 6x6 spiral notepad that HANDS DOWN is the smoothest paper I have ever written on with a fountain pen. Smoother than Rhodia or Clairefontaine, which tends to have a bit of "grab" to the paper that I can't really describe, and don't really like. It's very similar to Apica, but Apica will occasionally bleed.

 

This paper DID NOT feather, bleed, spread, or have any show through whatsoever. It is a shiny surface like Rhodia, and ink does take a few moments to dry.

 

Buy them here at Wet Paint Art the 6x6" pad is $9 and they are currently on sale.

 

From the Wet Paint Art Website: "An exciting collection of little Sennelier pads that come in three different colors & four unusual sizes. Green & brown covered pads are lined, ivory are blank."

 

Sounds lovely; however, same problem as with a lot of online vendors. I saw they have whitelines, so I entered a trial order for one 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 notebook at $6, and shipping was $11.28. I cannot avail myself of any of these wonderful papers which I cannot procure locally, because I have to pay frequently double the price of the paper to get it shipped. No longer a bargain at all.

 

Donnie

 

[biffybeans]

Hi Donnie.

 

I just tried adding one to their shopping cart and ended up with $9 shipping. Not acceptable at all for a single $9 notebook. I have sent them an e-mail asking if other shipping options are available, but I expect that UPS is their only option.

 

I did notice that they are an independent retailer, so for me, that would slightly take the sting off the price if I was able to pick up a few more things to justify the shipping charges.

 

I will report back here with their response.

 

Thanks for pointing that out.

Stephanie

 

 

Blogged here with pictures

 

I'm going to make this one quick & dirty.

 

From the Savoir Faire catalog: "...unique little note pads that come in three different colors and four unusual sizes. Perfect for a purse or a desktop. The Ivory color has 128 unlined pages and the other two colors have 128 lined pages...Weight: Varied"

 

It's French. The flexible cover feels like leather.

 

This is a 6x6 spiral notepad that HANDS DOWN is the smoothest paper I have ever written on with a fountain pen. Smoother than Rhodia or Clairefontaine, which tends to have a bit of "grab" to the paper that I can't really describe, and don't really like. It's very similar to Apica, but Apica will occasionally bleed.

 

This paper DID NOT feather, bleed, spread, or have any show through whatsoever. It is a shiny surface like Rhodia, and ink does take a few moments to dry.

 

Buy them here at Wet Paint Art the 6x6" pad is $9 and they are currently on sale.

 

From the Wet Paint Art Website: "An exciting collection of little Sennelier pads that come in three different colors & four unusual sizes. Green & brown covered pads are lined, ivory are blank."

 

Sounds lovely; however, same problem as with a lot of online vendors. I saw they have whitelines, so I entered a trial order for one 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 notebook at $6, and shipping was $11.28. I cannot avail myself of any of these wonderful papers which I cannot procure locally, because I have to pay frequently double the price of the paper to get it shipped. No longer a bargain at all.

 

Donnie

 

[biffybeans]

Hi Encre,

 

I've tried Clairefontaine Triomphe, their Basics Journal, (Not yet reviewed) both US made Habanas and paper from the UK versions.

 

The Clairefontaine paper is no doubt smooth, no bleeding/feathering etc, but the paper has an odd surface (to me) that I can't really explain. It's got this drag/grippiness on it.... Same with the orange Rhodia pads. This Sennelier paper is completely different. No drag at all, just super smooth goodness - close to Apica, but Apica sometimes bleeds.

 

Thanks for the comments about my blog!

 

 

Fantastic review, shame it doesn't come in notebook format. :/

 

Check out Exacompta Notebooks, they are built by Clairefontaine but use even better paper (and the price shows :/ ) and think you will like Quo Vadis Habana notebooks too.

 

Edit: Just read your blog. I am in awe of your work and it seems you have most brands and models covered thus ignore my prior comment.

 

 

[aymr]

Did you have trouble with inks drying on this paper? I picked up a small notebook the other day, and while I haven't had time to do a major test I've used 3 inks on it - Noodler's Apache Sunset; Noodler's Navajo Turquoise and Aurora Blue. The Aurora dried normally, but the Apache Sunset from a med nib was still smudgeable at least 4 hours later, and the Turquoise with an italic nib was still wet looking on the parts where it had been wetter originally (and presumably smudgable - I didn't want more ink on my fingers this morning) overnight!!! :blink: Little pools of ink on the paper.

 

Haven't had this problem with Clairfontaine, Rhodia, HP 32lb, or Whitelines... actually, with any paper I've tried.

 

Obviously it's a paper where the ink used is particularly important, but I'm wondering if I'm the only one who's seen this...

 

Thanks,

Aym

[biffybeans]

No.... I didn't have this problem when I tested it, and I just did another test again. I have had that happen with Moleskine, sometimes when I'd use the Bulletproof black with a really wet nib.

 

Is it the lined paper that you bought? Or the plain... I wonder if there is a difference.

 

Oh, and where did you find them?

 

 

Did you have trouble with inks drying on this paper? I picked up a small notebook the other day, and while I haven't had time to do a major test I've used 3 inks on it - Noodler's Apache Sunset; Noodler's Navajo Turquoise and Aurora Blue. The Aurora dried normally, but the Apache Sunset from a med nib was still smudgeable at least 4 hours later, and the Turquoise with an italic nib was still wet looking on the parts where it had been wetter originally (and presumably smudgable - I didn't want more ink on my fingers this morning) overnight!!! :blink: Little pools of ink on the paper.

 

Haven't had this problem with Clairfontaine, Rhodia, HP 32lb, or Whitelines... actually, with any paper I've tried.

 

Obviously it's a paper where the ink used is particularly important, but I'm wondering if I'm the only one who's seen this...

 

Thanks,

Aym

 

[aymr]

No.... I didn't have this problem when I tested it, and I just did another test again. I have had that happen with Moleskine, sometimes when I'd use the Bulletproof black with a really wet nib.

 

Is it the lined paper that you bought? Or the plain... I wonder if there is a difference.

 

Oh, and where did you find them?

 

I bought the lined one from Wet Paint, which is right near me. They didn't have the 6x6 size you got (IIRC); their largest was about 3x4" - sorry - can't figure out where I put my ruler right now.... They did have a wide one that would have worked well as a to-do list if it were bound and lined the other direction; I'm not sure what I'd do with a notebook that was like 6" wide and 1.5" tall. It only had like 3-4 lines in it. Very odd, IMHO. They also had the unlined paper, but I can't write straight without lines and I'm not really one for drawing.

 

The Turquoise did eventually dry, sometime within 24 hours. Wouldn't be practical, though. I'll give it a test with more inks when I get a chance, but that may be a week or so.

 

Wonder if they make bigger notebooks? Nice paper, at least when the ink dries on it

 

Aym

 

 

[biffybeans]

Maybe the long wide skinny one would be cool for writing quotes in it? LOL

 

 

 

No.... I didn't have this problem when I tested it, and I just did another test again. I have had that happen with Moleskine, sometimes when I'd use the Bulletproof black with a really wet nib.

 

Is it the lined paper that you bought? Or the plain... I wonder if there is a difference.

 

Oh, and where did you find them?

 

I bought the lined one from Wet Paint, which is right near me. They didn't have the 6x6 size you got (IIRC); their largest was about 3x4" - sorry - can't figure out where I put my ruler right now.... They did have a wide one that would have worked well as a to-do list if it were bound and lined the other direction; I'm not sure what I'd do with a notebook that was like 6" wide and 1.5" tall. It only had like 3-4 lines in it. Very odd, IMHO. They also had the unlined paper, but I can't write straight without lines and I'm not really one for drawing.

 

The Turquoise did eventually dry, sometime within 24 hours. Wouldn't be practical, though. I'll give it a test with more inks when I get a chance, but that may be a week or so.

 

Wonder if they make bigger notebooks? Nice paper, at least when the ink dries on it

 

Aym