Printed moleskine extravaganza!
by phill
After finding out that so many people love their moleskines after last post, and after Todd alerted me to the growing art of moleskine cover printing, I decided to go and find some of the cooler examples of moleskines being printed upon. I pretty much found myself all wound up at Etsy where quite a few people have taken on the idea of printing on moleskines:
Note: If you hover over the pictures you’ll find the etsy username that each is getting sold under. Go support independant artists!
Of course, if you want your moleskines to have some seriously incredible stuff being done to them, and you’re prepared to go top dollar, then you’ll want to go to the site that Todd favours, Modofly. The prices are pretty steep, but for a piece of art that functions as an outlet for creativity, I guess you can’t go past them.
A few other less mass produced ones can be seen at the Plaid Blog (ignore the post, they did get it printed in the end), the Kirin Notebook Blog, and the Moleskinerie Blog (where you’ll find all sorts of other moleskine news as well!).
So that’s just a taste of what can happen on the outside of moleskines, when I get another few hours spare I’m going to try and find the best examples of what can happen on the inside of moleskines. Look out for it!
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Comments
I’m actually an old Modofly customer. I in fact used the “Train” picture on my journal if you look carefully ;)
Airship Captain ftw!
Ah yeap, I see it now (: Seriously awesome designs there, so envious of people that can come up with images like that.
I saw work like this coming out of the department I studied. Not necessarily Moleskin books (they weren’t as popular or available then as now), but altered books, artists’ books, hand-bound books with printing and such. Book arts are a standard and substantial part of printmaking tradition and curricula.
But if you’re willing to shell out money for a modified book, you’re supporting a craftsperson or artist, and that’s always good.
Heh, I should’ve guessed it had been around for a lot longer than what I’ve just seen in moleskines. It’s pretty awesome what some people can do with a few pieces of paper, some thread, a bit of glue, and a will to be creative. Unfortunately, being a student, I don’t have the kind of dosh to fork over for a premade one. However, I picked up a few tutorials (in particular this really comprehensive one here) on the art of book binding and I’ll be scheduling myself a day off sometime to have a go. I mean, how cool would it be to make your own notebook then write in it?
You could also look into non-adhesive bookbinding, which would further cuts costs and is usually easier for beginners to learn. Japanese soft cover bindings are often quite beautiful, and you don’t have to clamp them or wait for the glue to dry. There are even methods that involve taking a huge sheet of paper and strategically folding and cutting to create the book.
(The link could very well cover this stuff, but I’m afraid it isn’t working.)
Ah, okay. It’s a pretty massive link, and there is a bit of gluing and clamping involved. That process I was planning on using for a present to a family member, so I would be practising a lot before the final process.
Thanks for the tips, you’re really knowledgable about this stuff (: Oh, and as an aside, I’m sorry I don’t comment on your blog so much. I do try to find something intelligent to say about your movies and books, but the simple fact is that I haven’t seen them or read them, which makes it difficult to do so :/ I’ll keep reading though, and trying!
I’m thinking of a beautiful merging of that tutorial, and a certain tutorial for brass etching…
All I really need now is the ability to draw the design on the front and I’m set.
You think if I’m good, Santa will bring me that tree moleskiiiiiineliciousness?
There are some seriously beautiful Moleskine “mods” to be made. I love the art drawn on the front of Moleskine Kraft Cahiers but also love the Modofly conversions. Great article and pictures – thanks!