Supply Line Search & Paper Availability

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Focused efforts on sourcing 12×18 black text paper, correcting grain-direction mismatches, and evaluating alternatives after widespread stock shortages. Reviewed commercial notebooks to validate size and usability expectations, while assessing options for viable cover-material suppliers as prototype requirements became clearer.

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Date: Wednesday October 8 – Friday October 9, 2025

Classification: Week 2 Day 3–4 | Admin Day

As I’m sat down to write this on the 14th last week’s a blur. To sum up, my goal was to establish supply lines for approved stock.

In spite of all my years in retail management, logistics knowledge, and dozens of times running Inventory Teams for big box retailers, I got, well, got. Somehow or another in the midst of the business of it all I had forgotten that Halloween is around the corner. Why should that be of any consequence? Turns out black paper gets pretty popular around this time of year.

Chosen paper: Classic Crest Smooth 80T (118gsm) Epic Black 12 X 18

The significance of this issue became more apparent as I searched for other suppliers. 12 X 18 Long has been particularly difficult to find. If not the size differences (of all sorts), the grain direction was veritably incorrect for the blueprint I created. Mrs. Vos and I spent a considerable amount of time pouring over notebooks from:

• Smythson

• Leuchtturm

• Midori

• Moleskine

• Traveler’s Company

  
  

…and many, many more. And, I forgot to mention, countless offerings from bookbinders on popular self-made platforms. Dimensions, paper quality, style, use cases, preference to work-type. An experienced bookbinder might smile in a respectfully smirk-y way at a novices' inexperience; the moments of realization that it’s not as simple as one may think.

I wanted to establish what size I have to settle with if the 12 X 18 Long is not available by the end of the week. Should I rethink my expectations for the prototype? The more I looked for black paper that was simply available, the lower my expectations for the current blueprint and prototype.

Running in parallel to the text paper issue, supplies of the cover stock I selected are quite expensive, and while more readily available, the investment felt too high for even a small bulk order. But compared to what? Ultimately, the prototype will have a leather cover, after all that was the goal from the beginning. The paper cover stock was meant to serve as practice, not the finished product. Starting leather work sooner than I expected. Am I ready for that?

The Classic Crest Smooth 80T (118gsm) Epic Black 12 X 18 I so desired is unavailable and other offerings have left me with unsatisfactory answers; I decided to wait and see. Instead I applied myself to identifying a local leather supplier for the cover material with some criteria:

a) firmly established in the community

b) resources for the novice

c) teaching / knowledge sharing mindset

On these points, Wednesday was unfortunately a bust. Thursday evening was spent searching for suppliers to secure the text paper to no avail. But Friday… Friday was something really special.

At least so far.

Talk more soon.