A hard cover notebook a true 20 x 20cm square, on a 5mm dot grid, in Japanese Kerria. The cover reads as a strong golden yellow, more egg yolk than lemon. Inside are 80 sheets of 140gsm acid free paper, roughly double the weight of ordinary notebook stock, which is the reason your pen stays on the page it started on. The square is the interesting one. No page orientation, no implied top and bottom, so a spread reads as one wide field rather than two tall columns.

★ ART SHED STAFF TIP

Rounded corners are the single most underrated feature on a notebook that lives in a bag. Square corners are the ones that fray and curl within a month.

Perfect for

Bullet journallingSketch notesPlanning spreadsLayout roughsInstagram gridsSquare format work

The colour: Japanese Kerria

Kerria japonica is a yellow flowering shrub the Japanese call yamabuki, and it gives its name to yamabuki-iro, one of the oldest recorded colours in the Japanese palette. It is the gold of old coins and temple detailing, not a highlighter yellow.

Traditional Japanese colour name: yamabuki-iro (山吹色)

What a 5mm dot grid actually gives you

Dots give you structure you can ignore. The 5mm spacing is there when you want to rule a box, split a spread into columns or keep lettering level, and the moment you stop needing it the page reads as close to blank.

Dots are the right call when one book has to do several jobs. Bullet journals, sketch notes, planning spreads, anything that mixes writing and drawing on the same page. At 20 x 20cm you get a layout with room around it, which is the part people forget to think about until they are living with the book.

What you are actually getting

Paper

140gsm acid free FSC certified stock, 80 sheets giving 160 usable sides, in a warm cream white rather than a harsh bright white

Ruling

5mm dot grid, printed edge to edge with no pre-printed margin

Cover

Japanese Kerria hard cover, rounded at every corner so nothing curls or catches

Fittings

elastic closure band, bound-in bookmark ribbon and an expandable pocket in the back for loose notes

Questions about the dotted Japanese Kerria notebook in 20 x 20cm

Why choose dots over lines or grid?

Because one book can then do several jobs. Dots give you the same structure as graph paper but they disappear behind writing and act as registration marks behind drawing, so you are not committing the whole notebook to one kind of page.

How many dots across a page?

At 5mm spacing you can work it out from the page size, and that is the useful part. Every dot is a measurable unit, so you can divide a spread into even columns by counting rather than guessing.

How big is the square format exactly?

A true 20 x 20cm. Bigger in the hand than people expect from the number, roughly the footprint of a 13 x 21cm book opened about two thirds of the way.

Is there a ribbon bookmark?

Yes, one bound-in bookmark ribbon, along with the elastic closure band and the expandable back pocket. Every size and every ruling in the range gets the same fittings.

Who makes these?

Sakura, the Japanese manufacturer best known for Pigma Micron and Gelly Roll pens, with distribution through Royal Talens. The paper spec is the same across the whole notebook range, only the cover, the size and the ruling change.

Where can I buy Sakura notebooks in Australia?

Right here. Art Shed is an Australian family owned art supplies retailer shipping Sakura notebooks Australia wide from local stock, so you are not waiting on an overseas parcel or paying international freight. You can also buy over the counter at our Melbourne store in Moorabbin or our Brisbane store in West End.

(NU94167506)

SKU NU94167506
Barcode # 8712079544553
Brand Sakura
Shipping Weight 0.5700kg
Shipping Width 0.050m
Shipping Height 0.050m
Shipping Length 0.050m

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