👉👉 For anyone new here, I want to clarify that I still enjoy using the Moleskine EXPANDED 400-page notebooks, even though they're not the best for fountain pen inks. As I often mention in my Moleskine videos, my creative practice mainly involves ballpoint and gel pens, which work great on this paper. I keep buying these notebooks (usually snagging them on sale from Amazon for $15-$20 instead of the $38 retail price) because I genuinely enjoy using them. This mini-series came about unexpectedly when I noticed that my latest Moleskine order performed differently from what I'd experienced in recent years. While I'm aware of other popular options like Tomoe River paper, it's just not my personal preference. For those curious about alternatives, check out my 'Better Than a Moleskine' video here, th-cam.com/video/aZJJzng7ZZ0/w-d-xo.html , where I share the other notebooks I love using alongside my Moleskines.
"FSC paper from responsible sources" refers to paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) which means the wood pulp used to make it comes from forests managed sustainably, while "FSC supporting responsible forestry" indicates that the product, even if it contains a mix of materials, is part of a company committed to the broader principles of responsible forestry through FSC certification, essentially signifying their support for sustainable practices even if not all materials are 100% FSC-certified; both labels essentially mean the product is linked to responsible forestry practices, but the "supporting responsible forestry" label may include a mix of materials that aren't fully FSC certified, while "responsible sources" implies all the wood pulp is from FSC-certified forests.
Yes, and the responsible forestry label is new. The new label was released in 2022 with a transition period of 2 years. In 2024, all FSC mix products will have the new new 'responsible forestry' wording.
@@jaimelynn3520 I've noticed that the address is different. On the notebook with the new label - "supporting responsible forestry" is a different address, Bergognone 34, 20144 Milano. Maybe the company has new management, and they improved the paper quality.
Reporting in from the UK - THIS WORKS! Just bought 3 packs of Cahiers, one marked "responsible sources" and two marked "responsible forestry". Both of the "responsible forestry" ones have good paper, the "responsible sources" one is terrible.
U r hilarious. The passion, the obsession...the utter willingness to bankrupt urself in the search for ur Holy Grail Notebook🤣😂 I applaud ur dogged determination to solve this mystery. I only wish sanzen and hobonichi were this obsessed with investigating why the new tomoe river paper is not performing consistently😅
Hi Michelle. I’ve bought a few Moleskines over the years and they all bled through long before I started using fountain pens. Today I bought one with the “responsible forestry” label and it’s perfect. My very first Moleskine that doesn’t even ghost much. It worked for me here. Great job. Thanks 😉
I have to admit, I hate Moleskine notebooks. But, your videos on this Moleskine paper rabbit hole are very entertaining. I think I'm a paper snob, because all I use is Midori or Tomoe River with my fountain pens. You go girl!
Oh, don't get me wrong. I love me a goof Midori A5 365 codex as well! It's my top favorite notebook (next to the Expanded Moleskine). Thanks for watching!
Moleskine detective! Lol. Im sure Moleskine knows which has the good paper and why, just wish they would stick with that kind of paper. Great video. Thanks for sharing!
If you’re familiar with Tomoe River paper, I’ve learned that there’s so much that can lead to differences in paper! Even something as simple as the the water used to process 😅
@@cassiespaz1oh!! Very interesting! It’s odd as even some Moleskines with same country of origin, same notebook model can still have diff paper quality. 😅
@@SeaweedKisses that would explain it I guess as if they have 2 different mills or paper plants in one country 🤷🏻♀️ like I’m in a rural area and my water is very different from city water. But who even knows haha
Yes! "Supporting responsible forestry" in my 18 months daily diary, made in Turkey. I write with juicy inks and paint with watercolour without any issues. Beautiful detective work, lady!
Ok so I was just at the mall. Passed by the bookstore and went in. I wasn't planning on buying another moleskine buuuuut.... there was one lonely moleskine expanded on the shelf. The only one! I checked the back and it said "responsible forestry". I found a mini ruler in the stationery section and measured... it was 2cm exactly. Even though it was full price I just had to get it. It felt like fate😂😂. The only one on the shelf! I am going to test it as soon as I get home and fingers crossed it is a Unicorn!
I love watching the drama unfold 😅 I recently bought my first Moleskine expanded soft cover because of your channel! So far I’m thrilled with it! I can see myself really settling into it and getting so much use out of it. Looks like I got one with good paper quality too, so that’s exciting! I put an Amazon order in for Moleskine friendly pens too 😂🤓🖊️📓🫶🏻
Like someone else said, the difference in wording is the old vs the new label. Both labels could be used in a transition period. All books made after July 2024 will have the new label. I can’t link the FSC info page, but you can google ‘fsc changes mix label text’.
You are a genius and I so admire your commitment! And I am so invested in this! I will be anxiously waiting for the ultimate outcome! And yes, they should hire you to help them “fix” their paper! Thanks so much for doing this! 💕
I think you’re onto something here. With the exception of my new 2025 Daily Planner and one older notebook (of which I don’t have the paper info anymore), all of my Moleskines have awful paper. During my lunch break I suddenly remembered your clip and went to the bookstore to go paper hunting. Bought one set of lined cahiers that says “forestry”, just tried the one fountain pen I have at the office…absolutely perfect! No feathering, no bleed through. I’M SO EXCITED!!!!!
What quality paper would you say your 2025 daily planner has? I tested soft cover and hardcover versions of the 2025 daily and unfortunately they both have "mid" paper even those they have the "forestry" source. There's a bit of bleedthrough with some pens, but the ghosting is SO bad. I'm so bummed out! Also what color quality control sticker did you have? Mine was green. 🫠
OMGEEEEEZ YOU WERE RIGHT! I was just in staples looking for a ballpoint pen to use in my pen and gear notebook and I decided to check out the moleskines. I saw a softcover green 2024-2025 academic planner that had the "forestry" label but it was too expensive to buy and I don't need it. I checked the pocket notebooks and decided to buy a three pack of the cahier dot grid and the label said "forestry" made in vietnam. And all 3 are fountain pen friendly, no ghosting no bleed through. I tried 3 fountain pens - Esterbrook Estie Journaler Nib, Esterbrook Estie 1.1 stub nib, and Pilot Custom 823 medium and a thick Energel Bold Black 1.1 gel pen. All are perfect! Now I just need to get my hands on an expanded Moleskine Unicorn and I am all set! YAY. I will be holding onto my little cashiers. YAY. Thank you for cracking the case. Let's hope Moleskine is listening.
I’m not even into journaling and somehow I was recommended your videos a few days ago when the saga began and now I’m all invested in your investigation. I appreciate your commitment to solving the mystery. 🕵🏼♀️Now I want to buy a notebook just to see which one I get. 😊
I checked my old moleskine notebooks. They had “responsible sources” on the tag and were also NOT fountain pen friendly. Thank you for all these vids I’m enjoying this journey with you Hahaa!
Coming to confirm the theory! after a few days of having watched this video, I just got a moleskine expanded in the dotted version (it has the forestry label!!) and it can hold all my fountain pens and markers with no bleed through and very little ghostin even!!
I’ve just checked my moleskine and one of them actually has that “forestry” wording! I haven’t tested it yet, but the possibility of getting a unicorn got me all excited. And I don’t even care about the paper quality that much 😂
When I was in art school we would use cold press (textured) for sketching for more details and hot press (smooth) for writing, sketching too less absorbent, colors more vibrant since it sits on the surface. I hope I’m making sense. And paper weight is very important too. I’m hooked on your comparison videos 😁 tip to remember: think of laundry Cold-wrinkled (textured) Hot-Ironed (smooth)
Weirdly enough I bought my first Moleskine AFTER watching your videos 😂 surprisingly my 2025 daily pocket Moleskine must have the good paper since the pen test shows nearly zero bleed through. It had the orange sticker in the pocket in the back but the sleeve says "supporting responsible forestry". Can't believe I was this lucky with my firat purchase??? Thank you for making me this excited about this brand and all the paper mysteries 😄❤
Just one more data point: Yesterday at Target, saw for the first time an intermediate size hard cover, lined Moleskine, 4 5/8” by 7 3/16” with the “forestry” label. It has a dark green inspection sticker. Bought it and tried it; bleeds through like crazy with FP ink, but feels smooth (not like recycled paper). I like it very much and will use it for BP and gel (which it handles well). I am left with the conclusion that the only way to determine FP “friendliness” of a Moleskine is to open it and try it. One more observation I have is that the dark blue inspection sticker almost always will be associated with FP friendly paper. I have yet to encounter an exception to this. Too bad you only find that out after the fact. I will acknowledge that the “forestry” sticker may indicate smooth as opposed to recycled “feel” to the paper, whether FP friendly or not. Your video series on this topic is deserving of a PhD in Moleskine.
This whole video series was “The Moleskine Paper Detective “ by Seaweed Kisses ❤ Thanks for all your investigations of their paper. I have used their notebooks for years and not sure why just like them 😮
This is the kind of content I've been looking for my whole life ! I didn't crack the code but Noodler's bulletproof black is okay even with bad paper Moleskine. I will check my stash !
I like Noodler’s no feather it is more forgiving on cheap or bad paper. It is a nice dark black, flows well and doesn’t seem to clog or dry up in a pen if not used frequently.
I like no feather too. I’ve tried it also and for some reason in the most misbehaving Moleskine paper it bled through like the others while bulletproof did not or very little.
I ordered a soft cover ruled expanded (amazon), made in China, with light yellow sticker quality stickers but paper source is with FORESTRY and the page was so smooth. When using a sharpie s-gel pen, it passed my ink test. Love LOVE the smooth page. I was having bad luck with the pain pages. But had such great luck with the ruled soft cover. I have ordered few more soft covered ruled. Love them.
I got two Soft Cover plain notebooks from Amazon (not expanded). Made in China. Blue QC Label. "Responsible Sources". Tested Writers Blood, a bold nib with Pilot Tsutsuji, and several highlighters. All perfect. So now I want to conduct my own experimenting. I was upset to move away from Moleskine, I prefer the slimmer design...so I'm happy I found these. I'm testing my luck with another Amazon order. Fingers crossed! Love your channel. The Great Moleskine Experiment has been so interesting.
I have a Moleskine notebook (amongst several that I have bought lately), that has "responsible sources" on the lable, is made in China and has a dark yellow QC sticker. I found that on the first couple of pages my fountain pen ink test had quite a bit of bleed through, but further into the notebook the same pens and ink that caused bleed through on the front pages now seem to do much better and there isn't even much ghosting and almost no bleed through, unless I put down a ton of ink in one spot. Has anyone else had that? This would indicate that the paper quality isn't even constistent thoughout an entire notebook.
That was AWESOME Michelle‼️ I love all of your videos and you’re so funny and sweet 🎉 Those Benu fountain pens are just beautiful!! I’m going to try and get one for Christmas 🎄 Also, so glad you figured out about the Moleskins and “ the code” ‼️ I’ll be paying more attention when I shop for one. Keep up the good work ❤
This has been the coolest investigation ever. I haven’t found expanded, plain, classic and soft cover. I’m in Canada and can’t find anything online so far. What I don’t get is doesn’t anyone make notebooks with the correct kind of paper in all the sizes we want and need?🤷♀️🤷♀️
I think the label itself means something specific but it could mean when they changed the label design or wording a certain batch has good paper. 😂 loving this moleskine mystery! Thanks for sharing with fellow stationery nerds!
The Moleskine Chronicles. I’m here for it! 😃 I did read that labels that say forestry were made in or after 2022. So perhaps the quality control issue was addressed at that point and the paper has improved. I don’t use fountain pens, so I’m glad to use the bad paper! Maybe if people return them I’ll get some at a discount. Love these videos and comments!❤
I really have enjoyed your Moleskine series and it has made me going back to Moleskine. I was so frustrated with their paper quality. In my case, I can confirm that all my newly acquired Moleskine with "forestry" are of good paper quality and all the ones from last year with "source" are of bad paper quality. I got good paper quality made in Turkey, Vietnam and China. As I am in Europe and Moleskine is widely available here, I am hoping that Moleskine has improved their overall paper quality and that the bad ones are old stock items.
Checking in here-- most of the Moleskine Expanded notebooks were "Supporting Responsible Forestry" at my B&N. Bought one and the paper is definitely MUCH better than the 2024 daily pocket moleskine I bought just a month ago. Absolutely NO feathering and only minimal bleedthrough on par with Sanzen TRP with darker inks. Going to continue to test (I only used my F nibs because that's what I had on hand.)
I found a site that says "FSC-certified paper is different from recycled paper, as it's typically composed of virgin tree fibers rather than pre- or post-consumer recycled materials (although recycled paper is sometimes also FSC-certified). But when the wood pulp used to make this paper is sourced from a well-managed forest, it can be just as eco-friendly." So it looks like both recycled paper and wood pulp paper can have the FSC label, but they are different. You have probably cracked the code!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately I was able to find a few in my collection that this hypothesis didnt work for. :/ I opened my 2025 page a day planner that had the forestry verbiage and got one with the low quality paper this time. My last 2 years I have gotten the ‘unicorn paper’ in my page a day Moleskines. Whomp whomp 😢 (for the record, it had a green sticker) I also found one plain softcover that had a blue sticker and the ‘responsible sources’ verbiage that DID have the good paper. The rest of mine that I still had the tags for seemed to follow the pattern though? There were 2 different limited editions with gray tags that didn’t have the ‘unicorn’ paper, but I would still say they were in the ‘acceptable’ range. They bled a little, but not the tissue paper level bleeding that you can sometimes get from Moleskine paper. I work at a store that sells them though AND we have a package scale for sending out our mail. I'll try to see if I can test the weight differences to see if that one is consistent.
Same!!! I took a stroll to the bookstore since the 2024-25 daily planner was on sale, and I checked that it had the forestry wording, but unfortunately, it is in the mid range. It's not terrible but not great. It is a real chunker, so definitely going to enjoy it 😂
You so make me smile! I am on the hunt for my journal I write allot and I do art. Right now I am waiting for a Tomoe River journal B6 from Harriet Wright so I will see. Thank you for you energy and the smile for the day! Love and light to you!
The Moleskin Saga! ❤. I’m loving all your Moleskin videos. I purchased a few of the 2024 pocket size during the Amazon sale and the paper is very good. Thanks for sharing all this with us. I’d also love to see where you store your notebooks. I have a shelf in my closet and I do have a collection of several brands. We all share the excitement and the passion you have for journaling and purchasing things that make us happy. ❤❤❤
Michelle, I bought one at Barnes and Noble today, there were not many notebooks that said forestry on them. I found a smaller one 192 pages that I got, made in Ecuador. Had a light green sticker in it, It seems fine, but still bleeds through with heavy ink (flex pen). update, I have been writing in it for a couple of days and I am really liking it. It does not have that carpet feel, it's more smooth, so thanks again.😁
Love these videos ! I bought several Moleskine notebooks and I have four that are good with a Medium nib fountain pen, I don't have the really dark inks that you have. All of them are the 2024 Daily planners, two are hardcover and two are softcover. They are the classic size. All four have the blue sticker and are made in China. Unfortunately , I didn't save the the paper that went around them.
The reality is that paper is an incredibly turbulent industry,. Moleskine will source paper from a huge amount of places of varying degrees of quality depending on availability and price which goes up and down all the time, and the difference in the forestry ratings is more about the harvesting of the wood than the quality of the paper that comes out the other side. There may be ways to give yourself the best chance of getting the best paper, and you might well be onto something, but the supply chain around paper products is huge and erratic, and the reality is that moleskine have, for a long time, been lowering their paper standards in order to maximise production speed and profit, and paper in varying degrees of quality will end up in all the factories that make them with very little rhyme or reason. I hope this works out for you though! If you can work out a way to increase the chances of getting the best moleskine paper every time you buy one, your investigations won't have been wasted, and in the long run you might be getting one up on capitalism. Good job!
I love this investigation and I totally get why you're so excited about this! That being said it's just sad that with notebooks that expensive we have to investigate and be careful what we buy to not end up with total garbage. I've had a Moleskine that hat such bad paper quality that I ended up using only one side of the pages because it bled like crazy. Since then I only ever bought Leuchtturm notebooks and they never let me down.
A few years ago I contacted Moleskine on Facebook and made a request for a lined notebook that was the same size as their Voyageur with the brown fabric cover (B6 slim). I really liked that notebook and the paper was so smooth! The problem was that there was a lined section, a plain section and a red dotted section and I just wanted writing paper. They told me they would pass it on to their design department for consideration. Many months later I asked if they'd had a reply and it was a Watch this space! Some time later the medium was born😊 They do listen to requests as I was talking to a gentleman in the ensuing conversation who had put in a request for a Moleskine with twice the number of pages!
@@ajuju530I'm not the above commenter, but my 2025 daily pocket planner says those two things and has a green quality control sticker. The paper quality is "mid". I'm pretty disappointed because my 2024 daily had such good paper. 🫤
Or it could be related to that particular 'batch' of paper that was used to produce the different books. I'm picking the labels were changed at a particular point in time and you have a mixture of old and new labels. Eventually the majority of the old labels will disappear as they get sold and replaced with the new.
I found your video with the Jot notebook, and now I feel like I've discovered a gem! Recently, I wrote in my son's Oxford wide-ruled notebook using my fountain pens, and I was surprised to find it's better than mid-range Moleskine paper! Some inks don’t bleed through, and there's barely any ghosting. Curious if people living in America were aware of this (There are two Oxford companies, one from American and the other from England), I searched and came across your notebook review. I’ve just learned about Moleskine, and now I feel like I should go grab one!
I am a new subscriber and this has been very fascinating to watch. I also got inspired by you to get a discounted daily moleskine 23-24 for art journaling and excited to use this notebook again!
I'm so invested in this 😂I have a few fountain pens but lately I just haven't been drawn to them I like to write fast and furious so I'm back to my ballpoints and gel pens for the majority of my writing so I feel like I'm watching from the sidelines.
I went to see what my local staples had for moleskein this weekend and the only expandeds they had were in lined 😩 I'll have to check book stores to see if they have grid versions...
I think they should put the quality control stickers somewhere outside, visible to the consumers. Or they can just grade their paper themselves and put the information out in the open. They should also price the different quality notebooks accordingly. There are ballpoint pens users out there who don’t care about the paper quality that much. They will be happy having something functional at a much lower price. But at the $30-50 price range, I would expect good paper without any inconsistencies.
Hi, Michelle! I am following this saga on Moleskine paper with great interest. I wanted to let you know the wrapping paper that comes with all the journal books are called “belly bands”. Since they wrap around the belly of the notebooks no matter the brand. Thought I’d pass that on.
I have to say, that it is disappointing that they don't have a consistent quality across all of their notebooks. They aren't cheap! But, I'm glad to have you, so I get the good stuff!❤
I’m enjoying this saga. I think it’s something like this. That’s the case with Pen and Gear steno pads (bad paper with recycled content) and their other products (good, fountain pen friendly paper)
You're a genius! 😮 My good Moleskine is made in Turkey, it has a orange label and, yes there is "forestry". 😊 Thank you very much for sharing your experiments and discoveries. ❤ PS: I'm almost disappointed, why I bought it for the porous paper because I thought it will be better for pencils! 😅
I'm currently in my first "bad" Moleskine and it is frustrating. Sigh. Now I am on a mission to find the good paper again because I'm not ready to give up on Moleskine yet.
I love Wearinguel inks. I’ve tried several samples, still buying them;) my number one so far is Anubis. Second is Persephone and for a nice black, Faust:)) Current drink of the season is black tea with a splash of mulled apple cider. Loved this vid❤
Huh, will have to try this next time, just for the fun of the experiment. I just bought one with "Paper from responsible sources" based on the "look for creamier/darker paper" and it has a light blue QA sticker and no bleed-through with my fountain pens.
I love your videos - especially the Moleskine ones 🤩. And I like and use Moleskine notebooks for decades by now. Maybe it is only a thing in Germany, but I got three Moleskine notebooks, plain pages, hardcover, large, 240 pages in the Amazon sale this month: All of them are from Turkey, all of them with darker orange stickers. Two books have the forestry, one the sources. The sources of course has bad paper, but sadly one of the forestry has also the bad paper. I don't get what's Moleskine doing with the paper. I am not too sad, because I will use them anyway. And I still got one of the 2024 daily planners with the good paper from the planner-sale. 😇
Hello my fearless leader. I actually found the same one that you posted. I was looking for it to be ~$20. Anyway, I think I’m going to stick with the A5 Notebooks that are over 450+ pages. But if they end up on sale I will be buying a few of them. Enjoy your venture 😊.
This has been fun to watch and I wish there was a way to tell,but I don't think the FSC label is going to be consistent enough to use as an indicator across the board sadly
@ I finally got all my Moleskins and did my pen test and you are right responsible sources bleeds through but the Forestry does not. However I also did an ink swab from the ink bottle and the same thing. Thank goodness out of 5 notebooks all but one is the Forestry notebooks. So it works on the classic collectors soft cover. 192 pages
Love the sharing, thank you! Do you find the faux leather cover flaking off after a year or so? I’ve been getting that sometime back and got really frustrated 😢
Ok, let me throw a potential spanner in the works. I bought an 18 month 2023-24 planner. 2023 had bad paper. 2024 had good paper. Someone in one of my classes in a different country, had the same thing.
I bought one of those expanded edition Moleskins from the link in your video because of all these videos hahahah. Now I wanna buy another one and learn to crack the code 😂😂😂
I'm a bit annoyed at myself for skipping to the end of this whole saga. What an adventure! I love the feel of a softcover moleskine but have been looking elsewhere lately as I have been using fountain pens and darker inks more lately and it was affecting readability once both sides of a page ghosted onto one another. I saw this and ran out to my local officeworks (Australian here) and got a set of three with a green cover as they were the only ones with this "forestry" wording. Seems you are correct, these are much better! Although I see @jessicasblack comment below and it is a shame to get the "better" paper we are looking for something that is (maybe) slightly less ethical... Still at least it is good to have this mystery solved!
I'm so glad you found your code for good Moleskine notebooks, and I love that you love your Moleskines. But I can't get behind buying one for myself. As a company, Moleskine shouldn't be marketing and pricing all of these notebooks as equal. It's just not an honest business practice.
👉👉 For anyone new here, I want to clarify that I still enjoy using the Moleskine EXPANDED 400-page notebooks, even though they're not the best for fountain pen inks. As I often mention in my Moleskine videos, my creative practice mainly involves ballpoint and gel pens, which work great on this paper. I keep buying these notebooks (usually snagging them on sale from Amazon for $15-$20 instead of the $38 retail price) because I genuinely enjoy using them.
This mini-series came about unexpectedly when I noticed that my latest Moleskine order performed differently from what I'd experienced in recent years. While I'm aware of other popular options like Tomoe River paper, it's just not my personal preference. For those curious about alternatives, check out my 'Better Than a Moleskine' video here, th-cam.com/video/aZJJzng7ZZ0/w-d-xo.html , where I share the other notebooks I love using alongside my Moleskines.
On amazon, the moleskine description now says that their books are fountain pen friendly.
"FSC paper from responsible sources" refers to paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) which means the wood pulp used to make it comes from forests managed sustainably, while "FSC supporting responsible forestry" indicates that the product, even if it contains a mix of materials, is part of a company committed to the broader principles of responsible forestry through FSC certification, essentially signifying their support for sustainable practices even if not all materials are 100% FSC-certified; both labels essentially mean the product is linked to responsible forestry practices, but the "supporting responsible forestry" label may include a mix of materials that aren't fully FSC certified, while "responsible sources" implies all the wood pulp is from FSC-certified forests.
Yes, and the responsible forestry label is new. The new label was released in 2022 with a transition period of 2 years. In 2024, all FSC mix products will have the new new 'responsible forestry' wording.
@@jaimelynn3520 I've noticed that the address is different. On the notebook with the new label - "supporting responsible forestry" is a different address, Bergognone 34, 20144 Milano. Maybe the company has new management, and they improved the paper quality.
wish i could bookmark your comment bc super helpful/informative/aka the things i need to know
Reporting in from the UK - THIS WORKS! Just bought 3 packs of Cahiers, one marked "responsible sources" and two marked "responsible forestry". Both of the "responsible forestry" ones have good paper, the "responsible sources" one is terrible.
That's wonderful to hear!!! Yeees! So happy for your win find, and thank you for sharing! 🙌
U r hilarious. The passion, the obsession...the utter willingness to bankrupt urself in the search for ur Holy Grail Notebook🤣😂 I applaud ur dogged determination to solve this mystery. I only wish sanzen and hobonichi were this obsessed with investigating why the new tomoe river paper is not performing consistently😅
This moleskin saga is RIVETING!! 😂
😂 Happy to entertain!
😅😂
Watching this, I was thinking the same thing.
😂😂😂😂
Hi Michelle. I’ve bought a few Moleskines over the years and they all bled through long before I started using fountain pens. Today I bought one with the “responsible forestry” label and it’s perfect. My very first Moleskine that doesn’t even ghost much. It worked for me here. Great job. Thanks 😉
So happy to hear that!! Yeees!! Thanks for sharing your experience! ❤
I have to admit, I hate Moleskine notebooks. But, your videos on this Moleskine paper rabbit hole are very entertaining. I think I'm a paper snob, because all I use is Midori or Tomoe River with my fountain pens. You go girl!
Same! Yet I am following this saga religiously 😅
How is tomoe river in your new notebooks? My notebooks are terrible
Oh, don't get me wrong. I love me a goof Midori A5 365 codex as well! It's my top favorite notebook (next to the Expanded Moleskine). Thanks for watching!
@@marinagoncharova5331 Don't know, as I'm still living on the old stuff...
Moleskine detective! Lol. Im sure Moleskine knows which has the good paper and why, just wish they would stick with that kind of paper. Great video. Thanks for sharing!
You know what, I bet they do! They just need to stick to the same formula for all factories!
If you’re familiar with Tomoe River paper, I’ve learned that there’s so much that can lead to differences in paper! Even something as simple as the the water used to process 😅
@@cassiespaz1oh!! Very interesting! It’s odd as even some Moleskines with same country of origin, same notebook model can still have diff paper quality. 😅
@@SeaweedKisses that would explain it I guess as if they have 2 different mills or paper plants in one country 🤷🏻♀️ like I’m in a rural area and my water is very different from city water.
But who even knows haha
@@cassiespaz1Ahh! Good point! 🤔🧐
I feel like im in the final season of the moleskine expanded saga. Loving it, learning something new in each episode.
As a researcher, I've found these videos really enjoyable and comforting 😅
Moleskine created a monster... and entertainment for us all!😂
Yes! "Supporting responsible forestry" in my 18 months daily diary, made in Turkey. I write with juicy inks and paint with watercolour without any issues. Beautiful detective work, lady!
This is the dream! I have to find one!!!
@@christadavidart I have the 24-25 Daily Diary. It truly has gorgeous paper!
@@YellowSunStar so happy to hear that!! Yay!!🎉🙌
Ok so I was just at the mall. Passed by the bookstore and went in. I wasn't planning on buying another moleskine buuuuut.... there was one lonely moleskine expanded on the shelf. The only one! I checked the back and it said "responsible forestry". I found a mini ruler in the stationery section and measured... it was 2cm exactly. Even though it was full price I just had to get it. It felt like fate😂😂. The only one on the shelf! I am going to test it as soon as I get home and fingers crossed it is a Unicorn!
Was it??
@kristinagabrielsen1351 it was, indeed, a Unicorn! I am beyond pleased!
@@NHarts3 awesome, congrats!!!
@@NHarts3 yes!!! So happy for your unicorn find!!🎉🫶
YASSSSS I am so excited for you! I have to get to a Barnes and Noble tomorrow. I need me a UNICORN Moleskine Expanded.
It's been so fun following you on this journey to solve the Moleskine paper mystery.
Happy to have you along! 😂🙌
I love watching the drama unfold 😅
I recently bought my first Moleskine expanded soft cover because of your channel! So far I’m thrilled with it! I can see myself really settling into it and getting so much use out of it. Looks like I got one with good paper quality too, so that’s exciting! I put an Amazon order in for Moleskine friendly pens too 😂🤓🖊️📓🫶🏻
I'm so glad you like it!! Yay!!🙌 🩷🩷 Happy Journaling!!
Like someone else said, the difference in wording is the old vs the new label. Both labels could be used in a transition period. All books made after July 2024 will have the new label.
I can’t link the FSC info page, but you can google ‘fsc changes mix label text’.
You are a genius and I so admire your commitment! And I am so invested in this! I will be anxiously waiting for the ultimate outcome! And yes, they should hire you to help them “fix” their paper! Thanks so much for doing this! 💕
You did it QUEEN you cracked ittttttt ! Thank to you I found 4 unicorns (I live in Switzerland so it applies here too) !!!!!!! you're the best
@@flavyviscardi4050 really??! That’s wonderful for hear!! I’m so happy it worked and helped you.🎉 Aren’t the unicorn Moleskines so nice!
I think you’re onto something here. With the exception of my new 2025 Daily Planner and one older notebook (of which I don’t have the paper info anymore), all of my Moleskines have awful paper. During my lunch break I suddenly remembered your clip and went to the bookstore to go paper hunting. Bought one set of lined cahiers that says “forestry”, just tried the one fountain pen I have at the office…absolutely perfect! No feathering, no bleed through. I’M SO EXCITED!!!!!
What quality paper would you say your 2025 daily planner has? I tested soft cover and hardcover versions of the 2025 daily and unfortunately they both have "mid" paper even those they have the "forestry" source. There's a bit of bleedthrough with some pens, but the ghosting is SO bad. I'm so bummed out!
Also what color quality control sticker did you have? Mine was green. 🫠
I am here for this! Clicked on this as soon as I saw the title.
OMGEEEEEZ YOU WERE RIGHT! I was just in staples looking for a ballpoint pen to use in my pen and gear notebook and I decided to check out the moleskines. I saw a softcover green 2024-2025 academic planner that had the "forestry" label but it was too expensive to buy and I don't need it. I checked the pocket notebooks and decided to buy a three pack of the cahier dot grid and the label said "forestry" made in vietnam. And all 3 are fountain pen friendly, no ghosting no bleed through. I tried 3 fountain pens - Esterbrook Estie Journaler Nib, Esterbrook Estie 1.1 stub nib, and Pilot Custom 823 medium and a thick Energel Bold Black 1.1 gel pen. All are perfect! Now I just need to get my hands on an expanded Moleskine Unicorn and I am all set! YAY.
I will be holding onto my little cashiers. YAY. Thank you for cracking the case. Let's hope Moleskine is listening.
whoop whoop!! Yeess!! So happy for your good experience with the "forestry" theory as well!! Let's just hope Moleskine keeps the good quality going...
I’m not even into journaling and somehow I was recommended your videos a few days ago when the saga began and now I’m all invested in your investigation. I appreciate your commitment to solving the mystery. 🕵🏼♀️Now I want to buy a notebook just to see which one I get. 😊
Should you decide to get one, I would love to hear your experience!
Oh my gosh the fact that I’m so invested in this 😂 I love this community and the way we just get each other. Thanks for sharing this journey!
Yes, we understand and get each other! 😂
This reminds me of plankton trying to get the krabby patty formula. I love this ❤😂
😂
love this comment!! 🤣
I checked my old moleskine notebooks. They had “responsible sources” on the tag and were also NOT fountain pen friendly. Thank you for all these vids I’m enjoying this journey with you Hahaa!
Coming to confirm the theory! after a few days of having watched this video, I just got a moleskine expanded in the dotted version (it has the forestry label!!) and it can hold all my fountain pens and markers with no bleed through and very little ghostin even!!
When I tell you I clicked on this so fast!
Same!
you bring the snacks, i'll provide the TEA! 👀
@@SeaweedKisses girl it was PIPING HOT!
I’ve just checked my moleskine and one of them actually has that “forestry” wording! I haven’t tested it yet, but the possibility of getting a unicorn got me all excited.
And I don’t even care about the paper quality that much 😂
hope it's a good one!!
When I was in art school we would use cold press (textured) for sketching for more details and hot press (smooth) for writing, sketching too less absorbent, colors more vibrant since it sits on the surface. I hope I’m making sense. And paper weight is very important too. I’m hooked on your comparison videos 😁 tip to remember:
think of laundry Cold-wrinkled (textured)
Hot-Ironed (smooth)
Thank you great info 🤗
Weirdly enough I bought my first Moleskine AFTER watching your videos 😂 surprisingly my 2025 daily pocket Moleskine must have the good paper since the pen test shows nearly zero bleed through. It had the orange sticker in the pocket in the back but the sleeve says "supporting responsible forestry". Can't believe I was this lucky with my firat purchase??? Thank you for making me this excited about this brand and all the paper mysteries 😄❤
That's great!! am so happy to hear you're enjoying your Moleskine noteook!! And that it was one of the good "unicorn" rare ones!! Happy Journaling! 🤗
Just one more data point: Yesterday at Target, saw for the first time an intermediate size hard cover, lined Moleskine, 4 5/8” by 7 3/16” with the “forestry” label. It has a dark green inspection sticker. Bought it and tried it; bleeds through like crazy with FP ink, but feels smooth (not like recycled paper). I like it very much and will use it for BP and gel (which it handles well). I am left with the conclusion that the only way to determine FP “friendliness” of a Moleskine is to open it and try it. One more observation I have is that the dark blue inspection sticker almost always will be associated with FP friendly paper. I have yet to encounter an exception to this. Too bad you only find that out after the fact. I will acknowledge that the “forestry” sticker may indicate smooth as opposed to recycled “feel” to the paper, whether FP friendly or not. Your video series on this topic is deserving of a PhD in Moleskine.
As a stationery addict, I love these videos. I have a large moleskin daily but no skin in the notebook game but now I am tempted!
😂 got me INVESTED w this thorough research! 👀🍿🥤😊
I know ,right. I’m like 👀🕵🏽🍿😂
This whole video series was “The Moleskine Paper Detective “ by Seaweed Kisses ❤ Thanks for all your investigations of their paper. I have used their notebooks for years and not sure why just like them 😮
Right! There's just something about them! 🤪
This is the kind of content I've been looking for my whole life ! I didn't crack the code but Noodler's bulletproof black is okay even with bad paper Moleskine. I will check my stash !
I like Noodler’s no feather it is more forgiving on cheap or bad paper. It is a nice dark black, flows well and doesn’t seem to clog or dry up in a pen if not used frequently.
I like no feather too. I’ve tried it also and for some reason in the most misbehaving Moleskine paper it bled through like the others while bulletproof did not or very little.
I ordered a soft cover ruled expanded (amazon), made in China, with light yellow sticker quality stickers but paper source is with FORESTRY and the page was so smooth. When using a sharpie s-gel pen, it passed my ink test. Love LOVE the smooth page. I was having bad luck with the pain pages.
But had such great luck with the ruled soft cover. I have ordered few more soft covered ruled. Love them.
Happy to hear the ruled version was a wine at least!! Yeah!!
Love it
I got two Soft Cover plain notebooks from Amazon (not expanded). Made in China. Blue QC Label. "Responsible Sources". Tested Writers Blood, a bold nib with Pilot Tsutsuji, and several highlighters. All perfect. So now I want to conduct my own experimenting. I was upset to move away from Moleskine, I prefer the slimmer design...so I'm happy I found these. I'm testing my luck with another Amazon order. Fingers crossed! Love your channel. The Great Moleskine Experiment has been so interesting.
I have a Moleskine notebook (amongst several that I have bought lately), that has "responsible sources" on the lable, is made in China and has a dark yellow QC sticker. I found that on the first couple of pages my fountain pen ink test had quite a bit of bleed through, but further into the notebook the same pens and ink that caused bleed through on the front pages now seem to do much better and there isn't even much ghosting and almost no bleed through, unless I put down a ton of ink in one spot.
Has anyone else had that?
This would indicate that the paper quality isn't even constistent thoughout an entire notebook.
That was AWESOME Michelle‼️ I love all of your videos and you’re so funny and sweet 🎉 Those Benu fountain pens are just beautiful!! I’m going to try and get one for Christmas 🎄 Also, so glad you figured out about the Moleskins and “ the code” ‼️ I’ll be paying more attention when I shop for one. Keep up the good work ❤
This has been the coolest investigation ever. I haven’t found expanded, plain, classic and soft cover. I’m in Canada and can’t find anything online so far. What I don’t get is doesn’t anyone make notebooks with the correct kind of paper in all the sizes we want and need?🤷♀️🤷♀️
I think the label itself means something specific but it could mean when they changed the label design or wording a certain batch has good paper. 😂 loving this moleskine mystery! Thanks for sharing with fellow stationery nerds!
The Moleskine Chronicles. I’m here for it! 😃 I did read that labels that say forestry were made in or after 2022. So perhaps the quality control issue was addressed at that point and the paper has improved. I don’t use fountain pens, so I’m glad to use the bad paper! Maybe if people return them I’ll get some at a discount. Love these videos and comments!❤
im loving these updates
I really have enjoyed your Moleskine series and it has made me going back to Moleskine. I was so frustrated with their paper quality. In my case, I can confirm that all my newly acquired Moleskine with "forestry" are of good paper quality and all the ones from last year with "source" are of bad paper quality. I got good paper quality made in Turkey, Vietnam and China. As I am in Europe and Moleskine is widely available here, I am hoping that Moleskine has improved their overall paper quality and that the bad ones are old stock items.
Checking in here-- most of the Moleskine Expanded notebooks were "Supporting Responsible Forestry" at my B&N. Bought one and the paper is definitely MUCH better than the 2024 daily pocket moleskine I bought just a month ago. Absolutely NO feathering and only minimal bleedthrough on par with Sanzen TRP with darker inks. Going to continue to test (I only used my F nibs because that's what I had on hand.)
(made in Ecuador, green qc sticker)
I’m a little bit of a paper snob too . I mean really it makes a difference when you’re writing with a fountain pen or a nice gel ink pen.
I found a site that says "FSC-certified paper is different from recycled paper, as it's typically composed of virgin tree fibers rather than pre- or post-consumer recycled materials (although recycled paper is sometimes also FSC-certified). But when the wood pulp used to make this paper is sourced from a well-managed forest, it can be just as eco-friendly." So it looks like both recycled paper and wood pulp paper can have the FSC label, but they are different. You have probably cracked the code!
Yay!!!! I love the good moleskine notebooks!!! Thank you!!!!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately I was able to find a few in my collection that this hypothesis didnt work for. :/
I opened my 2025 page a day planner that had the forestry verbiage and got one with the low quality paper this time. My last 2 years I have gotten the ‘unicorn paper’ in my page a day Moleskines. Whomp whomp 😢 (for the record, it had a green sticker)
I also found one plain softcover that had a blue sticker and the ‘responsible sources’ verbiage that DID have the good paper.
The rest of mine that I still had the tags for seemed to follow the pattern though? There were 2 different limited editions with gray tags that didn’t have the ‘unicorn’ paper, but I would still say they were in the ‘acceptable’ range. They bled a little, but not the tissue paper level bleeding that you can sometimes get from Moleskine paper.
I work at a store that sells them though AND we have a package scale for sending out our mail. I'll try to see if I can test the weight differences to see if that one is consistent.
Same!!! I took a stroll to the bookstore since the 2024-25 daily planner was on sale, and I checked that it had the forestry wording, but unfortunately, it is in the mid range. It's not terrible but not great. It is a real chunker, so definitely going to enjoy it 😂
Yaaaay! So excited to find out the secret! ❤😂
❤❤Hope this helps!!
15:49 oh yes Uniball one is definitely my go to for black gel pens! It doesn’t bleed through when many others do and it is very dark.
You so make me smile! I am on the hunt for my journal I write allot and I do art. Right now I am waiting for a Tomoe River journal B6 from Harriet Wright so I will see. Thank you for you energy and the smile for the day! Love and light to you!
This was so interesting! Thanks for all your perseverance and research 🥰💌🖋
The Moleskin Saga! ❤. I’m loving all your Moleskin videos. I purchased a few of the 2024 pocket size during the Amazon sale and the paper is very good. Thanks for sharing all this with us. I’d also love to see where you store your notebooks. I have a shelf in my closet and I do have a collection of several brands. We all share the excitement and the passion you have for journaling and purchasing things that make us happy. ❤❤❤
Michelle, I bought one at Barnes and Noble today, there were not many notebooks that said forestry on them. I found a smaller one 192 pages that I got, made in Ecuador. Had a light green sticker in it, It seems fine, but still bleeds through with heavy ink (flex pen). update, I have been writing in it for a couple of days and I am really liking it. It does not have that carpet feel, it's more smooth, so thanks again.😁
Mine is made in China, with a blue sticker and has a responsible sources wording, and it is very fountain pen friendly 😅
This is so chaotic that I got so lost between the good and the bad paper... but I still sort of love it
I saw that title and clicked on here so QUICK…. I knew she found a way to tell ! 😂
TYSM for sharing ! 💖
Love these videos ! I bought several Moleskine notebooks and I have four that are good with a Medium nib fountain pen, I don't have the really dark inks that you have. All of them are the 2024 Daily planners, two are hardcover and two are softcover. They are the classic size. All four have the blue sticker and are made in China. Unfortunately , I didn't save the the paper that went around them.
The reality is that paper is an incredibly turbulent industry,. Moleskine will source paper from a huge amount of places of varying degrees of quality depending on availability and price which goes up and down all the time, and the difference in the forestry ratings is more about the harvesting of the wood than the quality of the paper that comes out the other side. There may be ways to give yourself the best chance of getting the best paper, and you might well be onto something, but the supply chain around paper products is huge and erratic, and the reality is that moleskine have, for a long time, been lowering their paper standards in order to maximise production speed and profit, and paper in varying degrees of quality will end up in all the factories that make them with very little rhyme or reason. I hope this works out for you though! If you can work out a way to increase the chances of getting the best moleskine paper every time you buy one, your investigations won't have been wasted, and in the long run you might be getting one up on capitalism. Good job!
I love this investigation and I totally get why you're so excited about this!
That being said it's just sad that with notebooks that expensive we have to investigate and be careful what we buy to not end up with total garbage. I've had a Moleskine that hat such bad paper quality that I ended up using only one side of the pages because it bled like crazy. Since then I only ever bought Leuchtturm notebooks and they never let me down.
A few years ago I contacted Moleskine on Facebook and made a request for a lined notebook that was the same size as their Voyageur with the brown fabric cover (B6 slim). I really liked that notebook and the paper was so smooth! The problem was that there was a lined section, a plain section and a red dotted section and I just wanted writing paper. They told me they would pass it on to their design department for consideration. Many months later I asked if they'd had a reply and it was a Watch this space! Some time later the medium was born😊 They do listen to requests as I was talking to a gentleman in the ensuing conversation who had put in a request for a Moleskine with twice the number of pages!
Lol...I don't own a single moleskin, but I'm vested in this saga.
Mine says Ecuador and FORESTRY! WOO WHOOO!
If you have already tested it, would you let me know the result please?
@@ajuju530I'm not the above commenter, but my 2025 daily pocket planner says those two things and has a green quality control sticker. The paper quality is "mid".
I'm pretty disappointed because my 2024 daily had such good paper. 🫤
You have no idea how much I love you for this extraordinary detective work!!
Or it could be related to that particular 'batch' of paper that was used to produce the different books. I'm picking the labels were changed at a particular point in time and you have a mixture of old and new labels. Eventually the majority of the old labels will disappear as they get sold and replaced with the new.
I found your video with the Jot notebook, and now I feel like I've discovered a gem! Recently, I wrote in my son's Oxford wide-ruled notebook using my fountain pens, and I was surprised to find it's better than mid-range Moleskine paper! Some inks don’t bleed through, and there's barely any ghosting. Curious if people living in America were aware of this (There are two Oxford companies, one from American and the other from England), I searched and came across your notebook review. I’ve just learned about Moleskine, and now I feel like I should go grab one!
I am a new subscriber and this has been very fascinating to watch. I also got inspired by you to get a discounted daily moleskine 23-24 for art journaling and excited to use this notebook again!
You go girl Michelle!!!🙌🏻🩷 I wasn’t planning to buy any of Moleskine notebooks but I gotta run to my nearest stationery shop and check them out!
I'm so invested in this 😂I have a few fountain pens but lately I just haven't been drawn to them I like to write fast and furious so I'm back to my ballpoints and gel pens for the majority of my writing so I feel like I'm watching from the sidelines.
I feel like the old man from 'Moonstruck'..... "I'm so confused". 😆
😂😂❤ You’re not alone
I went to see what my local staples had for moleskein this weekend and the only expandeds they had were in lined 😩 I'll have to check book stores to see if they have grid versions...
I think they should put the quality control stickers somewhere outside, visible to the consumers. Or they can just grade their paper themselves and put the information out in the open. They should also price the different quality notebooks accordingly. There are ballpoint pens users out there who don’t care about the paper quality that much. They will be happy having something functional at a much lower price. But at the $30-50 price range, I would expect good paper without any inconsistencies.
Hi, Michelle! I am following this saga on Moleskine paper with great interest. I wanted to let you know the wrapping paper that comes with all the journal books are called “belly bands”. Since they wrap around the belly of the notebooks no matter the brand. Thought I’d pass that on.
I’m on the edge of my seat!
I think you solved this mystery!
I have to say, that it is disappointing that they don't have a consistent quality across all of their notebooks. They aren't cheap! But, I'm glad to have you, so I get the good stuff!❤
Makes sense that bad paper would be recycled paper.
Yes, that’s the case with Pen and Gear steno pads (bad paper) and their other products (good, fountain pen friendly paper)
I’m enjoying this saga. I think it’s something like this. That’s the case with Pen and Gear steno pads (bad paper with recycled content) and their other products (good, fountain pen friendly paper)
You're a genius! 😮
My good Moleskine is made in Turkey, it has a orange label and, yes there is "forestry". 😊
Thank you very much for sharing your experiments and discoveries. ❤
PS:
I'm almost disappointed, why I bought it for the porous paper because I thought it will be better for pencils! 😅
Your commitment to this problem is commendable. ❤🎉😊
Now I'm curious which one is the newer version. My guess is forestry is being discontinued
I'm currently in my first "bad" Moleskine and it is frustrating. Sigh. Now I am on a mission to find the good paper again because I'm not ready to give up on Moleskine yet.
I'm so invested in this! My cubby at work is full of Moleskines from Amazon.
I love Wearinguel inks. I’ve tried several samples, still buying them;) my number one so far is Anubis. Second is Persephone and for a nice black, Faust:))
Current drink of the season is black tea with a splash of mulled apple cider. Loved this vid❤
We’re all back…..Oh wow! You’ve cracked it! Do you think “responsible sources” is recycled paper and “responsible forestry” is new original paper?
Huh, will have to try this next time, just for the fun of the experiment. I just bought one with "Paper from responsible sources" based on the "look for creamier/darker paper" and it has a light blue QA sticker and no bleed-through with my fountain pens.
I love your videos - especially the Moleskine ones 🤩. And I like and use Moleskine notebooks for decades by now. Maybe it is only a thing in Germany, but I got three Moleskine notebooks, plain pages, hardcover, large, 240 pages in the Amazon sale this month: All of them are from Turkey, all of them with darker orange stickers. Two books have the forestry, one the sources. The sources of course has bad paper, but sadly one of the forestry has also the bad paper. I don't get what's Moleskine doing with the paper. I am not too sad, because I will use them anyway. And I still got one of the 2024 daily planners with the good paper from the planner-sale. 😇
Hello my fearless leader. I actually found the same one that you posted. I was looking for it to be ~$20. Anyway, I think I’m going to stick with the A5 Notebooks that are over 450+ pages. But if they end up on sale I will be buying a few of them. Enjoy your venture 😊.
Wait 500 pages? How did I miss that?! Is that why it costs ~$36 instead of $20? Let me go back and check it out again 🎉!
I love it. My favorite is Moleskine.
This has been fun to watch and I wish there was a way to tell,but I don't think the FSC label is going to be consistent enough to use as an indicator across the board sadly
You could take a picture of the band and print as a sticker. No chance of losing it. 😊
Sherlock Kisses at it again 😂
Yes I’m new here, but what’s the name of the one with the red sticker “authorized personnel only”
And what size 0:00
I just got two moleskin grid and I went and looked and I got one of each. I will let you know 😊
Yes, please keep me updated!!
@ I finally got all my Moleskins and did my pen test and you are right responsible sources bleeds through but the Forestry does not. However I also did an ink swab from the ink bottle and the same thing. Thank goodness out of 5 notebooks all but one is the Forestry notebooks. So it works on the classic collectors soft cover. 192 pages
I am with you I love my Moleskine notebook's they are my favorite notebook to write in 📓 🖋 🩷🩵❤️💜💖💗💓💕💞
Love the sharing, thank you! Do you find the faux leather cover flaking off after a year or so? I’ve been getting that sometime back and got really frustrated 😢
Ok, let me throw a potential spanner in the works. I bought an 18 month 2023-24 planner. 2023 had bad paper. 2024 had good paper. Someone in one of my classes in a different country, had the same thing.
I bought one of those expanded edition Moleskins from the link in your video because of all these videos hahahah. Now I wanna buy another one and learn to crack the code 😂😂😂
I'm a bit annoyed at myself for skipping to the end of this whole saga. What an adventure!
I love the feel of a softcover moleskine but have been looking elsewhere lately as I have been using fountain pens and darker inks more lately and it was affecting readability once both sides of a page ghosted onto one another. I saw this and ran out to my local officeworks (Australian here) and got a set of three with a green cover as they were the only ones with this "forestry" wording. Seems you are correct, these are much better!
Although I see @jessicasblack comment below and it is a shame to get the "better" paper we are looking for something that is (maybe) slightly less ethical... Still at least it is good to have this mystery solved!
I'm so glad you found your code for good Moleskine notebooks, and I love that you love your Moleskines. But I can't get behind buying one for myself. As a company, Moleskine shouldn't be marketing and pricing all of these notebooks as equal. It's just not an honest business practice.
I am partway into this book verification and saw the cuppa coffee… gggrrr.. lol. I want some. Now to watch the rest. ( pray for me people)