Hobonichi Preview #7: Natal Design

I wasn't sure at first...but as soon as I saw the camo print!! Dammit, I'm afraid I fuck severely with the A6 cover and if I was a Hobonichi user that would be my definite pick. It's so beautifully nostalgic and that makes sense as designer Koji Tsukada and director Shinsuke Goto of Natal Design mention that a lot of their design principles originate in retro sports gear and fashion. You guys know that retro sports wear, especially surfing, is my Achilles' heel. I was also taken camping, against my will, often as a child. Not the fun kind, but the very serious kind with water filtration, tents, traveling exclusively by bicycle, and kilometers from civilization. If it sounds like I hated it it's because I did but I can't help but also have some good memories of then too.

The camo is a little more 90s/2000s retro compared to some of their other prints, and Natal Design was started in 1999 with this being one of their earlier prints. Makes sense to me! It's like my dream cover, I guess. The camo, the purple strands and the teal lining, it all works seamlessly.

I don't love the nautical print as much but it is very much outdoorsy Americana, a true vintage that calls back to the 70s. I imagine these covers are also incredibly durable so if you have one maybe try smacking your Techo around and seeing how it survives?

The swallow design, in the inverse-like colours, is very beautiful but I'm not too tempted.

Next to Akiko Miyakoshi's collection, the Natal Design covers are gorgeous and so far the best.

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Hobonichi Preview #6: Yoshie Watanabe

The sixth line-up from Hobonichi features a collaboration with CACUMA art director Yoshie Watanabe. There's 2 textile covers, a Weeks, 3 clear covers, and some stationery. I'm gonna start straight away with the fact that I personally find the design a bit too plain and boring but I can totally see someone who enjoys very minimal 20th century design may get a kick out of these prints.

 

The A6, A5, and the Weeks all have the Petit Bloom print, a series of colourful flowers in very simple shapes paired with a tasteful red stripe, either on the spine or the cover and back. It reminds me a bit of Khokhloma, probably just because it's a floral print on a dark background, which I enjoy more because of it's narrow colour palette.

I think the clear plaid-dotted covers are quite cute, this is probably more of the retro style that I enjoy.

I think I'm not a big fan of gold-foil stickers so i feel pretty neutral about them, though I think they do give the flowers a bit of an art deco flair which is pretty. I think this print works pretty great with the sticky notes and the deco tape because of how simple it is. Then again maybe it's just my sticky note bias once more...

Am I being to harsh on this collection? I think Watanabe's work is very good, I'm just not personally very drawn to it. 

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Hobonichi Preview #5: PUPPET SUNSUN

Series 5 stars a character called SUNSUN, a boy who lives in a puppet world and loves baked goods. Me too, dude. Well, not the puppet world thing. He reminds me of Flat Eric, the French DJ puppet. Also appreciate the tasteful use of Cooper Black.

Very cute A6 cover, I love the white outline, it looks quite retro. I think the oranges ate the back kind of outshine the SUNSUN print at the front.

 

My favourite of the collection is the A5 cover. I love the pocket at the front, with the little tag and everything, it's very cute. The flannel pattern is awesome.

I like that the banana Weeks is nearly life-size banana sized. It's fun but I guess I'm not that bananas about bananas.

 

Cute boards but as usual I don't really use the boards.

 

Very cute deco-tape, I think bakery-themed things are so cute so this really works for me. Probably my favourite out of the stationery.

I think I have a bias to memos and sticky notes because I do love these even though they are quite simple.

Love the idea of a 31-day sticker collection, not the most exciting stickers chosen but still very cute.

Do you know SUNSUN? Who is this guy?  

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Hobonichi Preview #4: beautiful people

The fourth series is a collaboration with fashion brand beautiful people, a brand I don't know anything about and having checked out their site I think it's not really in my taste but their stuff seems cool. Quite an expensive brand. The theme of these covers, along with some items like wallets sold on the beautiful people site, is 'nothing to hide'. The covers are colourful but transparent, with a crocodile skin texture.

I'm gonna be honest I really don't like the crocodile thing, I don't like it on bags, I don't like it on anything. Faux crocodile is ugly and the real stuff is evil so in general I don't like it on any fronts. However, I love transparent stuff. As a someone who grew up in the 2000s, we had so much candy-coloured transparent tech it's hard for me not to be fond of the design. I guess if the texture was different, maybe a little more sci-fi, I'd like it way more.

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Hobonichi Preview #3: Akiko Miyakoshi

The third line up of this Hobonichi season features an A6 cover, a Weeks, and a notebook with art work by Akiko Miyakoshi, an illustrator of children's books. This is a set I'd be most tempted by because Miyakoshi's work is phenomenal as is her lithography technique for the creation of the drawings. I looked up how lithography is done and it's an insanely intricate and difficult process, but you can see the benefits of it in the colours. I feel like if you enjoy the visuals of Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox you may really like Miyakoshi's work. 

First, the A6 cover is probably my favourite piece. It's an airport setting which I feel like many people have strong associations with, it's a place of great liminality no matter where the airport is. The separation of the night sky and the dark boarding tunnel is very creative. 

The Weeks is also very cute, it features an image of Miyakoshi's daughter, as a rabbit, finding a new friend. It's very sweet.

There is also a landscape notebook, the glow and the grain of lithography is especially noticeable and beautiful.

There is also a set of boards , my fave of which is the Weeks Lazy Morning illustration though I never use a pencil board so I don't think I'd ever buy one.

I do love when such amazing artists are given a spotlight like this, Miyakoshi's work is extraordinary and so is her work process. Check out what she has to say in her interview on the Hobonichi site for yourself, and her gorgeous studio too. Here's some of my fave works of hers: 

I have a feeling this is gonna be my fave series from the line up, but we'll have to see. 

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Hobonichi Preview #2: Moomin

I love the Moomin and there's some really cute stuff in this line-up much like last year (and the year before?). The Weeks are cute but kind of boring in my opinion, if I had to pick a fave from the two it would be At The Table.

The Techo covers are probably the star of the show, the colourways are great and the hanging bookmark details of the shell and the flower are very cute. I would pick Pale Mint if I had to pick one.

Quite a bit of cute stationery, my fave is the Sticky Note Roll.

Not particularly interesting pouches, I think that might be just because I don't find small pattern-prints of characters very interesting.

And that's the Moomin stuff. I appreciate that the Weeks has Moomin illustrations throughout the planner, it's a nice touch and makes sense. 

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Hobonichi Preview #1: Solid Colours

So first thing, I am NOT buying a Hobonichi this year, or maybe ever? I'm not sure. I've floated the idea around the blogs a few times over the last two years but I realized that I can only afford a Weeks and after a year of using a planner with horizontal-format days realized that it's not my ideal way of planning. I don't know why but my brain sees the day as going from top to bottom when I'm planning. My current planner rocks otherwise but it does have this one flaw. I already have an affordable planner ready for next year because as nice as Hobonichis are there is no way I'm paying like 80+ euros for the Cousin or Original. 

However, I do like looking at what kinda stuff they've come out with for fun. The first thing they revealed was the solid colours line-up. Six covers for the A6s and 5 Weeks. I'm gonna be honest, I'm not very into the cover colours, they are just not any of my fave colours.

 

If I had to pick one it would probably be Blue Parasol.

 

The Weeks had a much better selection, if I had to pick one it would probably be Poppy Red, closely followed by Sea Glass. 

Have you ever owned or wanted to own a Hobonichi? I honestly find them quite appealing but also kind of a fad so I'm not really sold. However, I do like the care with which they are designed so it's a fun thing to have a look at without buying anything. 

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