Why our notebooks lie flat

A notebook that closes on you while you write is a notebook you stop using. Ours stay open on the desk because of three decisions made before any paper is cut.

Sewn, not glued

Each notebook is eight signatures of twenty pages, folded and sewn through the fold with linen thread. Glue holds a spine stiff; thread lets every page turn to the gutter.

A soft spine

The spine is a strip of book cloth with nothing rigid behind it. It flexes as the book opens, so the pages lie flat instead of arching.

A cover that gives

The kraft and ink covers are heavy card, not board. They protect the block and still bend with it. A board cover would fight the spine every time.

That is the whole trick. It costs us about forty minutes a book, which is why we make them in small runs and sell them at the price we do.