Portrait format Moleskine, anyone?
Just a thought: wouldn´t it be nice to see the Moleskine Watercolour Notebook in portrait format? Picture it before you, opening a portrait format Watercolour Notebook and having that almost square shaped spread to work on! Quite nice, huh? Because, honestly, the existing ones have a rather hopeless extreme landscape format, that many of us just don´t find very useful.
So, as an experiment, I created a Facebook group (my first, and probably last) to see if it´s possible to have some influence on what Moleskine decide to put out on the market. But to have any effect at all, a group needs members, right? Therefore, if you feel the same about this, follow the link below to join the group! And don´t play it safe by just hitting “Like”, JOIN! 
We would love to see a Moleskine Watercolor Notebook in PORTRAIT format
Thank you Nina, I think you’ll get good response to this project!
I may join just to support you, Nina! I don’t use Moleskines and don’t plan to start, so I wouldn’t have any real influence, but if all you need is numbers…
Numbers are king, Kate! : )
I won´t stop using my handbound books either, but I´d certainly buy a portrait format Moleskine Watercolour every now and then. It would make a perfect companion to my handbound!
Truthfully, I’ve never tried them, though I HAVE one of the WC ones someone gave me. Glad to help since so many people do like them and want that format!
Oooohhhh… I couldn´t agree more!!!
Älskar min moleskin, men det blir så himla otympligt att den blir så lång när man fäller ut den! Ska gå med i gruppen alldeles genast!!
Hello Nina,
I have one like that. I got it in Vancouver BC at Opus (https://store.opusframing.com/sagro/storefront/store.php?mode=browsecategory&category=368), where they have 4 versions in portrait format. So they do make them and are available in Canada. If fact, I haven’t seen the landscape version! So I wonder if maybe it is a regional thing, with demand determining the available format. Now I know to look out for the other version.
Enjoy your blog and paintings so much. Hello from the middle of Canada.
Is that a Watercolor-sketchbook??
It looks like a regular Sketchbook. The watercolour ones have a pink band around them, and are, in fact (I even emailed Moleskine about this) only available in landscape format.
Thanks for the clarification Nina. It seems there is a wide variety of their books. The one I have is called a sketchbook indeed, but the ad says it can be used for watercolour as well. So now I will give it a try with watercolour. If it doesn’t work very well, then I will definitely be on the lookout for a watercolour version, portrait style. I’m joining your facebook group!
Thank you, Lorraine!
I find the regular sketchbooks very nice to draw in, but not so good for watercolours. The colour kind of pearls on top of the pager. Works a little better with gouache, but I don´t work with gouache much.
Oooh! Nina… I LONG for that- it would definitely get me back to using moleskines again!
Oh yeah, I am totally into having more variety in products I love. I haven’t even started drawing on my watercolor Moleskine, but I know that I will love it, and I would want to have it in different formats as well!
+1 to that! I’d love to join in but I deleted my FB account and not going to sign up for an account ever. If you have a sign up sheet that doesn’t require FB would be glad to join in
No, I don´t have a sign up sheet, but send an email directly to Moleskine about this instead! That should work too, shouldn´t it? Facebook can´t be the only way to influence people…
I would love to see a portrait WC Moleskine, so I joined the group for what it’s worth! I have used the landscape version, and it’s great for some subjects (like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33460596@N06/4642339084/), but I’ve always preferred portrait format as an all-purpose sketchbook. That’s why I’m also using a Handbook (http://www.dickblick.com/products/hand-book-artist-journals/) … the paper is not as thick as the Moleskine WC, but it IS watercolor paper, unlike the Moleskine portrait sketchbooks.
I have no idea how FB works but I’d love to see a portrait format. I have a love/hate relationship with Moleskine – hate the sketchbooks but love the watercolour paper. Good luck, I hope they hear your call!
I’m going to join your group, Nina. In the meantime, this might help you wait : http://www.trumpetvine.com/sketchblog/moleskine-reloaded/
Thank you, Ghislaine. I have seen that one, it´s a wonderful description of how to ‘do it yourself’. I already do that, only not with Moleskine covers, I use other old books to fill with watercolour paper. But it WOULD be nice to not have to do that…
After years of fighting against starting my own facebook account, I think this might actually be the one thing to get me to actually do it. I love moleskine watercolor books, hate their format!
Don´t we all! But hey, if you don´t like Facebook – email Moleskine directly instead! I´m sure a great inflow of emails on this subject, along with the FB group, could work as an eye-opener for them!
this is brilliant, Nina! I’m joining right away!
That would be really _”perfect”. So much easier for mutimedia and other wet materials too.
Could the Watercolor Paper – Moleskin use-be improved???
Have joined! Great initiative!
Agreed! Great idea! Moving over to FB to sign on!
All right, all right. I generally choose privacy, but I had to join this one! I agree with you 100%!
Thanks, Dan!
I joined, and THANK YOU! We won’t concentrate on the issue of why Moleskine hasn’t figured this out already. No, no. We’ll just be polite and say PUH-LEEZ!
Nina,
Before starting to make my own watercolor sketchbooks, I contacted them several times to suggest that it would sell very well – and they should make a portrait format book. They very politely told me that they would send along my suggestion to the design group. That was shortly after they released the first watercolor sketchbooks and then about 2 years ago. I think only numbers may convince them, so perhaps other Yahoo watercolor groups should be invited to join the effort.
Shirley
Good idea, Shirley! I´ll see if I can locate some other groups!
YEAH – I have requested this from them and now a united front may do it!!
What a good idea, Nina!!!
Hi Nina –
You may be interested in a youtube video demonstration of how to make a simple sketchbook, portrait format, or landscape for that matter, from a single sheet of 22″x30″ (sorry, I’m American and we can’t seem to get with metric measurements). The process takes very little time (less than an hour). Here’s a link to Sketchalina’s blog with the video demonstrations (or a link to them): http://sketchalina.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-to-make-watercolour-sketchbook.html
It’s fun; I hope you enjoy it.
Deborah
Hi Deborah!
Thanks a lot for the link, those are really thorough instructions. I have actually made a few of those already, but following the video tutorial at Teesha Moore´s blog. The instructions are the same, only she divides the full sheet in three instead of four, but that´s just a matter of taste how big you want your sketchbook. I´m leaving your link here, I´m sure many readers will follow it!
Thank you very much for bringing it up, I was dreaming about it for a long time. I use Moleskines of any kind, love em. I would do anything to push this idea with Moleskine. And I join the site on Facebook.