This really is my perfect sketchbook and I love that it was created through the passion of an individual. I bought more when it was re-released in 2017 with a limited edition of 900. It was created by Erwin Lian in conjunction with Bynd Artisan bookbinders and I bought quite a few when it was released as a Indiegogo crowd funding campaign in 2015. The Perfect Sketchbook B5 was such an item. I have fallen in love with materials only to see them discontinued or changed, so when I find something I really like, I tend to stock up. It would seem to be a good 'marriage' and apparently nothing will change in the Stillman & Birn paper or bindings. I have always liked the paper from both those ranges as it is very fountain pen friendly. ![]() The paper for the Stillman & Birn sketchbooks is made by the Schut paper devision of Clairefontaine. In October 2019, Stillman & Birn was acquired by Clairefontaine Rhodia. While not perfect for more completed watercolour studies, I find the Alpha books to be a great everyday paper, and I like the fact that you get lots of pages to play with. There is a new square format that I have yet to try. I have a pocket version that I've used as a portable notebook and I've used a number of the spiral 10" x 7 " landscape books with 50 sheets (100 pages). I've also enjoyed the larger 8" x 10" portrait soft cover book, with 46 sheets (92 pages) for workshop demonstrations and larger test pages. I have used a number of the 9" x 6" portrait hard cover books, as they are a good size for transporting and they have a lot of pages - 62 sheets (124 both sides). The Alpha comes in so many shapes and sizes that it takes some thinking to decide which to get. I have used many of them as my 'play' books, where I test colours, do quick sketches, create demonstrations while teaching, take notes and so on. However it is designed for 'dry media, light washes, ink' and works very well for these. ![]() As you might guess from the photo above of just some of my Alpha sketchbooks, my favourite Stillman & Birn is the 150gsm Alpha, which is a bit of a surprise as it is not, strictly speaking, a watercolour sketchbook.
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