The Acorn & Mire Field Journal is our tribute to ecologist Joseph Grinell, the first to develop and popularise the concept of a niche. His field journals were only one of many types of notebooks in his system. (Yes, many notebooks were needed in the system he developed.) They were packed with written observations and information, transcribed and expanded from his rough notes.
Why a flip top? Growing up, one of my very favourite notebooks was a flip-top notebook. As I progressed through the pages, I'd fold them along alternating diagonals, adding a topic along the folded edge, so I could easily find the right page.
As I developed my green sketching and nature journaling practice, I sought out notebooks in a landscape orientation. There's no rule for whether you use this notebook as a flip-top, or landscape oriented notebook. You can even change your mind from page-to-page.
The notebooks are infinitely touchable, and have a beautiful hand-printed cover, which is printed by hand in our studio.
The first and last pages of the notebook are also printed in our studio on our vintage printing press. The first page replicates the cover; the last page of the notebook is the info sheet for our studio ethos. We've added these pages to give you a bit more information about why we think this notebook is so special. Also, I hate writing on the first page of a notebook, so adding this "title page" makes it easy to flip to page two, so I can start using my notebooks without the usual anxiety.
Details
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Notebook size: 120mm x 205mm
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Cover details: Hand printed in Devon with vintage wood and metal type.
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Pages: 104 pages (52 sheets) of recycled paper made in England from take-away coffee cups. A lovely 120gsm paper with a bit of texture.
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Front cover: 380gsm recycled card, made in England from take-away coffee cups.
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Back cover: sturdy dark grey backing board (1250microns); recycled, and made in the UK.
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Colours: Devon Green, Gorse Yellow, Flint Black-on-Black, and Flint with white (for those who prefer jam on first)
Acorn & Mire was born out of a desire to support, promote, and nurture the remaining paper mills and merchants in the UK. For this line, we only use UK-manufactured, recycled papers.
To this paper, we apply our craft—letterpress printing—to create stationery the old-fashioned way: with metal and wood and maximum effort.
Our field journals are printed using truly traditional methods—a kiss of an impression to leave just enough ink. This ensures the protection and longevity of our metal and wood type. (There are fewer than two dozen manufacturers of type left in the UK.)
It's not about clinging to the past—rather it's about offering an alternative to rapid, mass consumerism. It's about supporting our neighbours, and honouring our friendships with something better than cheap and fast.
A portion of the sales from any of our Acorn & Mire products are donated to forest and hedgerow regeneration projects; and to peatland-related projects.
