I found a magical package on my door step this week, filled with the sweet Moomin stationery in celebration of The Summer of Moomin, an event at the New York Botanical Gardens. This summer, NYBG has filled their gardens with the creatures of Moominland and of course produced an array of goods to celebrate the event.
If you’re not familiar with Moomin, they are the characters from Moominland created by Tove Jansson. The stories were first published in the 1950s and continued into the 1970s as novels, comic strips, animated series and so much more. Considered a national treasure in Finland, Moominland and all the books continue to delight nature-lovers of all ages.
Its an unusual collaboration for Esterbrook as the collection does not include any pens, just notebooks and stationery goods.
The products available in this collection are:
- Moomin A6 Journal and Tote Set ($24.95)
- Moomin 3-Notebook Set (Large) ($14.95)
- Moomin Sticky Notes ($4.95)
- Moomin 3-Notebook Set (Small) ($9.95)
- Moomin Memo Pad ($4.95)
- Moomin Nib Bookmark ($15.95) (could not find a link)
As adorable as I think Moomin are, I of course want to know how well the notebooks and stationery perform. So, let’s get started.
A6 Journal and Tote Bag Set
I’m going to go ahead and give away the big reveal, the Moomin A6 Journal and Tote Set is my favorite in this whole collection. At first, I was a little skeptical about the tote bag. Its a canvas-style tote with just one strap and an orange grosgrain ribbon but I put everything from the collection in the bag and it all fit. The tote is a fine option for that “home purse/analog tote” for moving your journal and pens back and forth from your desk to the couch to the coffeeshop.
I wish the ribbon had been sealed or cut at an angle to prevent fraying and I’d also have loved for the tote to be a wide, short bag rather than the tall, vertical design but it works and the A5 notebooks fits so I appreciate the desire to do something different but a Moomin mini Trader Joe’s tote would be epic.
Okay, on to the A6 journal…
The A6 Journal features a soft, matte vinyl cover with graphics screen printed onto the cover.
When the cover is removed the journal has a simple, linen textured PU material cover with two grosgrain ribbon bookmarks and a light 5mm grid inside.
The only branding without the clear cover is a small mark for NYBG x Moomin and Esterbrook on the inside front page. So, if you like the A6 journal, you can use the notebook in an another cover or without the cover altogether. And if you love Moomin, you can reuse the cover on another A6 notebook.
I couldn’t find any info on the page count so I manually counted them. It appears to be about 216 pages in the A6 Journal. You’re welcome.
So, now for the big reveal:
Esterbrook claimed the paper was fountain pen friendly and guess what? It is! The paper is a warm white and relatively smooth. I’d compare it to the texture on Midori MD, smooth but not slippery. I like the paper.
I normally find A6 to be too small for me but this A6 Journal feels good in the hand, has nice paper and a good amount of pages.
The website lists the A6 Journal is a “refillable” notebook so I am hoping that Esterbrook will offer the refills soon.
Moomin 3-Notebook Set (Large)
The next item on the list is the Moomin 3-Notebook Set (Large) ($14.95). There are three, 48-page cahier notebooks. These are 6mm lined with a green dotted line. The covers are light cardstock.
The books are cute and reasonably priced — a 3-pack of Field Notes which are much smaller are the same price. So, how doe the paper perform?
I had no feathering on this paper but there was a little more showthrough than on the A6 journal. So I don’t think its the same paper. But overall, for a cahier, its not too bad. But I know lots of folks aren’t going to love that its only available in lined paper.
I think I might use these for a holiday travelogue. Or for specific work projects. I can always find a use for an A5 notebook.
Moomin 3-Notebook Set (Small)
The Moomin 3-Notebook Set (Small) ($9.95) is a B7-sized, 48-page set of three cahiers. I expected it to be the same as the A5 version and for the most part it is. These mini notebooks don’t fit in my Field Notes covers or my passport-sized Traveler’s Notebook so I am not sure how I will use this but I like the size.
The small notebooks use similar paper with narrower 5mm lines but in the same dotted green style as the A5-sized notebooks.
In writing tests, none of my inks feathered or spread on the front of the page. It’s really not bad for a small notebook like this.
On the back of the page, there was more showthrough for sure. But again, the paper is better for fountain pens than most Field Notes notebooks that are more expensive.
Moomin Memo Pad
The Moomin Memo Pad ($4.95) is a cute little gift with lined pages and a 100 sheet block. But what surprised me, the note sheets are sticky notes!
At the bottom of each page is a Moomin which is covered in the packaging so it was also a surprise when I unwrapped it. The lines are 5mm apart and light purple. I might actually prefer the purple lines to the green dotted lines in the 3-notebook sets but neither are too bothersome.
This paper is fountain pen friendly — relatively speaking. There’s a little showthrough on the back but who writes on the back of a sticky note? So, I don’t think the slight showthrough on the back is a big deal. I’m just excited to have fountain pen friendly sticky notes! And the Moomin are cute! I would have preferred not having the huge branding bar at the top but I’ll live.
Moomin Sticky Notes
I suspect that this set of Moomin (shaped) Sticky Notes ($4.95) are going to the be bestsellers at the NYBG gift shop. They are inexpensive, cute and unusual. But for the rest of the stationery community? They are cute but I think you need to be a bit of a diehard Moomin fan to want these sticky notes.
These are diecut into the shape of Moomin and include 30 sheets in the pad.
The paper is probably the same as the Memo Pad since my fountain pen tests had very similar results.
There was slight showthrough onto the back of the paper but not terrible. So, while I think these are super cute, I am not sure how often I will use them. There’s not a ton of space to write so these would probably be best as a quick “love you!” note stuck to your kid’s lunch or added to the inside of a birthday card as a little extra.
Moomin Nib Bookmark
The last item in the collection in the Moomin Nib Bookmark $15.95. This is a large nib-shaped bookmark etched with the Moomin character. It is made of brass and can be used like a book clip to hold pages down due to the weight of the brass material.
The issue that I have with this bookmark is it feels too heavy to be used as an actual bookmark but I’m also not sure how usable it is as a clip to keep pages flat or open because of the size. The nib is almost 4 inches in length (10cm) x 2.75″ wide (6.8cm). For most of the journals and notebooks in this collection, its too large to be really usable.
Is it cute? Yes, sure. I like it. But I’m not sure how much use I’ll get out of it and the size may be why you are not seeing this item on the Esterbrook web site or any of your favorite pen shop sites. It may not have made it into final production.
Final Impressions
I was least inclined to like the A6 Journal Set but it ended up being my favorite out of the collection. I was also surprised by the Memo Pad which I was unsure would be of interest. In the end, I like products that both look good and work and the A6 Journal and the Memo Pad do that for me.
I think the notebook sets and the Moomin shaped Sticky Notes are good quality for reasonably-priced gift products. To be honest they are just reasonably priced for products in this category. If you like Moomin, there’s no reason not to buy and use these stationery items.
The clip is the most “Hmm?” of the products as it doesn’t seem to align with the rest of the collection nor can I find it available on the website. I know Esterbrook has used this nib-shaped clip design in the past so it may have just seemed like a good way to fill out the collection but Moomin-shaped paper clips, a Traveler’s-sized book clip or washi tape would have been better options, IMHO.
Which of these products do you like or would you try?
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Esterbrook for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Hmmmm, I like the looks of those notebooks – definitely thinking about ordering some; it’s so nice to see good tests of various pens like this when it’s a new/limited run product. Thank you!