Field Notes Went From Side Project To Cult Notebook

Field Notes, the analog notebook company that began as designer Aaron Draplin's side project 20 years ago, has sold over 10 million notebooks and operates in 2,000 stores worldwide, co-founder Jim Coudal told Fast Company. The Chicago-based company, which Coudal says just completed its best year for sales and revenue with 2025 tracking to exceed those numbers, has grown from selling 13 notebooks on its launch day to producing quarterly edition runs of 30,000 to 60,000 packs. The brand's subscription model, launched in 2009 with 1,500-pack print runs, now encompasses 67 limited editions and provides both predictable cash flow and regular customer engagement opportunities for the company.

Ooh shiny.

[greytree]

So they are notebooks that do exactly what cheap notebooks do, but are much more expensive and very heavily hyped.

I guess they appeal to the Apple fanboy crowd.

Re:Ooh shiny.

[Potor]

Not shiny. Artisanal.

Re:

[quonset]

Not shiny. Artisanal.

I wonder if they'll collaborate with these folks [imgur.com]. It seems their product is made for them.

Subscription Model

[PseudoThink]

What are two words that will sour me on your product faster than an inkjet printer demanding one to buy more ink cartridges?

this is an ad

[karlandtanya]

This is an ad.

Re:this is an ad

[piojo]

It is an endless stream of words that actually says nothing about the product.

Re:

[martin-boundary]

And yet, you come away knowing what the product line is called so you can search for it, and what the values of the company are so that you can identify with them, and that you can find them both online and in some stores, where certain other fashion brand clothes are also sold, so that you can gauge if the crowd you maybe like to run with can still accept you if you buy it. And that you can pay via PayPal.

Less space than a phone, lame

[excelsior_gr]

I first thought this was going to be about a text editor, but nope, just a plain old paper notebook. With a subscription model?! Also, having 67 limited editions is not exactly keeping it limited. Even spread out over 20 years, that's more than 3 special editions per year. I write on paper, a lot, every day. I need about 3-4 DIN A4 notebooks per year. I could get a limited edition notebook every time I needed one, freaking guaranteed to make me feel special as a snowflake!

"Limited edition"

[ebcdic]

A term meaning nothing more than paying extra to show off.

"regular customer engagement opportunities"

[zephvark]

So, you're telling me that this "analog notebook" requires a lot of tech support? Your marketing department certainly has a top-notch way of describing your customers as idiots or your products as wildly defective. ("Why not both?")