Baron Fig Kickstarter 'confidant 1' Books

[Weavercat]

Let us start with a little bit of a look-see at this idea of a sketchbook/notebook 'Made for Creatives'. Baron Fig wants a book that isn't expensive like a Moleskine and has more useable space (don't you just hate losing the image where the page bends?), and just... is a book for ideas.

 

So, there was a Kickstarter and their goal of $15K was met and exceeded and by the end of their fundraising, they had $168k+. That's a big deal. Anyway, as an incentive to donate more they had various goal levels and one level was to get a one (1) Baron Fig Confidant book in either:

• Blank (I have this)
• Dotted (kinda wish I'd chosen this too)
• Grid

 

After 3 months of waiting, my sketchbook/notebook arrived and wow. It's cute. It came in a pretty box with a nice little letter about how the designs are not set in stone and stuff.

 

What I like:

• The cloth cover. Oh my gosh it’s not much but it’s so much less slippery to handle.
• The size, it’s roughly 5 1/2” x 8 3/4” and it’s small but it is good. They’re like chunky little sketchbooks.
• Spine actually does lay flat but mine creaked… ominously.
• Number of pages and signatures. 12 signatures of pages. WOW! In this little book, wow!
• Off-white paper. It’s not day-glow white and it’ll look nice with rich browns I think.

What I’m not keen on (yet):

• The punch-holes for holding the signatures together. Aesthetically, eh… but I’m getting used to it.

First impressions of paper:

• It looks thin and I’m not sure how it will hold up to ink.

What it looks like (the cover is a soft grey):

 

More in the post below this.

 

[Edit: I forgot about that form! Oops. Anyway, as this was a spurn of the moment thing for art/sketching and the lack of information on the actual paper-used... we'll just ignore that Paper Review form for the moment.]

Edited February 13, 2014 by Weavercat

[Weavercat]

Here is the actual test of the pages.

 

 

So, what have I learned?

• Small nibs do catch at times on the paper-surface.

Pros: Takes to most inks and pencils well.

Cons: Does not do well with pigment-based or alcohol-carried inks. Both Sharpies and Copics bled through and I can suspect that Prismacolors or that other brand would do so as well. Heavy pencils are troublesome and smudge a lot. I would buy a workable fixative to prevent smudges.

So, I’ll be sticking to ball-points, my micron-like pens, the Aquash brush, my acrylic-inks, and my red dye-based ink when using this. I'm actually quite excited to start using it and report to Baron Fig my findings on their paper which, I am not very-pleased with but oh well. I'll annoy them until they use a different paper. Preferably hot-pressed and a little thicker.

[msolok]

Thanks for the review. I have been interested in how those notebooks would turn out. I have a concern,from your image, that it won't last long before pages pull out or the binding comes undone. I could be wrong, but the binding in your picture is looking a bit iffy already.

Edited February 13, 2014 by msolok

[timjthomas]

Thanks for the pic. Can you post the back side of the pages to show "bleed through / ghosting?"

[Weavercat]

@msolok: Well, so okay. I've done a little book-binding for classes (Fine Art Major) and while the signature punch-holes are unsightly.. I've sort of figured out that they are so close to the edge so that the book lays flat when opened. I mean, it's a basic saddle-stitch which is what is usually used for putting together signatures and then gluing them to the spine so... it's not bad. It just doesn't look as nice as it could.

 

@TimjThomas: I will try and do that today. It's really not much, but the bleed through on the alcohol-markers is annoying.

[Weavercat]

I would post the back of it today but... my hands are covered in ink. And not of the water-based kind. Printmaking oil-based ink. So, I need clean hands.

[timjthomas]

No problem -- can't wait to see it

[kjm]

Nice review. I received mine yesterday afternoon and have written 5 pages with my Waterman Carene (extra fine nib) inked with Noodler's X- Feather. I would agree that the pen and ink do not represent a significant challenge for most papers but, there has been no feathering and no bleed through at all. I very much like the cover and yellow ribbon bookmark. The one criticism that I have heard about the Baron Fig notebook is the lack of a band to hold the notebook closed and I totally agree with this criticism. I am using a band that I purchased from Levenger some time ago in order to keep the book closed. For me this is not a dealbreaker and I would still purchase the notebook. Hopefully, the makers of the notebook will take this into account in a second offering.

 

I hope this was helpful......

[EmissaryBF]

I realize we are a bit late to the game here but thank you so much for the comments and feedback.

 

My name is James and I am head of Business Development at Baron Fig and we appreciate any and all comments.

I thought you might find of interest the Squire. Our first attempt at making a pen (I know. It's not a Fountain Pen. One step at a time! )

 

Thanks!

[trun4rth]

I definitely love my Baron Fig Confidant - the only downside is the yellow ribbon bookmark, which unraveled on day one - had to be removed.

 

I use mine for ink journaling - and it's fantastic for that. I drop samples onto the cover for a really interesting experience. Especially with the shimmertastic inks, which leaves the sparklepony bits at the drop site while the ink expands out from that.

http://i66.tinypic.com/nf445x.jpg

[sidthecat]

I'm loving the paper - no bleed-through and just enough tooth. Even with my wet ink the feathering is minimal.

It's one of the best notebooks I've used. I hope they'll make a bigger one.