I was at the Times Bookstore KLCC yesterday, at the Pelikan pens and stationery corner and saw what I initially thought was moleskine notebooks ... well, they were not.
It's a moleskine copycat produced by grandluxe.com and branded as "monologue" notebooks. The dimension of the notebooks matches the pocket moleskine exactly, with the elastic band and the back accordian pocket. Comparing the paper with the plain pocket moleskine I had at that moment, the Monologue has slightly thicker paper. Thicker doesn't mean quality paper, I've learned, but I only get to know the quality of the paper when I put ink on the pages. It's not going to be anytime soon because I still have about half of my pocket reporter still blank ...
The price is less than a third of what the pocket moleskine would cost here in KL. The cost of one pocket moleskine can buy 3 of the monologues and I would still have change to pay for the parking.
Here are some pix ...
[this is good] Excellent find.
Posted by: Zotta | 07/28/2007 at 06:37 PM
One good thing is that the brown color does look like a welcome change from the black only moleskines.
Posted by: SengMing | 07/28/2007 at 10:40 PM
Hmmm.. what would they think of next...
Posted by: Niterider Sapphire | 07/30/2007 at 12:49 PM
SengMing .... it comes in a variety of colours. I bought one brown, as
in the pix, one orange, the other one burgundy. A couple of days later,
my wife 2 of those, a conservative black and a crimson red.
I
tried writing on the paper with a fountain pen, and would rate the
paper as fountain pen friendly. I tested with Pelikans, Lamy, Pilot,
Sheaffer in different colours, the results came out very good.
Posted by: Nazley a.k.a. Bubba | 07/30/2007 at 01:44 PM
Thanks Nazley, it's starting to sound like a really good deal =) Will put this on my shopping list when I get to KL.
Posted by: SengMing | 07/31/2007 at 04:04 PM
They have it in Crimson Red? Woohoo, I need to get me some.
Posted by: Chet Chin | 08/01/2007 at 02:36 PM
I bought two sets for my kids, but I shall remain a moleskine user for the time being;-)
Posted by: Berisman | 08/01/2007 at 03:53 PM
I have started to write on one ... While the monologue can't open as flat as the moleskine, the paper quality is better compared to the other moleskines I have. The paper is thick enough that I would rate it as fountain pen friendly, as the wet ink doesn't bleed through the pages and feathering is minimal ... at least with the pen and ink combination I use.
Posted by: Nazley a.k.a. Bubba | 08/01/2007 at 04:16 PM
I don't actually use Moleskines anymore cuz they're really too expensive to justify.
Posted by: Chet Chin | 08/01/2007 at 09:27 PM
I agree... I opt for an A6-sized notepads or palm-sized pads... worst comes to worst, buku 555... my constant personalised PWA.
Sorry aaa... tumpang lalu... :)
Posted by: Niterider Sapphire | 08/02/2007 at 01:49 PM
" ...me? .... I don't care one .... me, tai kor .... hahahahaha "
:D :D :D
p/s: I told my wife if she use digi, the big yellow guy will follow here everywhere she goes :P
Posted by: Nazley a.k.a. Bubba | 08/02/2007 at 02:07 PM
I went to the grandluxe.com site but there's no info on the Monolog range. Wonder why?
I couldn't find the notebooks at the Pelikan section in Times KLCC or Parkson One Utama. At Isetan KLCC, there was limited choice - black ruled or beige (light brown) ruled. There was also a sketchbook with the elastic fastener closing horizontally instead of the usual Moleskine (vertical) way.
Posted by: Chet Chin | 08/15/2007 at 02:08 PM
Chet ... my wife bought the rest of the monologue pocket notebooks at Times KLCC. There was also 2 A5 sized monologue, the same size as the large moleskine, and those ended in my shopping bag. Between the two of us we bought all the monologue, moleskine clones at Times KLCC.
Why?
Because it's a lot cheaper than the original moleskine ... And the fact that the monologue is almost the exact copy of the moleskines, they could be off the shelves due to legal reason at any time. So, I decided to keep some spares :D
I also cleared the remaining stock (pocket sized) at MPH Jusco Maluri, and Adib bought the last ones at MPH Great Eastern Mall. :P
Another friend told me there're a few more at MPH OneUtama. You can try your luck there.
Posted by: Nazley a.k.a. Bubba | 08/15/2007 at 02:27 PM
Oy, I never thought of MPH One Utama! Thanks for the tip.
Posted by: Chet Chin | 08/15/2007 at 05:20 PM
I finally found them at MPH The Curve. I bought the two in shrinkwrap, one A5 and the other A6, both red (or more accurately, orange). There are a few more there, including one in beige (light brown), but already opened.
Posted by: Chet Chin | 08/17/2007 at 10:43 PM
[this is good] In it something is. Earlier I thought differently, many thanks for the information.
Posted by: Ira Clawson | 05/02/2010 at 11:08 AM