but I have to admit, I’ve never owned one. I was really close to buying one in Rome, but then I changed my mind at the 15 euro pricetag.  They are really expensive notebooks, but really good quality.  They range in size but your not *really* an architect, or a writer for that matter, unless you have the small ones that can fit in your pocket.  The idea being that it is always with you, ready and waiting for the moment inspiration strikes, and you scribble some perfect idea into your beautiful little notebook, make a ton of money, and they put it in a museum and the architecture student of posterity worship it.  That’s the dream as far as I can tell, there is a huge near mythology behind them.  Hemingway had one, I think, and pretty much all American architects. Now it’s a cult, along the lines of Rocky Horror, or Converses.  Very artsy. I should get one so I can feel cool.  And this video makes it even cooler, seeing the hand detailing happening always makes me want thing.  I find workshops incredibly appealing.  Knowing the person who made what you own is a luxury in our mass produced world.

Probably one of my favorite moments in Italy was when we randomly went into a workshop.  Five of us then proceed to buy many hundreds of dollars worth of inlaid wood things, which I consider some of the best money I’ve ever spent as I look gaze lovingly at my jewelry box.  Clearly amused at the five American girls who just made their week, they made us coffee and took pictures with us.

Right, so here is the video which I’ve attempted to embed, but the link to the Gizmodo article is there too.

How a Moleskine Notebook Gets Tattooed.