Personalised Stationery Notebook

Personalised Stationery is a UK-based company that, although fairly young, has already firmly established itself in the UK stationery world. I was sent a notebook to try by an United Inkdom colleague. I promptly spilled coffee over it. I’d used it enough to know I wanted to find out more and so bought myself a couple more. So far, these are coffee-free.

Size: A5 (A6 also available)
Price: £5.95
Pages: 48 smooth white (fountain pen version); 52 uncoated white (standard version)
Cover: 350gsm card (fountain pen); 300gsm (standard); in a variety of designs
Paper: 120gsm (fountain pen); 85gsm (standard); white
Ruling: plain, dot grid, lined, ruled grid, Seyes ruled
Binding: saddle stitch (staples)

I’ve just got to the end of my Operation Neptune A5 notebook, having used it for journaling from cover to cover. Operation Neptune was the code name for the D-Day landing operations in 1944.

A quick aside: I live in a Georgian townhouse in Weymouth and during World War 2 US Rangers were garrisoned in the house while preparing for the landings, leaving here to land on Omaha Beach in June 1944. I can’t help but think about what was going through their minds as they left what’s now my home. It’s quite likely that for many of them this was their last home.

All of which makes talking about a notebook seem like the very trivial matter it actually is. However, that’s why we’re here, so that’s what I’ll do and, what’s more, we all need to escape from the worries of the world sometimes. For me, pens, pencils and paper help me do that.

There are two versions of the A5 notebook: fountain pen focused and standard. I’ve been using a standard version but nevertheless it’s been good with fountain pens. There’s no show-through or bleeding and only the gushiest of pens with the wettest inks have shown any signs of feathering. The notebook I coffeefied was a fountain pen focused version and I can confirm it’s even nicer: the smooth white paper brings out the colour of your inks and it’s even less prone to feathering.

The notebooks are saddle stitch bound, which just means stapled, which is absolutely fine. The staples are strong and as the notebooks are slim they lay flat from cover to cover.

I’m one of those people who enjoys starting and finishing something more than the bit in between so slim notebooks really suit me. If you’re like me, or if you find it intimidating to start a big notebook, these could be the perfect size for you.

The Personalised Stationery range is increasing all the time. The notebooks are handmade to a high quality and the company is open to exploring new ideas. The notebooks I’ve tried I’ve enjoyed very much and, if I ever use up all the notebooks I already have, I think these are the notebooks I’ll be buying again.

Pros

Good range of cover designs
High quality paper
Well made

Cons

None