[stationery] surely! this is not! as niche a desire! as it appears to be!

[kaberett]

My ideal notebook:

• A5
• hardcover, ideally a cotton or linen or other hardwearing natural fibre but definitely Not Plastic
• sewn lay-flat binding
• 240 pages (or more! more is also good! but 240 just about fits a year the way I'm currently using them.)
• white fountain-pen friendly paper (don't care about ghosting/showthrough)
• 5mm dot grid
• two ribbon bookmarks
• page numbers

And I cannot find anything that does everything. Citrus Book Bindery would have done, give or take my preference for cover texture/material, buuut since I ordered their paper sampler pack and now they've dropped the paper I liked best (120gsm extra smooth) and consequently, having juuust about convinced myself to maybe spring for one as a Special Treat, I am Petulant.

Leuchtturm is cream paper only and also I turn out to be really good at scuffing up the covers. Atoms to Astronauts is 180 pages and one bookmark and also I think they don't have page numbers. The Stamford Notebook Co. is 160 pages in A5, and I can't actually work out if it has page numbers or bookmarks. Black n' Red have white paper and dot grid but don't do bookmarks or enough pages. Archer & Olive have lovely covers and white paper and dot grid options and ribbon bookmarks but are otherwise unsuitable. I have Taken Agin Rhodia in part because "vegan leather". I have failed to make Clairefontaine disgorge anything relevant to my interests. I've poked through the Stationery Nerd mega journal review and keep not loving anything.

It is very! difficult! to be me!