Look, I’m not going to say that I have all the answers here, people, but if there’s one thing I know how to spot, it’s a good notebook. While taxes may send me into a tailspin and I enter a fugue state any time that I’m forced to load the dishwasher, I can confidently say that if you want your notes written down and you want to carry around something that’s aesthetically pleasing…well, I’ll humbly say that I’m your guy for the right answer.
Partially, my knowledge of notebooks is collateral damage because of my job – it doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or even someone who knows how to load a dishwasher) to see a job in pens has given me a deep understanding for what one writes with as much as what one writes on. To this effect, I have a general knowledge of the pros and cons of legal pads versus Moleskines, washi tape versus Scotch. But that stuff can be found fairly easily – Reddit, for better or worse, is a gold mine of information on stationery.
But the other reason I find myself knowing about stationery is, quite simply, it’s a passion of mine. While some may find something akin to passion in their marriage or by binge watching Heated Rivalry, I’m much more likely to get butterflies ripping the cellophane off a new notebook versus ripping – you get the picture.
This is all to say that, when I tell you Plotter makes some of the most beautiful notebook covers out there, you need to believe me. And when I tell you that pricetag flirting somewhere around $200 is worth it, you need to believe me there, too.
The reason for this is, of course, aesthetics. My search for the right notebook cover came about because I found most other options, to be frank, a bit bulky and a bit ugly for daily use. Notebook covers hover somewhere between utilitarian and too designed (often with silly graphics or logos messing with the overall aesthetic – another comparison can be made here with watches, but that’s for another time). But when I first saw Plotter, I could see a difference in construction due, in part, to its use of leather and antiqued gold to feel at once both vintage and modern.
For those unfamiliar, the difference between a notebook cover versus a regular notebook is that a cover is refillable – either by replacing a blank notebook, or replacing sheets secured by rings (think of your trapper keeper in school). Plotter utilizes the latter, with six miniature rings that keep bulk to a minimum, and balance against the gold backplate and soft leather. Everything works in dialogue with one another and the design features limit excess clutter – an easy trap to fall into for writers and journalers, I assure you.
Instead, what you have is a slimmed-down daily companion that keeps you organized, offering with it the opportunity to keep things concise, but always able to refill, reorganize, and reconstruct to better suit your day-to-day. For instance, in my personal set-up (I use a bible-sized version, but more on this later), I keep a calendar in the front, a small set of blank sheets in the middle, and a plastic little pouch in the end (which is usually carrying a ticket stub, or a euro coin from a past trip, because I am a bit insufferable and pretentious). While this is supplemented by my regular set of notebooks, overflowing inbox, and various Slack channels – at least, in the moment, I have a bit of peace in seeing a simple little notebook with just the essentials scribbled inside: dental appointments, grocery lists, and the occasional slip of paper from a fortune cookie that resonated with me (see? insufferable!).
In terms of offerings, Plotter has an array of sizes to offer. As mentioned, the bible size (4.5” x 7”) is perfect for me, just big enough to slip into a coat or front pocket in my tote. If that’s a bit too small, there is a standard A5 version (which I’ve used to map out a few short stories, before I dramatically ripped the pages out and stuffed them into a trashcan in a fit of creative despair). Smaller options, which tend to be more popular, are also available, including: narrow (3.9” x 7”), mini (3.9” x 5.5”) and mini 5 (3.1” x 4.7”). Each of these also come in a variety of leathers and color options (though I am quite partial to the shrink leather in black, as you can tell.
Perhaps best of all, in all my adoration for the beauty of Plotter, is within its functional insert options, too. My set-up is fairly no-muss-no-fuss, but, depending on your needs, there are a range of accessories available to you. Consider, for a second, a project planner, or a ruler insert, a leather pen holder, or an elastic band that keeps everything closed. To-do list, dot grids, drawing paper, and charting sheets are also available. And, what’s more, there is a cottage industry on Etsy which may be able to get you even deeper down the rabbit hole (or you can use some Filofax inserts in a pinch, but you didn’t hear it from me!).
While the phrase is definitely a victim to semantic satiation, the old cliche of mixing form and function seems to best fit Plotter’s ability to produce a notebook that is incredibly aesthetic without losing any of its practicality. And while the investment may seem extravagant, may I present to you another equally cliched phrase: you only live once. And so, you might as well have a nice notebook cover to tote around, don’t you think? Plotter
Brett Braley-Palko
2026-03-09 19:00:00