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North of Rosemont: Canadian-made notebooks

over 6 years ago from , Director, Digital Strategy & UX

It's been a while since I last posted, but I've been quietly working on a side project that I'm in the process of launching now.

North of Rosemont is a new series of Canadian-made, premium notebooks that I've been working on for the past year. We're launching production in September if all goes smoothly.

I know it's crazy to get into the paper game in this day and age, but it looks like there's a fringe market - like us, nerding on fountain pens, microns, and all the good stationery stuff that we use day to day when designing.

I'd love to know what you guys think.

Our landing page doesn't have enough imagery right now (working on it), but we've got some process pics up over on Facebook.

8 comments

  • Thomas Lowry, over 6 years ago

    Makes me want to take a trip to Montreal just to visit Nota Bene!

    Would be cool to see what you plan to do on the inside. Just blank pages? Me personally...I probably wouldn't buy a saddle stitched notebook when Muji sells nice affordable that are sewn.

    2 points
    • Adam MichielsAdam Michiels, over 6 years ago

      Yeah! I love the people and product at Nota Bene (actually, they've been a huge help and are lending a hand with the testing etc).

      We're eventually going to have inside options (blank, lined, dot, etc.)., but we're planning on launching just with blank and dot grid.

      And yes, I agree, Muji's got great value. We're focusing on a pretty slick paper choice which isn't going to give us an easy time with margins, but it's going to be worth it. Yeah it's saddle stitched, but the paper is tops.

      Thanks for the note!

      0 points
  • Justin MaJustin Ma, over 6 years ago

    Love seeing new entries into the paper game. One question other than wanting to see the inside/paper quality... does it add value to print Utility Notebook and 48 pages on the cover?

    1 point
    • Adam MichielsAdam Michiels, over 6 years ago

      Hey Justin, that's a great question.

      We went back and forth, trying to include only the bare minimum needed, but we ended up including it. For us, it didn't add much value at this point in time, but we're trying to see deep enough to imagine how the line will get extended, how this version might live among other product offerings.

      We don't yet know what other products will be added (we have an idea), but if it's larger workbooks, variety of paper types, or varied page counts, we wanted to at least include a place to note product details.

      And to your point about inside, quality, etc., we're moving pretty quick so we'll be sending updates about all that stuff. The site will be revised pretty quick too for pre-orders/orders which will need a whole different approach, product details, etc.

      1 point
  • Alexandrine AllardAlexandrine Allard, over 6 years ago

    Made in Montreal ! NICE ! Will follow this product around and share the news :) Congrats and can't wait. Cheers!

    1 point
  • Stefanie Viens, over 6 years ago

    Awesome! Always nice to see other Montrealers on here. I signed up for notifications. Looking forward to the launch :)

    1 point
    • Adam MichielsAdam Michiels, over 6 years ago

      Thanks Stefanie! If you're familiar with Alexandraplatz we're trying to be there live at the block party on the 26th. Just FYI.

      1 point