Everybody loves a quickie, right? Especially those that include leather, suede and studs…

…on a William Hannah notebook of course!

I received a William Hannah (WH) beauty as a birthday gift from my better half, after much convincing, foot rubbing and dinner cooking. £99 seems like an unholy sum for a notebook to non-stationery obsessed folks, apparently.

To pen fanatics like us though, £99 (plus £6 for dividers because…well you gotta have dividers) gets you a hunk’o burning notebook. Gorgeous looks, insane build quality and attention to detail bordering on anally retentive. Let’s take a quick peek…

The Lingerie – Packaging

I almost didn’t want to open the WH as the packaging was so damn fine, similar to a lovely pair of undies on a lingerie model. But, I was helpless to its charms and eventually succumbed. The sturdy black box protected the contents well, and opened to reveal expertly wrapped tissue paper with more WH logos on it than a Lothario covered in lipstick kisses. Peeling back the paper, I caught my first glimpse of the notebook itself…

The Body – Notebook

I went for the whiskey and lime combo, as I loved the rustic, outdoorsy look and wanted to feel like Tarzan writing in a forest when note taking. Not weird at all.

I’m bowled over by the build quality of this thing; the leather is supple, the suede is vibrant and there isn’t a stitch out of place. The notebook discs feel as solid as gleaming wedding rings proposing to me as the only notebook I’ll ever need. We’ll see ;).

Like all pin up idols though, there is one minuscule flaw that irks me just a tad. The WH logo on the front stud is a hair’s width off centre which grinds my OCD gears. But, in the words of Oasis, ‘true perfection has to be imperfect’; I love my WH even more because of this quirk. I could take a screwdriver to it and align it, but I’m scared I will hurt the leather. (Yes, you can hurt inanimate objects.)

The Sexual Performance – Paper

After pawing the front cover for a good half an hour, the time came for me to let fountain pens loose on my new baby. I opted for 60 pages of WH’s 115gsm paper, split equally between lined, plain, dot grid and squared rulings because I’m a paranoid schizophrenic when it comes to deciding on what paper I like. You can also choose the colour you want your rulings too, which sent my control freak nature into overdrive. Don’t even get me started on the calendar or to do list options, and the choice of divider colours. HEAVEN!

The paper is nothing short of ORGASMIC. It handles even the wettest of my pens well, stood up to heavy ink swabs, and exhibits minimal feathering, show through or bleed through. It shows off the shading of inks too. But, as it isn’t as glossy as Rhodia or Clairefontaine and is more absorbent, WH’s paper doesn’t show off the sheen of inks quite as well as its competitors. I don’t mind this though as it means quicker drying times, great for note taking on the run.

I was dubious about the disc system at first; I’ve hurled Filofaxes out of windows in paper-based frustration before. However, WH provide thorough instructions on how to remove pages effectively. I’ve been yanking Filofax paper from the side for years like a numpty; WH recommend that you gently tease the pages out from the top by pulling downwards near the discs. This simple change has revolutionised my stationery life: MIND BLOWN. I’m still searching for the sweet spot for the number of total sheets necessary for easy page turning, but this is a #firstworldproblem I’ll get over in time.

The Blow by Blow Account – Verdict

If you haven’t already guessed, I’m in MAD LOVE with the William Hannah notebook. It looks divine, the refill system is flawless and I’m irrationally excited to use the paper each time I open it. WH customer service is exceptional too; the owner David kindly sent me extra paper samples and a WH pocket notebook just because it was my birthday. N’awwwwwww! He mentioned that these pocket notebooks will be available on the site in the near future – exciting!

So, I implore you to beg, borrow or consistently irritate your partner like I did, to get a William Hannah notebook for your writing arsenal. You won’t regret it, I promise. I’ll follow up with y’all after a few months of use to let you know if I’m still in MAD LOVE with it, and the unseemly things I end up using it for.

Keep those nibs mucky 🙂

Do any of you own a WH notebook? Or have suggestions for other orgasmatronic paper products I need to try?