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Giant Wall Notebook

notebook by george and willy

I first saw this wall mounted notebook in a little Italian restaurant near us and immediately loved it. I used to make notebooks like this on a much smaller scale when I was a child. Some of you may remember them from Blue Peter – cover a piece of cardboard in sticky back plastic, use a slice of washing up liquid bottle to secure the paper and buy a till roll from the newsagents shop on the corner then secure it to the board with string. I think everyone in the family got them for Christmas at various points of my childhood.

This came full circle for my last birthday when the 16-year-old presented me with one he had made from wood and painted dark grey. The notebook has been secured with brass wire and it’s a thing of useful beauty indeed.

wall notebook

Then I was sent details of this version by a New Zealand company called George and Willy (and yes they do express international shipping) and suddenly I not only knew where I could get one, but realised how much I wanted it.

I don’t know about you but I can’t do all this electronic note-taking. I don’t keep a diary on my phone and I can’t remember things unless I write them down. I have post-it notes all round my desk, several notebooks in different colours on the go at any one time and buying my annual diary is a both a ritual and a pleasure.

George & Willy

In short, if I haven’t written it down it either doesn’t exist or it ain’t happening. I cannot leave the house without a notebook and pen and have been known to get out of a waiting taxi to go back in to get one if I have (rarely) forgotten.

I’m not quite sure why I don’t already have one of these. Perhaps because it’s £80 for the small version and £132 for the studio version (plus shipping). But I know I would use it every day. And, perhaps, it would finally get rid of the notes on the fridge which I really, really hate.

wall roller notebook

The only question is do I have one for my desk in the loft – studio? Or one in the kitchen for the family? I can’t justify two. Can I?

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

9 Comments

  1. These have been on my wish list for ages. Just need a burning reason to spend that much money on it. Even put it on my Christmas list this year but no-one chose that option. I love the huge one aesthetically but even my shopping lists aren’t that big!

  2. I made the Blue Peter one too! That was my first thought when I saw your photo. Love this.

  3. Those prices are obscene for what is basically a roll of paper on a bar. And what about refills?

  4. I too love these and have been trying to reason myself into the need for a large size; life drawings? shop drawings? paint samples? I have a miniature version, purchased years ago at a local craft fair. It is magnetized at fits on the fridge, it uses calculator tape as the paper source and so handy for making a ‘real list’ for use while out shopping.

  5. I’ve painted the end wall in my kitchen in blackboard paint…can’t live without it…shopping lists, tel numbers etc. I think it looks beautiful too. Or maybe just paint the door?

  6. Kate,I’m also lost without notes,written on paper,need to see my thoughts .
    But someone must be doing this closer to home?No way I’m ordering that.
    Very handsome indeed.
    Best
    Ulla

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