If you’re even remotely interested in Miquelrius, I have compiled this list for your perusal on whatever others have said about them, even in passing on a Moleskine forum. I decided to make this list since I was in hell trying to find out what very little information there is on them. My old journal is almost at its end - and I need to find a replacement soon, preferably using the same type of paper the Etsy seller described as “plain, unlined medium weight #60 drawing paper”. But of course, that’s as vague as they come. Why don’t I just buy from her again, you ask? Well, though I absolutely adore her books, they are a tad bit too expensive for me now. *sheepish*

I already have a Moleskine. It’s… meh. Yeah, I can see Moleskine-luvers out there glaring daggers at me now. :D It’s just a personal opinion. I kinda like them actually. Especially the build and binding, and overall aura.

Now, I also don’t know how Miquelrius fairs against Moleskine, but I just ordered one so I’ll give you a review when it arrives.

Warning: Mind you, LOOOOOOOOOOONG POST AHEAD! And also, though most of the information is about the Flexible line, some might talk about the other Miquelrius notebooks but I decided to include them because it might give you an idea of how the paper’s like. Hey, whatever little bit helps!

Where To Buy Miquelrius Flexible Notebook

ShopMiquelrius.com
The Daily Planner
Pendemonium

What Others Have Said About Miquelrius

1. “Miquelrius began its work more than 150 years ago in Barcelona, with the manufacturing of accounting books, cards and handcrafted bindings, all under the Miquelrius label, with its characteristic flourish.”

   Some people prefer their “Leather Look” quad-ruled notebooks to the Moleskine equivalents.
   From 43 Folders Wiki

2. “Enter my Spanish-made, Miquelrius (Leather-Look Pad) notebook. The notebook is 6″ x 8.25″, a size that is small enough to toss into my shoulder bag for a café visit, yet large enough for concept sketches. Because it’s smaller than US Letter or Euro A4 I can fit the Miquelrius into my smaller bags. Further, it’s the perfect proportion for my technical sketch work.

   The Miquelrius has 200 generous pages of thin, good quality white paper with light blue quadrille pages, wrapped in a rubbery, leather-like fabric that’s thin, tough and flexible. Covers are available in black, blue, red and green.”

   Mike Rohde
   From Moleskinerie.com

3. Entire article on Miquelrius from RohDesign
4. Moleskine vs Miquelrius in terms of real estate on Journalismo
5. A Miquelrius notebook is a Spanish-made flexibly bound, gridded notebook in A5 and pocket sizes. The binding is flexible so it lays flat and can easily be inverted for comfortable sketching or writing. The pages have either light blue lines or grid pattern on them for writing or technical drawings.

   Miquelrius pocket sized books average $7 each, larger A5 sized books average $10 each.
   From Squidoo

6. Today I found a wonderful medium for those of us looking for something a little nicer than index cards and paperclips. It’s like the Moleskine Pocket Notebook but even smaller (so that it actually fits in your pocket) and with a faux leather cover instead of the rather boring Moleskine cardboard. This thing feels like Napa leather. I bought it for logging my swimming workouts, but I don’t know if I can bring myself to get it all wet—it feels so nice in my hands.

   Did I mention it’s cheaper than Moleskine? See if you can’t find Miquelrius products at a bookstore near you. You’re looking for the Flexible Notebook line. They have full- and half-size notebooks too.

   From The Fugue

7. GSD: The Notebook. Falling Hard for a pad of paper at Bill Westerman. Contains good information on which pen works well for Miquelrius.
8. Miquelrius: The King of the Notebooks from Flip Tomato
9. A review from Blackcover.net
10. Miquelrius… How Does It Rate from Fountain Pen Network
11. That said, Moleskine paper is sub-par and unsuited for fountain pen use. Mode e Modo’s brilliant marketing notwhitstanding, there are better choices, such as Miquelrius or Clairefontaine.

    From comment discussion on Moleskine Fountain Pen Test

12. Paper Versus Binding & Ink Versus Paper (a blog about Moleskine vs. Miquelrius) from The Confidential Resource
13. Well, I just got myself a Waterman Phileas medium point fountain pen to start the experimentation. I’m having fun so far. It’s perfect for the Miquelrius journal paper and does well even on the Moleskine even though the line is a bit thicker than I’m used to writing. There’s very little bleed through and I’m starting to fall in love with the feel of ink flowing onto paper without a little ball in between me and my paper. We’ll see where it goes from here.

    From comment discussion at RohDesign

14. General discussion about Miquelrius Flexible Cover Notebook on 43 Folders Group
15. …. I found these Miquelrius notebook at Chapters. It handles ink fairly well. It’s not the smoothest paper, but it doesn’t bleed, and it doesn’t spread, and it’s functional enough for me to use, but not totally break the bank.

    From Name This Lame Blog

16. Mike Rohde’s Design Sketch Kit from RohDesign
17. Viki Babbles about her obsession with notebooks at Viki Babbles
18. Miquelrius in the UK? at Notebookism Google Group
19. Review: Miquelrius Notebooks and Journals at Amateur Economist
20. Lamy 2000 tested on Miquelrius, among other notebooks at Fountain Pen Network
21. What are your top 5 notebooks? on Fountain Pen Network. Miquelrius got a shout out here and there. If you’re concerned about Miquelrius and fountain pens, you should check this forum… it’s useful.
22. … If you are fine with spending a little more money Miquelrius is great. Those two suggestions are good if you are in the US. If you are in Europe I recomend Clairefontaine and Rhodia.

    … I like Miquelrius, Clairefontaine and Rhodia paper too, but they’re a bit on the pricey side for the sheer volume one needs for school. I do use them for personal journals, etc.

    From Good, cheap notebook or filler paper at Fountain Pen Network

23. Thread Title: Looking for Exclusively-Spanish Miquelrius Products?, Can’t find the anywhere, even on Miquel-Rius USA website at Fountain Pen Network
24. Thread Title: In search of very small journals/bound notebooks, Rumors of a 6.5cm X 10cm Miquelrius…? at Fountain Pen Network
25. Thread Title: Miquelrius…how does it rate? at Fountain Pen Network
26. … I’ll give a shout-out for the Miquelrius spiralbound notebooks that one can reliably find at Target nowadays. The paper takes to any of the pen and ink combinations I have very well.

    I would say, however, that the fact it is spiralbound is a bit of a turnoff for me. Yet, I like the paper so much I’m willing to put up with it.

    From Novice asks: what paper do you like?, Choosing good writing paper at Fountain Pen Network

27. … Miquelrius- Great paper, almost the perfect smooth white paper for fountain pens, but I do wish they had other options than grid. As thick as the notebooks are, it’s very difficult to write on both sides of the page. I did come up with a way to deal with this issue, though…write on one side of the page all the way through the book, and then at the end, flip the book over and start from the back to the front writing on the back of the pages. The paper is every bit as good as the Rhodia, though.

    From I think I found the perfect notebook! at Fountain Pen Network

    Ann’s Note: Miquelrius does come in other formats other than grid, this post is in 2007 so probably there wasn’t any choice back then.

28. … I’ve just started using a 200 page A5 Miquelrius notebook. For me, more aggravating than my hand dropping off the right page is trying to get the left page flat enough to write on comfortably: the bulk of the notebook is still on the right and wants to flip up if I lay the left side flat, or if the right side is flat, then the left page has a large arc in it as it drops to the table 2.5cm below. I’ve taken to slipping another book under the left hand side to bring it up to the correct level. As I move to the middle of the book, this problem should disappear, but reappear in reverse as I get to the back of the book. Sigh.

    From Notebooks that are too thick at Fountain Pen Network

29. … I jumped on today to praise two notebooks that I have that I recently tested for FP-friendliness. A quick search of FPN shows me that I’m probably preaching to the choir on the Miquelrius, but I still want to say that I’m loving the way my Sheaffer Jr. feels on its quad-ruled pages.

    From A couple of notebook testimonials, One you know and one you might not. At Fountain Pen Network

30. … Miquelrius notebooks have a soft, leather-like cover, black or bright red, and you can add your own elastic band and bookmark. They’re not the size of a Moleskine, though: either smaller or bigger, and some of them are quite thick.

    … I’ve just started a couple of different Miquelrius notebooks. I like the paper so far, but not the form factors.

    From Why does Moleskine use such bad paper?, Just dreaming of the perfect journal. At Fountain Pen Network

31. … MiquelRius from Spain makes a very good journal and it is inexpensive for the amount of pages you get.

    From Can you recommend a FP friendly journal? at Fountain Pen Network

32. Why Miquelrius? A discussion about having a Miquelrius and comparison to Moleskine at Miquelrius Google Group
33. Miquelrius gets a few mention in a Flickr Discuss thread: The Great Notebook Roll Call
34. I just love the Miquelrius Journals - They are great paper quaility and sturdy. I have one of their journals that I use for reference and have it in my bag and use it quite a bit - and it is still going strong even after 3 years of wear and tear. Cost less then the Moleskine and Better Quality.

    From Flickr.com

35. Rene Enriquez talks about obtaining Miquelrius and using them for his sketches. Pictures of his sketches below. Posts about Miquelrius on Rene’s blog

Miquelrius Pictures/Images

And there are more here on Flickr

From Rene Enriquez

From Rene Enriquez

Rene Enriquez’s blog sealed the deal for me. :P I bought one Miquelrius to try after seeing what he can do with his. See more of his work on Miquelrius here.

Phew!

That’s quite a list. It’s by no means complete, I think. Certain odd keywords on Google can yield some very interesting results. I hope you guys will find this useful. If Miquelrius’ list is this long, imagine doing Moleskine’s! *faints*

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