The RevolveR Bound Journal is one of the innovative office supplies that I discovered at the National Stationery Show this past May.?When I passed the booth for the RevolveR Bound Journals at the Stationery Show,I didnt notice how unique this item was,and it is the prime example of why you shouldnt judge a book by its cover…with this one you should judge it by BOTH of its covers.
As you can see if you watched the video above,the RevolveR Bound Journal is pretty unique in that it is one notebook that essentially"revolves"into a second notebook.?On one side you have?a black cover with ruled sheets of paper,and on the other you have a red notebook with unlined sheets of paper.?Now with that description it might sound like you are just flipping the notebook over to get to the other side,but again,if you watch the video you will see what I mean.?It is almost as if you are turning the notebook inside out to get to the other side of it.
With the two still shots of the RevolveR Bound Journals above,one might think that they were two different journals at a quick glance,but amazingly enough,they are the same journal.?It is very easy to"revolve"from one journal to the next,and the flexibility of having a journal with lined and unlined paper all at once is quite nice.?Regardless of which side of this 5 1/2″by 7 1/2″journal you are using,it has a magnetic closure on the front side that does a nice job of keeping it securely closed.
Some of the other nice features about this notebook are things that you would expect to find with any other high end journal.?The very first and very last pages of the journals are writable,and on the lined version,although it is thicker stock,they are both is still lined.?Another nice feature is that regardless of which journal you are using,they both lay perfectly flat when open,and I know that many people enjoy having their journals stay flat and open like this.
The above scan shows some writing samples in the journal,and I realized too late that I should have written on that left blank page there,but oh well.?The 100%recycled paper in the journal does very well with multiple different kinds of pens.?I tried some fountain pens with both J.Herbin and Private Reserve inks,and I also tried a Uniball Signo,Pentel Slicci,Pilot Hi-Tec-C,Uniball Jetstream,and a Waterman Rollerball.?None of these pens showed any feathering,and they all had pretty quick dry times.?When it comes to bleed through there is a minimal amount for all of the pens,but nothing too bad in my opinion,except for the Waterman rollerball.
The writing sample you see on the lined paper shows what I was talking about with the first and last pages of each journal being writable.?The left side that you see is the heavier stock that is the first page of the journal,which they thoughtfully made sure was also lined.?This writing sample was done strictly with a Uniball Jetstream ballpoint pen,a black and a red version in tribute to the RevolveRs black and red covers…and also just a good excuse to use the Jetstreams because I love them so much.
One last thing that I found really nice about this journal is how it came wrapped.?It was shipped in a regular package,but the journal itself was wrapped neatly in the brown paper shown above,so no plastic shrink wrap or anything like this.?Just some simple classy dressing for a very unique notebook.
If you are looking for a versatile notebook that will let you do some sketching(on the blank pages)and note taking(on the lined pages)or if you want a notebook that lets you keep top secret notes on one side that go into hiding when you use the other side,then I think that the RevolveR Bound Journal is for you.?Its unique design,high quality paper,and elegant looks make for not only a high quality writing experience,but also a very fun and unique item that will be sure to start a few conversations.
Many thanks to everyone at RevolveR Bound Books for being so friendly and sending me one of their journals to review.?Make sure you check out their site to see the other sizes and colors that are available.?You can also check out the video they have there which shows more of the journal in action.
Update:9/14/09–I just heard from the friendly folks at RevolveR that the notebooks are now available from their website and at some small gift shops including those at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago,and the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis.
