When I was a child, I used to dream of having my own library room one day. It would be filled with my favorite books, endless stationery, and also somehow a lot of open space to create and let the sunlight in. I would have all of the free time in the world to make things, write, read and explore in this space, let my ideas float until they either became real or faded into dust on the shelves.

As someone who has played the “grown up” act for well over a decade now, this library room idea is still just that - an idea (a dream). Although the room itself may never be realized, I’ve managed to find a comforting space for housing inspiration, pieces of knowledge I’ve gathered from various places, and notes for what I want to remember from reading material, in the form of a commonplace book.

Commonplace books have existed for centuries, and their purpose is better explained by individuals who are more talented and eloquent than me. Ultimately, when I think of my own, I see a treasure trove of what occupied my time and passed through my mind - a way to capture and recall the details of an article, unfiltered thought exercises and reflections, and beautiful imagery that stuck with me.

The Notebook That Chose Me

My commonplace book is in the shape of a Nanami Paper Cafe Note B6, which feels neither too big nor too small. I love the way this notebook fits into just one of my hands, and how I can bring it around more easily than an A5 size. Something else I truly enjoy about it is the paper - it’s bound with the older Tomoegawa version of Tomoe River Paper1 and my fountain pens glide across the surface, leaving behind a wondrous residue of ink.

The notebook sits inside a natural leather cover from 1.61 Soft Goods that is aging beautifully from being exposed to my hands and the sun. I keep sheets of tiny circle stickers in the front pocket for categorizing the writing I do.

I’ve been using this setup since fall of 2024 when I realized I needed a dedicated space for all of life’s learnings, big and small. Whether it’s a fun craft tutorial I want to try in the future or note-taking about what career I want to pursue, it feels comforting to know that they have a place to go outside of my noisy mind.

What Inspires Me

It’s easy to see a picture and think, “that’s really cool.” It’s just as easy to scroll through online posts, come across something that resonates, then have that very thing leave your memories as another photo shows up to occupy your eyes. I had numerous posts saved and bookmarked to my social media account for years, only to be never seen again. When I started this commonplace book, one of the first things I wanted to include were those forgotten bits that had once sparked my curiosity.