I got to thinking the other day how upset I would be if I lost my sketchbook, Traveler’s Notebook or pen case. Like “what would you grab from a burning building?” upset.
Then I realized I don’t have my name or contact information in either book. Seriously. Do you put your name inside your notebooks? In your pen case, purse, backpack or wallet?
Many notebooks include a place to write your name and contact info inside in case you get parted for your notes. Do you fill it in? On a recent episode of the Pen Addict (I can’t remember the specific episode) the topic came up and it got me thinking. Then yesterday, I saw that Lisa Vanness lost a NockCo pen case at the Miami Pen Show. Whether it was actually misplaced or “liberated” I don’t know but either way, it also brought the issue back to mind.
How heartbroken would you be to lose a notebook, pen case or sketchbook? Enough to genuinely consider offering a reward for their return? I know I would.
So, I’ve put my name and contact information inside my books and hope that should I misplace them, a kind soul would return the books to me. I would gleefully buy them their own skecthbook or Traveler’s Notebook as a thank you for returning all my notes, lists, doodles and thoughts.
I also hope that by seeing my name inside a notebook or pen case, someone who was thinking of walking off with my beloved tools might reconsider. In most cases, there’s no “street value” for notebooks or pens and I firmly believe that there’s a cold place in eternity for people who steal tools — be they construction tools or writing tools.
So, go now and put your name or business card and phone number or email address in your most treasured notebooks. And if you know what happened to the Vanness NockCo case, please contact Lisa at Vanness Pens. No questions asked.
I’m pretty anxious about my pens and notebooks (the sentimental value is much much bigger than the money one), but haven’t still put my contact info in them. I’m going to do it as soon as possible.
Thanks for a great idea.
Yeah, I just found a fine Sharpie and wrote my info on my pen case. Thanks for the nudge!
Good idea! Notebooks seem easy to label but pen cases seem harder. Have you figured out a nifty way to label a NockCo Lookout?
I accidentally left my Lamy case with my Cognac Pelikan M200, my TWSBI Vac700 and my black Lamy Safari at a room at uni after a seminar. I only noticed once I got home. I almost cried, was pretty upset. Next day I went back and they were not there, asked the porters, nothing. In the evening I got an email from my professor, saying she had them. She saw them and knew they were mine, since ‘I’m the only one who has fancy fountain pens.’ I was massively relieved when I received her email.
“I would gleefully buy them their own skecthbook or Traveler’s Notebook as a thank you…”
What a wonderful idea! I never knew what to put on the “reward if found” section of my notebooks. Now I know.
Thank you, Ana!
Great idea, I worry about my pens being liberated from me more than my notebooks. With my multiple notebooks the life journal would probably upset me the most but it only goes back so far since the books only have so many pages. The To Do list Field Notes yes that would stink also but not a catastrophe. I think my pens could be viewed as shiny objects and sold by a miscreant for a bag of drugs so I don’t typically hang out in places where that has a tendency to happen and most times they get locked in my truck if I go inside somewhere.