Archer & Olive Beneath the Willows Notebook Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

Whenever I bring up the subject of pretty notebooks, whether it's with fellow Pen Addicts or with the normies, people often say the same thing: "It's too pretty to use" or "I'd be afraid to use it and ruin it." This always makes me sad, because a used notebook is a beautiful thing. The patina of creation they develop as they are written in only increases their beauty! Oftentimes, I'll give people the advice that Leigh Reyes gave us once at the Chicago Pen Show--ruin it first. Spill ink on the first page. There! Ruined! Now you can write whatever you want in it. Some folks run with that fantastic advice, but some still shy away from the idea of putting any blemish on a fine notebook. Happily, I've never had such inhibitions, and while I will save special notebooks for special projects, I'm always happy to ruin a pretty journal. I cannot wait to ruin this one.

Archer & Olive are apparently setting a trap for my wallet, baited with some of the most lovely notebooks I've ever seen. This Gentle Breeze journal is part of their Beneath the Willows Spring 2025 series. It comes in a drawer-and-slipcase storage box that is designed like a beautiful vintage book. Inside, wrapped in tissue paper, is the journal. The Gentle Breeze notebook comes in B5, A5, B6, 8X8", pocket, and TN sizes. This is the TN size, tall and narrow like a Traveler's Notebook. All have this olive-gold cotton fabric hardcover with the gold foil stamped design on the front, depicting reeds and cattails in shallow water. There are several other designs and colors available as well.

This TN size has 144 pages of 160gsm dot-grid paper. It has a folder pocket inside the back cover for holding loose bits of paper. It closes with an elastic band that is the same ochre color as the cover. There are two satin ribbon bookmarks. And there is a black elastic pen loop attached to the edge. The pen loop is the only element of the design that I don't care for. The black stands out a bit garishly, and while the loop keeps your pen handy, there's nothing protective about it. It's fine if you're just putting a Pilot G2 in there, but who uses a plain pen on such a fancy notebook? (No hate to the G2, she knows I love her.)

There is no need to stick to plain pens with this paper. Yes, 160gsm. I have notebooks with covers that are thinner than that. This is some heavy duty paper, and I did not have any bleeding or show-through with it, no matter what I was writing with. Even my broadest, wettest fountain pen did fine, and you couldn't see any trace of it from the other side of the page. Personally, I don't mind a bit of ghosting, and I'd rather have a million thin pages than a few thick ones, but this paper does feel quite luxurious.

Apparently Archer & Olive have quite a fan base and their products are super popular among the planner, journaling, and scrapbooking crowds. Aesthetically I totally get it, and the thick paper is perfect for those uses. The spine does require a bit of training before it will lie flat, but it does eventually do it.

Most importantly, it passes the hand test. When I hold it in my hands, it makes me want to write. The downside is, 144 pages fill up fast, even when you can use both sides. And these are on the pricier side, so I can't stockpile them the way I could with Midori or Kokuyo. This TN style sells for $31, with some styles costing as much as $39. I don't think it's unreasonable--these are fancy! It feels worth the price. But I'm less likely to spend that much on a notebook that won't last me as long. That being said, I hear they do Halloween editions, in which case, forget what I just said.

(Brad bought this notebook from Lighthouse Paper Co. at the 2025 Atlanta Pen Show.)

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Kleid x Maruman Mnemosyne B6 Memo Pad Review

I love a good stationery collaboration, and given my long-standing love of Maruman paper, I was excited to see what Kleid could bring to the table in their recent collaboration series.

The Kleid x Maruman Mnemosyne notebook series features several different sizes and shapes, ranging from the large A4 Landscape edition, all the way down to the pocketable Modified B7 design. My selection was one off from the smallest with the B6 Top-Bound Memo Pad - a perfect desk companion.

What else does this Kleid series of Mauruman notebooks feature over the standard Maruman lineup? An Olive cover, 2 mm grid spacing, and a several dollar premium for the privilege of using those first two features. This is the price we often pay for collaborations. Depending on your needs and likes, the product could be perfect and worth the extra few bucks, or none of it could be additive to your experience and the classic stock version is the best version.

Performance wise, this notebook meets my already high Maruman expectations. The paper is some of the best for all types of pens and inks, handling most everything I threw at it well. The only outlier was Waterman Radiant Pink, which is an older ink I often have problems with. It seems to be overly watery, which will go through many different types of paper, this one included. Otherwise, everything else was as expected. Heavy rollerball ink, like in the Schmidt P8127 did ghost, and of course the Sharpie flew right through the page.

If there is any downside to the paper it is that there isn’t much tooth for graphite to grab on too. If you like a more tactile pencil feel, Maruman paper would not be my choice.

Aside from my enjoyment of the paper on the inside, Maruman constructs some of the world’s best wire-bound notebooks. They charge a premium for even the standard models, but you get a premium experience. The wire binding is strong and durable, the covers are sturdy while having some flex, the perf is clean, and overall these notebooks are perfectly executed. While mostly known for this style, they have recently begun making hardbound journals, if that is more to your liking.

0.5 mm pencil, left, staying within the 2 mm. 0.5 mm uniball Zento using 4 mm grid spacing.

Outside of the price, I think the 2 mm grid is the biggest hangup with the Kleid collaboration. That’s Kleid’s thing, and it isn’t for everyone. It’s not even for me most of the time, as I prefer a 4 mm to 5 mm grid spacing. The tiny grid causes me to lose my place more, which in turn makes me have to think about the lines more. I don’t want to think, just write. Larger handwriting works better, using two or three lines at a time, for a more traditional 4 mm or 6 mm spacing.

LAMY Safari EF, LAMY Safari Blue ink, trying to stay on 6 mm spacing. There were a few failures.

In the end, as beautiful as I find the Kleid x Maruman Mnemosyne notebook series to be, I don’t think they are worth the premium. The B6 model I’m using is $10, and a standard lined B6 is $8.20 at JetPens. While most of these formats aren’t a 1:1 match, something like the more traditional Maruman Mnemosyne A5 Dot Grid is only $11.25, which is a far better bang for your buck versus the A5 Kleid collaboration, which runs $16.

Unless you are an Olive superfan (I know you are out there,) have to have 2 mm grid spacing, or are a Japanese stationery junkie (raises hand,) I’d stick with the standards when it comes to the Maruman Mnemosyne.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Life Stationery Stenographers' Notebook Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The stenographers' pad or steno book has long been a favorite of mine. It's a ubiquitous format that you can find in almost any store in the US that sells any sort of stationery or office supplies. Quality varies greatly, and most of these notebooks use cheap, thin paper that is unpleasant to use. But there a few brands that provide an excellent steno book, and I love them for it. A new option that quickly skyrocketed to the top of my "great steno books" list is the Life Stationery Stenographers' Notebook.

The Life Stationery take on the steno book is similar to all the other variants, but it excels in the area of paper quality. Most steno books are sized roughly in the realm of 8x6 inches, and the Life version sticks to the tried-and-true A5 spec at 8.2" x 5.8". According to Wikipedia, Gregg ruling is normally found in North America, and it is described as such: "Paper should be smooth and lined, dull in finish, with three lines to the inch and a line down the center." Life's version of the steno book stays true to this definition, with wide line ruling and a line down the middle of the page. The ruling and center line are repeated on both sides of the page.

Steno books normally aren't very thick, and this variant is no different. With just 50 pages, it won't last long unless you're using both sides of the pages. With cheap steno books, I've only used the front side of the page for convenience (going to the next page is a simple page turn away, as opposed to turning the page and flipping the notebook around), but I'll be using both sides of the pages in this steno book for two reasons: it isn't exactly cheap, and the paper can actually handle writing on both sides.

It feels a little odd to use a steno book that has such nice paper since these types of books usually resort to pretty cheap paper that you use and throw away. With Life's notebook, the paper is really good. It's thick, smooth, and you can hardly see any show-through on the back side of the page. It's so good — just like the paper in their other notebooks. Using the back side of the page is easy in this case. It feels smooth when writing, but isn't slippery. All the inks and pen combos I've tried have done remarkably well. I can't see any feathering or bleeding anywhere. The only ink that I've found to somewhat show through to the back side of the page is the Schmidt P812x rollerball ink, and even then it's minimal. In short, the paper is phenomenal.

When it comes to ruling, I'm a fan of dot grid, then grid, then either lined (narrow or college rule) or blank depending on my mood or what I'm using the paper for. Wide rule is one of my least favorite rulings, but I don't mind it in this case because it's part of the specification for a stenographer notebook. Something about the line going down the middle of the page makes a little easier for me to use. I don't feel bad splitting my notes or scribbles into two sections across the page. It doesn't really make sense, but it's how my brain works in this case.

I didn't realize this at the time, but Life also offers a grid ruling version of their Stenographers' Notebook. Where the Gregg Ruled version has a green cover, the grid version has a beige cover and also costs $2 more.

The green cover on the notebook I have is a very close shade to light brown in the right light, but does a great job of looking retro and clean. It's thick enough to provide plenty of protection for the paper inside, and is thicker than most steno books. The back cover is completely blank, a lighter color, and equal in thickness and rigidity. The top-bound spiral ring is robust and just the right size for easy page turning. The wire is coated in a nice off-white finish that goes well with the cream paper and green/brown covers. Aside from the front, there is zero markings on the inside front and back covers. The corners are square, and I've noticed that the beginning and ending pages have already started curling a little bit from use. Not a big deal, but something that could easily be avoided by rounding off the corners.

For me, the steno book is equal parts utilitarian and nostalgic. It's fun to see a product from Life that nails both of these traits while also delivering a vastly superior product. Sure, you pay for that quality, but it's amazing. The Gregg ruled version of this notebook is $13, while the grid ruled version is $15. Not the cheapest options, but I'd argue it's correct pricing due to the quality of the materials used. If you just want a cheap steno book that you can use as a scratchpad, this isn't the product for you. But, if you like the aesthetic and form factor of a top-bound A5 notebook with creamy, excellent paper, and retro-branded covers, then this is a great notebook for the money.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!