Notebooks for next level note taking
Notebook lover? Head this way! We’ve got a design to suit your style.
We understand Notebooks are an essential for every awesome entrepreneur, so we’ve worked to make a range that’s super-fun, super-fancy and super-functional. So whether you’re journalling, organising the notes to your next novel, doodling or designing, we’ve got you covered.
On the go? No problem!
Meet the MOO Softcover Journal. It’s your go-to Notebook for when your schedule’s busier than a hive of overworked bees. We understand life can be hectic at times – so whether you’re flying around from one meeting to the next, or jotting down ideas on the train, the light and flexible Softcover Journal travels with you wherever your thoughts go.
It’s slim and bendy enough to fit in overstuffed bags so you’ll never have to think twice about packing it. Plus, it comes in 6 fresh colours which are designed to match the Hardcover Notebook’s central pages – they really do make the perfect pair!
And, as if choosing your favourite colour wasn’t hard enough, you’ve also got a choice between lined, dotted and blank. So, whether you like to write, draw or freestyle, you can choose a page format that matches the way you work.
Choose a Softcover Journal that suits your style
Looking for the perfect desk buddy?
Look no further than the Hardcover Notebook. With 7 swish colour pairings and a covetable character, this Notebook is designed to help you balance work and life.
Our original Notebook mixes premium materials with practical design – it’s full of clever details to get you organised – from the lay-flat binding that gives you more space on the page to a smart little holder for your Business Cards. If you’re looking for something to perk you up in long meetings or you just want a new, super-cute desk buddy, we’ve got you covered!
And, just like our other Notebooks, this one’s made from beautiful Swedish Munken Kristall paper – it’s an absolute dream to write on. The pages are lined – perfect for scribbling a shopping list or organising the notes to your next novel.
But wait – there’s more! The unlined centre section comes in a different colour and is a heavier stock, giving you a sturdy base for all your doodles, sketches and big ideas. We’re in love!
Order your Hardcover Notebook and get organised
Whatever Notebook you choose, we’ve made sure the end result is a Notebook that’s made to be used. A place where all thoughts can make their home – from the practical to the downright genius.
Nothing beats the joy of receiving a hotly-anticipated package in the mail – especially when it’s wrapped beautifully and totally Instagram-worthy!
These 3 artists are sending their customer orders out in powered up packaging – and we’re in love! There’s Stickers galore, plus picture-perfect Postcards that act as gorgeous keepsakes – and that’s before you’ve even got past the wrapping. Get inspired and bag yourself some top tips for making your customers feel like kids on Christmas morning – at any time of year.
Laura Mitchell
Minneapolis based, Laura works full-time at a publishing house designing and art directing children’s books. Before getting into publishing, she worked in a contemporary art gallery and loved having the opportunity to work with artists from around the world. Laura now also works freelance as a designer and illustrator and has recently set up her own Etsy shop, selling her animal and abstract prints.
Laura’s hugely inspired by the other artists and illustrators she’s worked with in the past. As well as this, social media is also an excellent source of inspiration for Laura, with Instagram and Pinterest being her go-to: “I’m always impressed by the breadth of work out there. Just when you think you’ve seen every style of illustration, a new person pops up on your feed that’s so unique and refreshing!”
Laura has created Stickers and Business Cards using her own art – she wanted to create “branded materials” that she could include when packing up her prints, and thought they would be the “perfect platform” to showcase more of her art. Laura seals each of her illustrated prints with a Sticker: “I love how durable they are, they’re also the perfect size for including both a little illustration and my website address. All of my clients love them and comment on how the Stickers add the perfect touch to my packaging. Who doesn’t love a cute sticker?”
Create your own branded Stickers
Holly Young
Holly is an abstract artist living in Ontario, Canada. She’s always been a creative and artistic person – as a child, Holly loved drawing houses and re-decorating her bedroom. After graduating with a BFA from Brock University, Holly focused her studies on interior decorating. Now, Holly works from her home studio which allows her to paint at any time of the day, and also “refill her tea mug as often as needed.”
Holly has a passion for thrifting, mid-century design and vintage decor. She loves “exploring the city, flipping through the pages of a great design book or magazine and discovering new colour combinations.” Her paintings are inspired by her everyday surroundings and are often very spontaneous. Holly’s work is predominantly “characterised by texture and a sense of movement” – she’s fascinated by “aesthetics and exploring the visual interplay between form, space and colour.”
Holly has designed Business Cards and Postcards – she wanted to create a “personalised keepsake” to accompany her customer orders: “adding a Postcard to every order is a really easy way for me to add a pop of colour to my packaging. I’m able to write a thank you note on one side and then the Postcard can be displayed or framed as the customer likes. The cards are great quality – very sturdy and thick and the colour shows an accurate representation of the painting itself. I can’t wait to run out of cards so I can print more designs!”
Surprise your customers with personalised Postcards
Art by Megan
Megan is the artist and owner behind Art by Megan – she’s an abstract painter and illustrator from Brooklyn, NY. Megan studied art at college but was hesitant about starting a career as a full time artist right off the bat. After graduating, Megan decided to pursue another passion of hers – languages – and decided to dedicate her time and energy to teaching Spanish and art. As time passed, Megan’s painting ‘hobby’ became something she was doing every single day on the side and so, 2 years ago, Megan took the plunge and decided to go full-time with her art.
Megan’s work reflects an “an attitude of experimentation and a curiosity regarding the beauty created by the transparency and overlapping of ideas.” She’s inspired by waterscapes, sunsets, bright colours in nature, and the silhouettes created by extreme light or darkness. Megan loves collecting memories – whether it’s a beach scene, beautiful flowers in a tote bag on the subway, or a simple moment walking in nature – and turning them into paintings.
Megan has created Stickers to “liven up” her packaging, “adding a punch of colour” to her craft paper and twine wrapping. As well as popping a Sticker onto each parcel, Megan loves to send a thank you Postcard to each customer. She’s also created Business Cards: “people freak out when they see my cards and always fight over which painting they want. Someone even asked me if the Business Cards were for sale once! I love that they’re conversation starters and they really help people with product and brand recognition too. It’s fun to surprise clients with something special and my Business Cards, Postcards and Stickers have done just that!”
Liven up your packaging with Stickers
Artist, illustrator, author and painting teacher Emma Block is one of the first artists we collaborated with. 10 years later, we caught up with her to find out how her career’s grown – and why sometimes it’s best to step away from Instagram…
Emma’s natural talent with watercolours runs in the family – her bright, beautiful home studio is adorned with artworks from those closest to her – one by her husband, a Jazz musician, and another by her grandad – as well as her own delicate, lively paintings.
Emma’s relationship with MOO goes back right to the beginning of her career – she was one of the first artists we collaborated with, designing a set of MiniCards featuring her illustrations. Now, 10 years on, we met her at her London home to hear how she built her niche out to include illustration, books, live events and painting workshops.
You started your illustration career online – how did you find your audience?
I got into illustration when I was still at school. I’d just started 6th form – I’d been quite ill as a teenager and missed 3 years of high school so having a blog and being online was a really great way for me to talk to people. It was my only way to talk to people! It didn’t matter that I was ill, I could blog from my bedroom, and it was amazing to connect with people through my artwork from all around the world. It’s weird because people who read my blog 10 years ago still follow me, or will buy a print sometimes.
I started doing these regular challenges, like Illustration Friday, which was a weekly challenge at the time. There’d be a new theme each week – it really encouraged me to keep going.
How do you think illustration has changed since?
I found those challenges really good to give me a theme to interpret. I look back at my earlier work now and it really was more experimental. I think because I hadn’t found my style as much. I had some really great tutors when I was in school who encouraged me to keep blogging, told me to get Twitter and used to help me push the boundaries of what I was doing. I was printing onto fabric and making 3D models and that kind of thing too.
Today, illustration’s become a lot more visible as a discipline and a lot more people want to be an illustrator. There are a lot of opportunities for illustration that didn’t exist before. When you’ve just graduated you think about doing books, greeting cards, magazines, but now there’s actually so much you can do with live illustration and packaging, plus large-scale illustration like on windows and walls.
How did your workshops come about?
It’s been a new thing over the last few years. I don’t think I’d have had the confidence to do that at all when I started. But it’s been great – I love teaching. And I really enjoy live illustration. It’s funny, I like working from home because I love the peace and quiet but I’m really easily distracted. I tend to have music on in the background or a podcast, and if I think of something I’ll have to pause it, have a think, then come back and play it again. I’m that easily distracted!
But with something like a workshop or live illustration I think I just really go into the zone. Because it’s quite intense – you’re painting portraits of people as they stand in front of you, in about 10 minutes, and you’ve got people watching you, normally you’re working really frantically for 2 or 3 hours.
What kinds of things are you doing the live illustration for?
I get invited to do live illustration at things like press events, blogger events… promotional in-store events… I’ve just confirmed I’m going to be doing some live illustration in the children’s department in Harrods, which I think is going to be really cute. So yeah, it’s a variety of things. When people see it and they see how popular it is as well, they get it. And Instagram is huge. I get a lot of work through Instagram.
How do you balance your literary work and workshops?
I find normally everything fits around illustration commission, which is at the heart of it. I like having lots of other things going on. I try not to do more than 4 workshops a month and I run my online shop and occasionally do live illustration. So I tend to just look at my calendar and see how much I can book in.
I find I need a balance of being at home in the studio to being out doing stuff. If I’m just here and don’t leave the studio all week, it’s not good but then if I’m out and doing events every single day I don’t get any proper drawing work done.
What inspires you?
I think it’s really good to see what else is going on in the art industry. Instagram can be a bit of a double-edged sword, especially if you’re a new illustrator, because you’ll just see so much beautiful work all at once, so it can be a little overwhelming. And you kind of think ‘I can’t do anything, everything’s been done!’ so I love the community and connecting with other illustrators, but for inspiration, for new work, it’s more about travel, going to museums and galleries, being out and about in London. That’s what inspires my work. With Instagram, it’ll be more about colors. A photo or an illustration that makes me think ‘ooh that’s a nice colour theme, I’d like to try that sometime.’
What would your advice be for someone just starting out?
I would say to remember that the people you’re seeing on Instagram have been doing this for a really long time. I’ve been doing this for 10 years already, it’s just lots of practice, lots of drawing, lots of putting your work out there. It takes time to get the momentum, to find clients, and get the kind of work you want. But just stick at it – don’t be intimidated.
It’s funny, the people whose work I admired when I was just starting out, the people whose work I’d print out and put it in my sketchbooks as research are now my peers, which is really strange, but really nice.
You’ve also worked as an influencer with some brands – how did that come about?
I’ve worked with Polaroid and P&O on campaigns including illustration. P&O was really nice – they invited people to upload photos from their holidays over 2 weeks. Then they’d pick a winner and I would paint an illustration of their holiday photo to share on Instagram. It was a really lovely campaign to be a part of – a lovely use of social media and lovely to make the illustration such an integral part of it too.
I’ve also run workshops for brands – I recently ran one for Oasis at London Zoo, because they were doing a collaboration. On the day, the team from Oasis were running a bit late, so I got to hang out with the keepers and help feed the pygmy hippos.
You’ve got a beautiful home workspace – what are your best tips for people working from home?
I try to keep it tidy! My husband works from home as well – he’s a jazz musician – and he’s got another room full of guitars and banjos and things where he works that we can just shut the door on. I think you’ve got to know yourself and how you work. I know a lot of people who have a studio and it works for them, but I know what I’m like – I love chatting and I’m really easily distracted, so I’d just end up not getting any work done in a studio space.
I like peace and quiet and being in control of the space. For me it’s just knowing how I like to work. I schedule in breaks, pop out to the Post Office or to get a coffee. I work really flexible hours, because my husband works really odd hours. He’ll get home from work at midnight or 1am, so often we’ll spend mornings together, then I’ll work after lunch right up late into the evening.
I’m often teaching at weekends too or working at events, which means we’ll then try and take Mondays off. I’ve really learned the importance of scheduling in time off.
What do you use your MOO Business Cards for today?
I love MOO because it always solves the dilemma of when you meet people and you say you’re an illustrator, they immediately ask ‘what’s your work like?’ and I find it really difficult to describe. So if I say ‘oh it looks like this’, and get some business cards out, it’s much easier. It’s like having a mini portfolio.
What else have you got coming up – what’s next?
I’ve just finished writing a book – how to paint watercolours. That’s been a dream project. I had the idea for that last summer and I was thinking that there was a gap in the market for a really lovely modern, colourful watercolours book. And so I approached some publishers, and got a book deal at the beginning of the year. I’ve been working on that all summer – it’s been a total dream of a project. It’s coming out in August 2018.
Photos by Paul John Bayfield