Analogue delights: Bellroy Notebook Cover

One of the nicest gifts I received this Christmas was the gorgeous notebook cover and pen from Bellroy.

It’s perfectly designed in every way and just another excellent product from one of my favourite companies. I have several Bellroy products, including a wallet, key holder, portfolio and a rake of bags. Each one made to the highest standard and with some really thoughtful touches.

The notebook cover and pen is no exception. The leather is firm but supple and feels perfect in the hand. It’s designed to fit 5.5 x 3.5 inch notebooks, which is a very standard size – so you’re not obliged to buy refills from Bellroy. It’ll take notebooks from a range of companies include Field Notes and Moleskine. I have a couple of the latter right now and can report they work beautifully with it.

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It’s also the perfect size for a passport and you could fit both a passport and a notebook, as well as a pen and your frequent flyer cards. The slots for notebook and passport are very snug – they’re a perfect fit and mean nothing important will accidentally slip out.

Although invisible to the naked eye, there are magnets in the cover which keeps it closed. So no need for clasps or elastic bands. But you need it closed, it closes – and stays that way until you manually open it again.

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The pen is great quality and feels appropriately weighty in the hand. It’s a ballpoint and writes very nicely.

For me, this is the perfect thing to keep in your bag or a jacket pocket for those moments when pen and paper are needed. When traveling (remember that?) it would be filling in customs forms when arriving in another country. It could even be the perfect journal for holidays, when carting an A5 notebook with you is just too impractical. This will come with me everywhere from now on as it barely registers when in a bag or coat pocket.