Last week, my studio was taken over by Moleskine notebooks, as I found myself personalizing a formidable stack of them (upwards of 60) with names and corresponding doodles (here's a little sample). Once completed, they all made their way to Neue House in Manhattan for a Moleskine event announcing their new Smart Writing Set (which is pretty rad).
The breakfast event opened with an intro from Maria Sebregondi, co-founder of Moleskine, followed by a panel discussion on the Art of Productivity with Manoush Zomorodi, Matthew Brimer, Farryn Weiner, and Phoebe Lovatt. I was really inspired by the conversation, and it actually got me rethinking the way I work this week. I made more time for myself and my thoughts, making a point to get outside and more often, and unplug a little more (so far so good) which gave me a little time to play around with my new Smart Writing Set! It looks pretty much like a regular notebook and pen, but it connects to an app on your phone that collects the pen strokes and allows you to edit text weights, change pen color, and add highlights. The idea is that we remember things in a different way when we notate with pen and paper, rather than with keyboard typing. Makes sense to me! When I was in college, my notebooks and all of their crazy scribbles were really fun to read back over and helped my navigate what the most important topics were.
Here are some notable excerpts that I illustrated from the Art of Productivity discussion, spoken by Ms. Sebregondi and the other panelists.
Thanks to Moleskine for keeping me inspired and productive!