Field Notes Prototypes
Portland, Ore., 2004–2006
I remember just wanting to make something that was “all mine,” even if it was kinda dumb. I didn’t want it produced by Moleskine or Target or Mead or whatever the latest overpriced, snarky hipster thing I’d check out, inspect and quickly put it back. So I made my own. What started with a couple Gocco’d covers on existing journals quickly jumped to hand-assembled Gocco books. You hit the cover/back cover and let it dry, then flip it over and hit the inside cover/inside back cover. Then you score the spine, burnish the fold, insert some folded graph paper, staple the spine and trim it down to size. Total pain in the ass. That first run, I did just 200 books! Those are the rarest Field Notes of the bunch
Where it all began. Graphics Gocco’d onto a journal.
An uncut original, Gocco’d onto chipboard. The reason this one stayed intact was that the chipboard didn’t work. Was too hard to fold it. So I had to scrap it.
Switching out paper, checking out how the colors and weights felt.
Each “DDC Client Appreciation Kit” would get a couple scrubby singles thrown in.
That First Shipment
Did “2000 for $2000” in the summer of 2004. A buck a book. I was happy as a clam to have a big stash on hand, having moved on from Gocco’ing the damned things book by book. Now I could give them out to buddies to use around town and folks I’d met in my travels from Vermont to Alaska.
Scenes From the Early Days of Field Notes
Someone put this book through the paces. Never give up!
A less-than-gentle reminder to not wash your Field Notes. Check those jean pockets, you animals!
An early mock-up with spiral binding on the mind. Didn’t work out.
The first schematic from the first run.
Early singles.
I painted my house “Field Notes” brown. Summer of 2005. Arlie Carstens photo.