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Here is a quick look at my Hobonichi order(s) for 2018.

Spring 2018

Every spring, Hobonichi release a second slew of products onto their site.  This is in a addition to the annual September 1st Hobonichi release for the next year ahead.  This spring, the release came in two parts, which I think is a first.  The first spring release was the usual range of covers for the A6 Techo, A5 Cousin and Weeks, as well as some new planner stickers and a spring set of pencil boards or “shitajiki”.  There is usually an animal theme to the spring release, and this year there was focus on a cat named “Po”.

The second spring tranche, which was somewhat unexpected, had a focus on pouches.  Hobonichi released 2 sizes of stationary pouch which they named “small drawer” and “large drawer”.  The “large drawer” was an ipad style folio case where you could store your A5 cousin and all manner of stationary.  The “small drawer” was more of a pen pouch.  I ummmed and ahhed over the “large drawer”, but as I work from home, I couldn’t really find a real-world use for it, so in the end opted for two of the super-cute “small drawer’ pouches.  I really wanted all of them (!), but having restrained myself settled on the Hedgehog (which I already had in the Weeks), and the “Nice day for a picnic blanket”, which was a new design from the spring release A5 and A6 covers.  Here is the Hedgehog “small drawer” pouch…

The zip is super smooth and of very high quality, as you would expect from Hobonichi.  It has a handy loop for easy carry.  For the Hedgehog this is made from a brown felt material, which gives the pouch a nice Hedgehog tactility.

The inside is a coffee brown colour.  Th pouch opens out completely flat.  the right side has a zippered section protected by mesh, the right one single open section (for pens, pencils, stationary), plus two smaller sections for keeping washi samples, notes etc.

The right side also has three elastic loops to secure for example fountain pens.  As you can see below, the loop is strangely not in the middle but towards the bottom.  I’m not sure why that is, but there is enough clearance to secure your favourite pens…

A close up of the loops…

I think this pouch is ideal for fountain pen users, who often like to carry their pens with them everywhere they go!  As you can see, if you keep your pens in individual sleeves (or Kimono’s in the case of Nakaya), you can stuff a few of these in the pouch.  I would estimate you could comfortably fit 3 pens in pouches on the left, 3 on the right.  For TWSBI’s etc. you could fit a whole lot more.

Here is the second pouch called “Nice day for a Picnic Blanket”…

As you can see it has a very cute design.  And very spring- like!

The inside of this one is a dark forest green…

These pouches are quite similar to the Lihit Lab cases…

Here are all my soft pouches together…

As you can see the Hobonichi cases are larger, with much higher spec zips, an extra pocket on the back, the added mesh liner and zip.  They are also of a generally higher build quality.  If I was going to accidentally drop my Nakayas (good forbid!) in one of these pouches, I’d much rather it be the Hobonichi case vs. the Lihit Lab.  The Picnic blanket one in particular has a sturdy fabric on the fold, and is much tougher than even the Hedgehog case.  I think all the “small drawer” pouches have varying levels of sturdiness and toughness according to their theme and the corresponding material they are made from.  For example the Hedgehog pouch is much softer and thinner than the picnic blanket pouch.

I find these pouches super handy and as a fountain pen user I’m glad Hobonichi released them.  I hope they do the same with next years spring line-up.

Here are some of the accessories I ordered with my “small drawer pouches”…

This is the “Hello, Goodbye” notebook.  Unfortunately it is not fountain pen friendly.  I have been using it for shopping lists with my Sarasa Vintage gel pens…

I also picked up a couple of book markers.  Here is the Maru Fusen- it is made of a nice transparent velum so you can use it over writing in your Hobonichi.  I find they look quite elegant…

Here is the Coco Fusen.  These are like regular notes but, this being Hobonichi, each colour has a distinctive pattern.  From left-right; yellow stripes, pink dots, green diagonal stripes and blue triangles.  The blue is particularly impressive as one of the triangles on each page marker is yellow…

And lastly the aforementioned “shitajiki” or pencil boards…

Autumn 2017

As the leaves on the trees turn red, orange and brown, and a familiar chill returns to the air, thoughts (well mine at least), turn to next years Hobonichi releases.

I first got into Hobonichi around around 2014, after hearing of the planners famous fountain pen friendly qualities.  From 2014- 2016, I would order a single A6 Techo from the store, and eagerly await its arrival in its fashionable bright-coloured box.  That all changed in 2017, when rather than skimming over the various covers, covers on covers and accessories, I began to delve deeply into the world of Hobonichi.

The most compelling of the 2018 offerings for me was the furry Stieff collaboration A6 cover for Techo.  Steiff is a German plush-toy company that have been making high quaity bears since 1880.  Hobonichi always come up with the most unlikely and humorous collaborations.  They also released an actual Steiff bear to go with the cover, as well as a couple of furry Steiff handbags.  All very cute (except for the bear which had big scary white teeth!) but super expensive.  My Steiff cover came in this super fancy presentation box…

And this cute little booklet explaining the collaboration…

As you can see the A6 Techo cover has a furry chocolate brown exterior…

And a soft but sleek-looking smooth dark brown leather interior…

If Hobonichi made an actual leather jacket like this I’m sure it would sell out as quickly as this Techo cover, which was sold out as soon as it went live.

I love the little details here like the Steiff bookmarks with bears faces on them…

Here is the entirety of my first Hobonichi order for 2018;

…and as just like my 2017 Hobonichi order, I went a bit overboard in 2018.  Shortly after receiving my first order I swiftly put in a second…this time with a focus on accessories.  Here it is…

Oh dear, there was a third order…

Oh well, it is Hobonichi…