Every single quarter, Field Notes release limited edition pocket notebooks. Their annual subscription fills you with plenty of notebooks to get writing, wherever you are. I love their notebooks – and I’ve raved about a few of the different editions every so often here. But as it’s almost the end of 2019, I took a moment to look back at the last year’s release and it hit me how apt each and every one was. For perhaps the first time, the Field Notes limited editions all symbolise something related to the season they were released in for me. I am keen to see where they go from this.
Spring Edition:
The Spring edition is not overly “seasonal” for most people. But there’s something about it that reminds me of spring. The edition itself is actually based on America’s highway systems and thus, appropriately named the “Mile Marker” edition. They even printed some gorgeous maps that were sent to all subscribers for free. You can still purchase one of the maps on its own, even if you do not get the notebooks. The map is also available as a press sheet, available for framing.
Sadly, I am unlikely to ever drive in America but if I lived there, I would definitely keep a copy in my car. It is great for people who enjoy road trips or actually drive around different states in the country as it is jam packed with all of the different national highways.
It might be the colour green on one of the notebooks or the deer sign on the other that remind me of spring. But it is also the fact that it is all about the open road. Spring is a great time to go out into the world and find your own path. It is the time when a lot of nature starts to bloom and grow again. There is something about the idea of spring cleaning or fresh beginnings that tie in very nicely with the open road ahead of you, almost begging you to let go of the past and carve your own path forward.
Summer Edition:
I think I have spoken about the National Parks release so many times by now that everyone knows of my love for them. So I won’t harp on about the details again here. However, I wrote about the first three packs that were released in this edition a little while back. If you have not seen this edition yet, check out this blog post for more information. It is quite easily one of my favourite editions of all times from them! I adore the artwork that they have used and the idea behind it.
They actually went ahead and released a fourth pack that I really need to get my hands on. It’s absolutely gorgeous.
Autumn Edition:
By far, this one is the most seasonal. It says ‘Autumn’ / ‘Fall’ all over it, with the embossed leaves and autumnal colour choices – and even with its name, “Autumn Trilogy”.
This set of notebooks come in a red, a yellow and a scarlet shade. Each of them features one leaf from trees found in North America in the appropriate fall colours – the Sugar Maple, the American Elm and the Scarlet Oak. You can see the love that the designers have for the work they do in the detail of the embossed leaves. Each leaf design is so beautifully drawn.
Subscribers to their annual subscription often get additional items, as a fun little incentive to joining. This quarter, they provided their subscribers with an exclusive brown handkerchief features the beautiful leaves in white outline, alongside a quote. I personally want to frame mine but without the wall space to do so, I think I am going to have to use mine as a handkerchief after all! It will definitely come in handy when I need to change my fountain pens on the go, if I can risk staining it!
Winter Edition:
The newest release is finally in my hands. The “Group Eleven” edition is a set of notebooks that come in white card with metallic coloured foiling. For me, this set is very “Winter” themed. The white reminds me of snow and the shiny metallic colours remind me of the festive holidays in this season. They are shiny and beautiful!
This three pack comes with a silver, gold and copper foiling. However, it is not just the cover of the notebooks that are foiled. The edges of the pages are also gilded. Additionally, the staples intentionally match the respective foil colour. It really is the attention to detail that makes people love Field Notes as much as they do. (And I kid you not, there’s a huge group of fans, myself included, that are known as “Field Notes Nuts”).
The “Group Eleven” notebooks are a great release for the holidays. They would work great as gifts or for Christmas planning! I am currently undecided if I can actually part with my copies and give them as gifts or not. More likely than not, I will use them as my Three Things notebooks. However, I may consider gifting one of the packs I have to someone or as standalone notebooks.
P.S. If you are curious, Field Notes have said that the name of this edition comes from the periodic table. The elements – copper, silver and gold – all come from ‘Group Eleven’ on the periodic table. This is partially why I think they might make a nice gift for my partner, who will likely know that.
And that’s the whole of 2019 in Field Notes…
Looking back on the year, I would definitely call it a successful one. I quite like the concept or idea behind each of the editions released this year. And the National Parks series has definitely stood out as a contender for one of my all time favourites from Field Notes. The artwork really is exceptional. The covers are also very different to the other editions and the National Parks in general are gorgeous parts of nature that I really want to see, so I am pretty biased I guess.
You can get your hands on some of these products still at Field Notes.
I loved the autumn set but was a little disappointed when they arrived – I felt the photography made them look metallic but they weren’t ‘in real life’.