Moleskine

Although the name may be used as a generic term, the Moleskine (pronounced mol-a-skeen-a, ) is a brand of notebook manufactured by Modo & Modo, an Italian company. The Moleskine is bound in oilcloth-covered cardboard (Moleskin), with an elastic band to hold the notebook closed and a sewn spine that allows it to lie flat when opened.

Moleskine's most famous endorsement comes from Bruce Chatwin, who used similar notebooks constantly throughout his travels, and wrote about them glowingly. Chatwin's original source of notebooks dried up in 1986, when his Paris stationer informed him that the last moleskine manufacturer, a small family-run firm of Tours, had discontinued production in 1986 after the death of the owner. The modern moleskine is fashioned after Chatwin's descriptions of the notebooks he used and is not a direct descendant.

Although Modo & Modo claims the notebook has been used by other well-known artists and writers, such as Picasso, Matisse, and Hemingway, it is not clear that they used the same style of notebook as Chatwin, though there is evidence that they used some kind of "pocket notebook." ^*. One well-known writer who has confirmed using them is Neil Gaiman, who wrote about his love of moleskine notebooks on his blog.

The Moleskine currently enjoys considerable popularity ^*. Users and aficionados of the notebook tend to cite some combination of quality, feature-set, and the mystique promulgated by Modo & Modo's marketing.

Modo e Modo is looking to sell the company or partner with someone to help it expand. According to a news article, the company's small staff is unable to keep up with demand. An entry by Amazon seller Moleskine Books about this sale may have led some to believe that Moleskine quality may suffer as a result of this sale or partnership. There is currently no evidence of this being the case.

Modo & Modo's product line

Modo & Modo sells Moleskine notebooks in many varieties, and frequently introduce new variations on the basic noteboook (such as a storyboard and reporter versions). ^*

Current Products

The "standard" notebooks come in two sizes, pocket 3.5 by 5.5 inches (9×14 cm) and large 5.25 by 8.25 inches (13×21 cm).

Pocket notebooks are available in many varieties: ruled, squared, plain, address book, info book, and music (192 pages each); sketchbook and storyboard (80 pages of heavier paper); Japanese pocket album (60 zig-zag folded pages); and memo pockets (six pockets instead of paper).
Large notebooks are available in ruled, squared, plain, and address book (240 pages); sketchbook, with 100 pages; and memo pockets (six pockets).
Diaries come in large and pocket sizes, as above, and in "diary" and "weekly diary" versions. Weekly Notebooks are also available. These feature a new layout, with the week at a glance on the left and plain notepaper on the right. The 18 month version runs from July to December. They have soft covers (like the Cahier range) and are available in pocket (9×14 cm) and large (13×21 cm) sizes.In addition they have a thinner paper than the traditional notebook to allow the lines from the notepaper to be viewed through the page. They have an inferior back pocket.
Cahier (Fr. for "notebook", pronounced kah-yay, ) notebooks are thinner, and come in sets of three. They are also available in two different colors, black or buff(kraft). They have a thin, flexible cardboard cover and also lack the bookmark and elastic closure present on the other notebooks, and have a visible stitched spine. The three sizes are pocket (64 pages), large (80 pages), and extra large ( 7.5 by 9.75 inches (19×25 cm); 120 pages); each size comes in ruled, squared, or plain varieties.
Reporter notebooks are similar to the standard notebooks, except that they are bound at the top instead of on the side. They come in pocket and large sizes, and in ruled, squared, and plain styles.

Upcoming

In May 2006, Modo & Modo announced the production of the new City Notebooks line of Moleskines.^*

These notebooks will each be based around one major world city, and will serve as a self-written guidebook to that city. The books will be in the 3.5 by 5.5 inches (9×14 cm) size, with 228 pages and three different-colored ribbon placemarkers. They will include an overall map of the city, as well as large-scale maps of areas within the city, and an index of streets. There will be blank pages for notes, as well as removable sheets for exchanging messages and transparent sticky sheets to use as map overlays.

A tabbed section, in addition to six blank tabs, includes tabs and icons for: "Food: Places, legends, recipes", "Drinks: Bars, wineries, stories", "Sleep: Places, dreams, adventures", "People: Names, faces, encounters", "Places: Info, shopping, art", and "Books, movies, music."

These will be released in at least two series:

October 2006: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Prague, Rome, Vienna and Lisbon.

Spring 2007: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C..

Additionally, promotional materials suggest a release of several books based on Asian cities in 2008.

Discontinued

Volant notebooks were like the cahiers, but without the back pocket. They had soft covers. They came in ruled, squared, plain, and address book varieties, and in pocket (64 pages) and large (80 pages) sizes.

Moleskine in popular culture

The famous notebook has appeared in numerous Hollywood scenes in recent times. It's also a favorite tool for many celebrities. These lists are to catalog known appearances of the Moleskine.

Movies

Amélie – The title character, Amélie (played by Audrey Tautou) uses a pocket Moleskine to keep track of a person she is trying to find.
The Rundown – Seann William Scott makes fun of the Rock (Dwayne Johnson) for collecting recipes in his diary.
State and Main – The writer, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, uses a Moleskine to jot down notes.
National Treasure – Nicholas Cage has a Moleskine pictured towards the beginning of the movie, shown while he reads a riddle.
European Gigolo – Deuce goes to meet Antoine for lunch and to get some helpful information. Antoine gives him the "black book" which ends up being a Moleskine pocket address book.
Da Vinci Code – Robert Langdon reads notes from one while reading a speech.
I Heart Huckabees – When Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman are talking to Jude Law and Naomi Watts in their kitchen, Hoffman is holding what appears to be a pocket size Moleskine.

Television

Deal or No Deal – Noel Edmonds usually has a large Moleskine on his desk during the show occasionally with a pen in the strap.
Good Eats – Alton Brown reads recipes on his Food Network cooking show.
Numb3rs – Bones of Contention, episode 23 Scientist uses a grid mini for notes.
"Hustle (TV series)" – Episode 5 Danny Blue poses as a reporter and uses the Reporter Pocket edition throughout the episode.
"The Triangle – Reporter Howard Thomas (Eric Stoltz) uses a pocket Moleskine to conduct interviews throughout the miniseries.

Famous Users & Alleged Users

Bruce Chatwin. Travel writer.
Neil Gaiman. Writer of speculative fiction and graphic novels.
Pablo Picasso. Artist.
Vincent Van Gogh. Artist.
Stéphane Mallarmé. Poet.
Ernest Hemingway Author.
Pete Doherty Poet and Musician.
E. Annie Proulx Author.
Blair Robertson Comedy Hypnotist & Mindreader.
Dave Eggers Author; as indicated in his February 10th, 2005 interview on KCRW's Bookworm, ^*Eggers both uses the notebooks and designed the initial version of his short story collection How We Are Hungry to look like one.

Moleskine-Related Exhibitions

Moleskine-Related Projects

the Wandering Moleskine Project — the original Project, now abandonned.
The Wandering Moleskine Project 2 — the currently ongoing Project (check the page on Moleskinerie.com for informations about the WMP 2)

External links

Official Sites

Where to buy Moleskines

Simply Moleskine
Moleskine Books — in german

Unofficial Sites for Moleskine-related news, hacks and mods

Moleskinerie — A Moleskine blog
Moleschino — Another Moleskine related Turkish blog with intellectual orientation
The Ivory Tree — A handy Moleskine mod.
MoleskineArt — Each Moleskine has a story to tell

Unofficial Moleskine-based Galleries and Blogs

My Moleskine — a gallery/blog by italian artist Fabio Iaschi
Le Moleskine à Beleg — an online Moleskine sketchblog by Joachim (mostly in English)
So6 Weblog - A french Moleskine Blog
Aisha's Painted Blog — A blog inspired by Beleg, with online Moleskine sketchbook (in English)
onionboy — An illustrated journal (mostly in Moleskine with other art)

About moleskine

Stationery

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