The review was positive, but the proof is in the pudding– how did the Milligram Linen Notebook fare after one year of daily use?
Recap
The Milligram Linen A5 Notebook is a sturdy, high-quality, fountain-pen-friendly notebook ideal for bullet journalling. Designed in Melbourne by stationery lovers, for stationery lovers; this tactile and elegant linen covered notebook ticks all the boxes for analogue writers.
The verdict
I’ll be honest– I was brutal with this notebook. I set it up as a project journal that I would refer to daily (sometimes several times a day) as part of a 365-day challenge that required significant planning ahead and note-taking. It was thrown around my desk and couch, dunked into a backpack, and used as a coaster. I wrote in it with whatever I had at hand as I needed– nice pens, Sharpies– even a Posca Paint marker. I tore a couple pages out when I needed to hand information over to other people and didn’t have any scraps, and I packed the rear pocket FULL of swatches and biscuit crumbs (unintentionally).
The Milligram notebook took all of this abuse like a champ.
Sure, the cover is a dust magnet with dog hair embedded in it, and there’s some chocolate rubbed into the fibres, but it’s intact. And not in a “clinging to life” kind of way, but in a “built to last” kind of way.
I honestly did not expect this.
From the outset, it was clear that the Milligram Linen Notebook is a premium notebook– it looks premium and is priced accordingly– but that quality extends far beyond the aesthetic and into the practical as well. Despite multiple ripped-out pages, the spine maintained its integrity through the entire book. The back pocket got stuffed full with brochures and flyers and swatches (and, yes, biscuit crumbs) without coming loose from the cover or tearing at the seams. The elastic closure is still tight and secure, and the bookmark ribbon has barely frayed a stitch.
Some of the interior pages warped from coffee spills and frantic watercolour splashes, but only the pages in direct contact with the moisture. The surrounding pages never so much as dimpled. Structurally, the notebook is without flaw.
In fact, the only real longevity issue became the linen cover. It didn’t rip or tear one bit, but it did get dirty; it’s not removable, and therefore not washable. Cover filth isn’t a problem for your run-of-the-mill leatherette and laminated plastic covers as they can be wiped clean, but this baby showed every oops.
And yet, this too became a feature rather than a failure.
Not to state the obvious too terribly, but linen fabric is super durable and heat-resistant. It’s perfect for iron-on patches. Whilst not an advertised feature of the Milligram Linen series, I feel they could make it a trend: Personalize your notebook (and/or hide your most embarrassing food stains) with some cute themed patches!
The short of it: I would buy this again. At full price, even.
This notebook has been worth every cent. If Milligram made it available in a washable cover, all the better– but I kind of like the iron-on idea.
The Milligram Linen notebooks are available from Milligram in-store, or online at milligram.com