🧳 Traveler’s Notebooks: My Elastic Affair with Paper, Leather, and Coffee Stains

For years, I was a ring bound planner person, the old school Filofax… I fave up on that even though I loved it really. Then, a large chunk of life (still up to this day really) has been recorded in a fieldnotes. But eventually, like many before me, I have been pulled, elastic first, into the wonderfully analogue world of Traveler’s Notebooks (TNs). Or, if you’re using a non-Traveler’s Company brand, a “fauxdori” (a charming little nod to the original Midori Traveler’s Notebook).

Field Notes: The EDC Gateway Drug

Let’s be honest, Field Notes are where most of us start. They’re the brightly coloured siren song that lures you into the world of everyday carry notebooks. You pick one up thinking, “This’ll be handy for shopping lists and all my good ideas,” and suddenly you’re four limited editions deep, colour coding your gear for your Instagram feed, and referring to stationery as your “kit.” They’re pocket sized, effortlessly cool, and simple in a way that makes you feel organized even when you’ve just scribbled down “remember bins.” I’ve used more of these than I can count (partly because I wrote the count in a Field Notes and now I can’t find it). Even now, one always seems to be nearby, albeit dog eared, coffee stained, but completely essential… I always have one in my bag, it may not be photographed often, but it is there.

Traveler’s Company: Cult Following, Coffee stained…

Traveler’s Company isn’t just a notebook brand it is a lifestyle. Originally launched as Midori Traveler’s Notebook back in 2006, it quickly evolved from a humble leather cover with elastic bands into a globally beloved system that inspires loyalty bordering on obsession. The minimalist Japanese design, beautifully patina’d leather, and focus on meaningful travel and self-expression has cultivated a near cult following. People collect covers like Pokémon cards, chase down limited editions (hello, Tokyo Station, Moomin, Blackwing and Starbucks Roastery collaborations, to name a few), and proudly show off setups with brass clips, leather charms, and perfectly stickered inserts.

What sets Traveler’s Company apart isn’t just the quality, it’s the philosophy. The brand is all about the journey, slowing down, documenting life, and embracing imperfections. That resonates deeply with creatives, planners, writers, and adventurers alike… and tinkerers like me. In many ways, it’s the Leica of the notebook world. Premium, purposeful, and proudly analogue… don’t tell my digital Leica I said that.

If you bring a Traveler’s Notebook to a stationery meetup… yes… they’re a thing, people notice. You’re no longer dabbling, you’re in the club… apparently… but, I guess that’s the exact same with the EDCCooperative meet ups, you just have to be present to be a member.

So… What Is a Traveler’s Notebook, Anyway?

At its core, a TN is a leather (or fabric or even wood) cover with elastic bands down the spine that hold multiple slim notebooks or accessories in place. Instead of rings or discs, you just slip your inserts under the elastics, and voilà, you’ve got a modular, endlessly customizable system.

Each booklet or insert can serve a different purpose: one for journaling, one for sketching, one for meal plans you swear that you’ll follow. And the best bit? You don’t need a hole punch, special tools, or magic—just some elastic and the desire to put pen to paper.

What I use

I currently own just two TNs. The first is a stunning limited edition from the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo. The second? A beautiful collaboration with Blackwing, yes, the pencil legends… which is a seperate story I may like to tell at some point… pun intended, even if you didn’t see it. Both are regular size (A5 slim-ish), both are absolutely gorgeous, and both still smell faintly of excitement mixed with a bit of espresso now.

My Setup (So Far)

Even though I’m just starting to properly explore the TN system, I’ve already fallen down the rabbit hole (don’t worry, I packed snacks and a fountain pen… well a few fountain pens… and pencil crayons).

I don’t yet own a Passport size, but it’s firmly on my wishlist. I’ve used Field Notes and Lochby notebooks over the years, and my Bellroy leather Field Notes holder might just be my most used and most loved notebook cover to date. It’s minimal, durable, and has earned every scratch and scuff through years of travel, coffee stops, and spontaneous scribbles.

So I have the Bellroy for daily notes, but, I am trying to use the TN’s more and more, I’m at least carrying them in my work bag daily, I have added notes in them whilst at work, but I’m not sat there doodling or writing chapter and verse in them until I’ve finished work and I’m at home.

Why TNs Work (Especially for the Slightly Chaotic Among Us)

I’ve started using my TNs more intentionally this year. In the Starbucks one, I have slotted in a diary insert to track “important” life things—coffee intake, water consumption, spending not tied to bills. You know, the essentials. Around that, I’m… well, I wouldn’t necessarily call it journaling, but, maybe it is… sort of… Each day I am trying to sketch something that reflects the day’s events (or lack thereof) with a few lines reflecting the day and that image. They’re just for me and I am in no way shape or form an artist. I have ideas… but can never manifest them into things on the paper… so, I’m trying to work on that. One day it’s a sketch of me with a Fjällräven backpack on my back, the next it is a bowl of cocopops next to a cup of coffee and another it’s just a drawing of my car’s cup holder with a takeaway coffee cup in it. There’s no rhyme or reason as to what I could be drawing that day, it’s just a thing. I have been mithering the EDCCooperatives resident artist and sharing my doodles, which I’m sure he’s been thrilled about, but, I have had feedback from him too, I can see what I have done wrong… so ultimately, I’m learning, whilst having a bit of fun and at 27+ a couple years old, that is always a bonus.

And that’s what I love about TNs: they flex with you. If I’m travelling, I can load up a grid insert for itineraries and sketches. If I’m at home, I can swap in a writing insert for long rambling entries while ignoring my to do list.

Inserts, Accessories, and Uncontrollable Stationery Lust

The Traveler’s Company makes their own great inserts, but Etsy is a goldmine too, Yellow Paper House, GoodINKpressions, Galen Leather, and more. You can print your own if you’re feeling crafty (and own a long-arm stapler or a few stitches worth of patience). And yes, the accessories are just as addictive, pen loops, zip pouches, wallet inserts, charms… which, let’s face it, those with addictive traits who don’t collect Victorinox Swiss Army knives would be straight in there getting the things to go with it all, because, matchy matchy. I have a folding map insert… well, it’s an a4 document insert, I am going to print off a city map and then in pen, mark on it places I want to visit and… hopefully… not use a device to navigate my way round a foreign city and be in the moment a little more. Let’s face it, on holiday, I get the phone out to look at the map, before you know it, I’m approving spam posts, accepting member requests and liking my auntie Julie’s daily dog photo on Facebook before I’m back walking the city streets. And then… in my mind… I will stop, doodle something on the drawing paper and at the end of the day when I’m winding down, add a few notes about that image and I’m done… phone battery still on 80% as I’ve not even picked it up.

Oh, yeah, every year, Traveler’s Company releases a limited edition themed set. One year it was “B-Sides & Rarities” (yes, like a vinyl collection). Another time it was music, hotels, trains, and planes. I missed those, but it’s probably for the best… my wallet is still recovering from the Blackwing notebook.

Final Thoughts

The Traveler’s Notebook system may not be for everyone. Some find the A5 slim size a bit too narrow, others can’t get past the loose booklet format. But for me, it’s a brilliant blend of function, creativity, aesthetics and tactile joy. It’s a place to dump thoughts, sketch café chairs, track how many flat whites I’ve had in a week (too many), and bring a bit of analogue beauty back into my digital days. I have over half filled one blank notebook so far in my little creativity journey, that’s over thirty days where I have consciously made time to sit and draw something, take a bit of time, away from technology and use me brain😉 (yes, it still works… mostly).

If you’re TN-curious, I say start small. Get an insert. Try the size. Then prepare to tumble down the rabbit hole with the rest of us. There’s plenty of elastic to go around.

Just don’t blame me when your coffee budget mysteriously turns into a stationery fund.