I wanted a compact good-quality small notebook or journal just to do warm-up mixed-media exercises and experimentation, and this item seemed to fit the bill.
THE GOOD STUFF
> Very good-looking sketchbook.
> Good-quality off-white 300-gsm watercolor paper. I love its smoothness and tone. See details about my testing below.
> Stitch perforated paper sheets, which tear off easily.
> It has a separator ribbon, something that I love because I use it a lot!
> The notebook measurements are 3.8’’ x 5.2’’, a pocket size that makes it perfect to carry in my small handbag or briefcase. Perfect for traveling as well. I wanted something that is easy to store and this can be stored anywhere easily.
> Affordable.
> Very lightweight.
DOWNSIDES
> The product Amazon-page photo and description and what I got are not the same. I've already given feedback to Amazon as some of the photos and statements are misleading and don't t relate to the product I got at all.
> Unrefined leather-like cover.
> The paper is excellent, but I wanted a good journal not good loose paper sheets.
> My item doesn't have the elastic band/strap mentioned/photographed in the description page. I find this not only deceiving, but also disappointing because it seems to be an issue not just with my notebook but with many reviewers'. A band is necessary in any small journal with detachable sheets because, eventually, they'll all be loose and the band is needed to tide them all up.
> Bad quality binding, with some parts just glued and others loosely sewn (see my photos). The product page says that it's loosely stitched to allow the removal of the middle thread to have a double-spread or panorama sheet. That's good, but since the binding is so poor, not all the pages are thread-stitched, all of them are perforated and some of them detach on their own, how is this going to work?
> One of the sheets was already cut off when I opened the product. The pad came sealed (as per my photos) so ain't sure if that's a factory issue or the item was a re-purposed return.
> The separator ribbon edge is already loose-threading itself (see my photos).
> The back cover inner pouch is glued with the opening facing the spine, which makes it not only difficult to use but also useless to me.
PAPER TESTING
I've
tested the paper twice before posting this review. Herewith my first impressions. My
first test was done with a non-gessoed sheet. As per my photos, I used watercolour pencils, waters-soluble crayons (Neocolor II, Tim Holtz) and markers (Posca, Tombow), oil pastels (Ohuhu), soft pastels (Munyo), acrylic ink (Liquitex), heavy and fluid acrylics (Golden) alcohol ink, alcohol markers(Faber Castell, Copic), archival ink refills (Ranger), Stabilo-All and China black pencils, my fountain pen; FC Pitt permanent-ink markers; metallic markers as well as an UNI white gel
pen. The paper stood well, without
bleeding, most things, included my two alcohol markers, which is impressive. I found the paper especially lovely and smooth when
watercolouring Posca, Tombow, Necolor II and Stabilo All. Soft pastels extended well with water, even though they aren't water-soluble and cheap, but oil pastels were not good on this paper, yet my pastels are cheap. Alcohol inks bled (see my photo) and, in a lesser degree, archival undiluted ink.
My second test was done on a sheet of paper with clear gesso added to it, as this is how I usually work. I used simple mixed media, acrylic paint mostly, but also aquarelle pencils and markers, and plenty of water. The paper was a pleasure to work with and it doesn't buckle at all. Truth to be told, I usually work heavily on the paper, more than in this case, adding collage, stitching and what's not; yet, I'm very satisfied with the quality of the paper.
IN SHORT
I consider this Rubens journal to be a mediocre journal. The paper, on its own, is excellent. However, I'm not buying loose sheets of paper but a journal, so it defeats the purpose. I wouldn't give this as a gift, but it serves me well for what I need: to experiment with my paints and have everything neatly collected. I will have to supply the missing elastic strap myself and sew the separating ribbon. This journal seems like a degraded version of the advertised product, like a bad batch perhaps, and there are significant discrepancies between what it's described on the product page and what I got. Bear in mind that the same journal is listed on a separated page and marked as 'Amazon choice', but it's a bit more expensive. Either way, next time I buy this journal, if it's as it is now, I will return it.
