Fa-Vo

Honeycomb, innit?

I came across these notebooks at the London Stationery Show.

The brain-child of two Portuguese architects working in London. Ivo and Liana launched on Kickstarter and now sell through their own webstore and now through Nero’s Notes.

Once the dust had settled after the show, I placed an order as a customer. I try not to abuse being a retailer - it can feel like everybody is after something for nothing. Until now, the books sat in my ‘To use’ pile.

No longer…

Tech Spec

* 100% Recycled pages and cover with rounded corners
* 140 numbered pages
* 100 gsm paper and 350 gsm soft cover
* 205 * 145 mm
* Perfect-bound - True Lay-flat
* Ruled, Blank or dotted with four colour choices for covers

Paper Test

The photo should be self-evident. This recycled paper can handle ink. The TWSBI 1.1 stub and the broad wrote very nicely. The BB Kaweco takes down pretty much everything and the Fa-Vo is no exception. It fared better than most, but there is a little feathering. However, there is no bleed through and only a tiny bit of show through.

That’s impressive.

I happily use fountain pens in this book, although as my primary use is as a content journal, I mostly use pencil. The paper is not bright white, which might bother some, particularly those looking for sheen effects. The colour is definitely a grey off-white.

Lay-flat

This is the knock ‘em dead feature of these books. They lay properly flat and are a joy to use.

Aesthetics

The covers are plain. Devoid of any detail. These design-folk do like a bit of minimalism, don’t they? I maintain the belly band as a page-marker, but I suspect that a bit of “carry wear and tear” will soon put paid to that.

Conclusion

Well, before publishing this, I’m getting in touch with with Fa-Vo to get some stock in. That gives you an idea of what I think of them.

These books are going into my rotation.