Trends in the Field: Idea Paint

At Field Notes we're full of ideas and love finding new ways to foster creativity. Thanks to Nick for passing on a great way to help us out - Idea Paint.

A really cool looking product for designers and the creative industry, Idea Paint turns any surface into a canvas - a living whiteboard - so your ideas can come out without restraint.

It would defintiely help with the big things for designers - conceptualisation, development and brainstorming. We think it would be a great way to get the big ideas across - your key messages and core activities and also to create a cool working environment.

It's even good for some fun with the kids!

What are your thoughts on Idea Paint? Is it something you would use or do you have another way of thinking big?

Drop us a comment - we'd love to hear it!

The Rhodia Story

Decked out in a distinctive shade of orange, Rhodia bring a level of style, quality, and most importantly, brilliant simplicity to all of their products, from fliptop pads to staple-bound notebooks. Rhodia products hail from France, where the company was started in Lyon in 1932.
Now, the full range of Rhodia product is available in Australia – all at competitive prices. Rhodia products are available for shipping now.History of RhodiaRhodia stationery has been made since the 1920s, originally by the Verilhac Paper Mills. The Rhodia trademark dates back to 1932 and points to the Rhodian origins of the two brothers, Henri and Robert Verilhac, who founded the Verilhac Paper Mills. The sunny Greek island of Rhodes, named for the pink hibiscus and roses that decorate its landscape, is filled with pine forests. Legend has it that the two Rhodia fir trees of the logo symbolise the two founding brothers.

The Rhodia notebook, originally a sideline for Rhodia, was to become its most famous product. The Rhodia pad was considered a professional tool, and so was designed to be easy to use and durable, incorporating details like a fold-around cover, hard coated-board backing, and nice paper. It immediately overshadowed other notebooks of the time because of its quality materials and the innovative design of the scored folding front cover. The famous orange cover dates back to the 1930s – it was a standard hue for cardstock at the time and remains unchanged to this day. Over time, Rhodia has become the most popular pad in France, and in many other parts of the world.Rhodia has been made by Clairefontaine, located in the Vosges region of France, for many years. Clairefontaine was established in 1863 on the site of a 16th century paper mill and is currently the only manufacturer making its own paper for its own products. This guarantees not only consistent product quality, but also controls the environmental impact of the manufacturing process. Clairefontaine only buys pulp from sustainable forests that are certified according to recognised international standards (PEFC, FSC, etc.). These certifications also ensure that endangered wildlife habitat is protected, worker health and safety laws are kept, and the rights of indigenous communities are respected. 
The River Meurthe is the source of water supply for the Vosges mill. The water is so clean when it leaves their facility that local people can fish, swim and boat downstream within sight of the mill. 
All Clairefontaine paper is recyclable and biodegradable.

New York Times article on Moleskine

When talking about the Moleskine notebook, the New York Times Sunday Magazine had this to say: “The core idea. . .is that these are not just journals; they are ‘books without words inside – your own book.’ The Moleskine just looks like a thing that holds interesting, and possibly important, jottings and sketches…the notebook makes a fantastic emblem of creative possibility.”

Look Smart article on Moleskine in New York Times. Image courtesy of New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/26/magazine/26CONSUMED.html

Download your free monthly wallpaper!

Keep your desktop looking fresh each month with our free 2009 Desktop Wallpapers. Each new desktop wallpaper is available for download on the first day of every month. So be sure to check back!

Moleskine City Guide Books

A special guidebook, to buy for your own use or as a gift for your friends and if you buy from NoteMaker choose their gift wrapping service to make it an extra special gift!

Ideal for those who travel, whether to see the sights or for work, as a way of organising your trip and to preserve it for your memory and your records. Perfect for those who live there, as a way of organizing the things they know and need about the city they live in.

Moleskine City Guides for 2009:

USA & Canada- Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington

Asia - Beijing, Hong Kong, Kyoto, Tokyo

Europe - Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Florence, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Prague, Rome, St Petersburg, Stockholm, Torino, Venice, Vienna, Zurich

More guides will be released very soon so sign up for the NoteMaker newsletter to find out when!

Each city guide book features:
The Key Map summarises the overall layout of the city, showing the sequence
and location of the zone maps. Map of the metro system and list of stations.
Up to 36 pages of zone maps, ranging in scale from 1:5,000 to 1:17,000 with large-scale maps of the city center, and an alphabetical street index.
Up to 76 blank pages, giving you all the space you need to write, jot down useful information,
and record your thoughts, stories, and memories.
A personal, 96-page archive, with 12 tabs in two series of 6, so that everything that matters most is at your fingertips. The first 6 tabs are printed; the others are blank so you can personalize them with the enclosed adhesive labels.
32 removable sheets for loose notes and for exchanging messages. 12 translucent sticky sheets, to overlay and re-position, so that you can trace your route as you go.

Cavallini & Co Leather Journals

Made in Italy, these popular journals from Cavallini stand the test of time. They feature an elegant and durable leather cover and fine quality cream lined paper.

Your travel adventures never looked so good!

Measure by the Foundry

Measure by Foundry, is a range of paper products that provide useful household information in a slick graphic, easy to access format. The range includes ‘Produce in Season’ – showing seasonal produce not only here but the Northern hemisphere too (and in both English and Italian), ‘Everyday’ for all those important conversions like kilos to ounces, Celsius to Fahrenheit and centimetres to inches… (and all in 5 languages….!), and ‘Lunar Phases’.

The Measure range also includes a ‘height measurement chart’, and ‘wine booklet’ (very handy to translate those baffling descriptions on the side of wine bottles). The range is the creation of Melbourne graphic designer Jessie Fairweather.

Hot new stationery from O-Check

The stunning range of stationery from O-Check is now available over at our friends at NoteMaker.

O-Check Design Graphics creates stunning and unique paper products. The designers of the product are a husband and wife team who are both graphic artists. Their attention to colour and classic design makes the range truly interesting.

NoteMaker stocks the full collection of O-Check product. The range is ever changing, all products have a simple, functional quality.

Seletti Dinner Maps

Have your next meal in Paris, London, Tokyo or New York! Seletti World Dinner Maps are a set of 50 disposable paper placemats (4 different styles) feature a cross section of each city’s map.

Perfect for dinner parties… these inspired tabletop placemats amuse globe-trotting and city savvy dinner guests.

Italian Dinner Maps also available.

Townmouse

Field Notes loves Townmouse: it is an insiders look at the studio of an online children’s wear label.
And as lovers of all things paper we were very excited to see they use Behance’s Dot Grid Book to help sketch their latest additions to their range of children’s clothing!

New products from Cavallini & Co.

Field Notes are very pleased to see that NoteMaker have just added more of the Cavallini & Co range of stationery to their online shop collection. We especially like the new additions to the decorative wrap collection.

Introducing Moleskine's Soft Cover Notebooks

Moleskine expanded their range last year with new editions to their classic notebooks. You can now choose, soft cover versions of the notebooks (ruled, plain and squared).

These Moleskine classic notebooks are also now available in an extra large size (18.5cm x 25cm).

Check out the range online where you can purchase in single units or value bulk packs.

Bahance featuring the Action Method

Action. Action. Action. Make Ideas Happen.New York based Behance have created a range of notebooks and jotters that help you keep track of your ideas and categorise next steps as “Action,” “Backburner,” and “Reference,” easily identifying next steps for execution. They are simple, low-tech, easy to use and really effective.

The success of any idea ultimately comes down to action. Our method is a discipline for everyday productivity. Designed for those with many ideas and lots of creative energy, the Action Method seeks to simplify project management and life.

For more information about the Action Method, click here

The full range of Behance products are available at NoteMaker.

Wax seals...

Wax seals were used as early as recorded history. They were mentioned in the Old Testament, were used in Ancient Egypt by the Pharaohs, & by European Royalty to authenticate documents & seal envelopes for privacy. Today they are used to capture the charm & elegance in Wedding invitations, letters & gift wrapping.Wax seals make a perfect finishing touch to the NoteMaker collection of Original Crown Mill paper and envelopes, but are so versatile they can be used anywhere. So when NoteMaker found a collection of wax seal direct from Italy, we ordered them straight away!

Moleskine notebooks, journals and 2009 diaries

The team at NoteMaker are pleased to announce that we have expanded our Moleskine range.

• NOTEBOOKS - Reliable, pocket-size travel companions for sketches, thoughts and passing notes.
• CITY NOTEBOOKS - The first guidebook you write yourself.
• 2009 DIARIES - A collection of pocket and desk diaries, available in versions with one day per page or one week on two pages.
• CAHIERS - A journal for all occasions, to keep notes, to fire thoughts. Soft, light, fits in every pocket.

NoteMaker provide the full range at better value prices – with prices starting at just $11.95.

A Book About Me & My School Days

A Book About Me:

A Book About Me aims to provide your child with a record of their time in utero up to age 5. Your child will be fascinated about their history as they grow up, but will value this as essential reading when they are planning or expecting their own children.

My School Days:

Following on from the success of A Book About Me, Milestone Press have produced a book to record memories of the Australian school years. There are spaces for school photos, lists to complete such as my favourite singer, books and my favourite (and least favourite!) subjects.

Catering for Prep/Preschool to Year 12, each level has its own pocket to store certificates, drawings and notes. Guaranteed to record memories to make you laugh and cringe in 20 years time.

Read a review of My School Days in “Shop 4 Kids”.

These two great journals are now available online at NoteMaker.

Moleskine history...

What is Moleskine? ( mol-a-skeen’-a)

MOLESKINE is the legendary notebook that has held the inspirations and ideas of everyone from Van Gogh, Picasso and Hemingway to famed author, Bruce Chatwin. Artists, authors, and geniuses of all variety have long appreciated the simplicity and superior functionality of these notebooks.

Originally these books were produced by small French bookbinders who supplied the Parisian stationery shops frequented by the international avant-garde. However, in 1986, the last manufacturer of Moleskine, a family operation in Tours, closed and Moleskines were gone – but not forgotten. As a result of their previous popularity and demand, they did return. In 1998, a small Milanese publisher brought these books back for writers, artists, travellers and all free-thinkers around the globe.

The sketchbook of Vincent van Gogh (1888–1890) Kept in the Van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam