Those of you who follow the blog regularly will know of my obsession with Bullet Journals and stationery. You can imagine my excitement when I was asked to try out a brand new notebook by Greenstory... made of STONE.
Yes, you read it correctly… it’s made of stone.
Developed by Dutch brother & sister duo Kaim and Yagmur and supported by copywriter Fleur, Greenstory seeks to make a difference for sustainability. The paper for the Stone Notebook is made of 80% calcium carbonate, which is waste material from marble quarries. 20% polyethylene is added, and that’s it. It uses 6X less energy to produce and leaves a 3X smaller CO2 footprint. No coating, water, acid, bleach or optical brighteners. The material can be infinitely recycled to make more Stone notebooks!
It also makes the paper waterproof and much stronger – one of the first things that I attempted to do when I received the notebook was rip the corner of one of the back pages, and while it was possible to tear it – there was a noticeable difference in the overall strength than other notebooks I have used.
And, the company is working in partnership with OneTreePlanted so that for every journal purchased, a tree is planted in Ghana.
I chose to try the Stone Notebook A5 Hardcover in Marble Grey, with dotted pages.
The notebook contains 80 numbered pages, and the dots are reasonably dark, but don’t distract from the overall look. It comes with a bookmark built in.
I was desperate to see what writing on the paper was like, so I started with a simple title that I have used at the front of my current bullet journal. It was soft and easy to write on, and there was no bleeding into the back of the page. In fact, while the writing could be seen slightly on the other side, it was no darker than any other notebook I have tried.
I then decided to take it a step further and try out different pens to see how they would react with the type of paper to test for smudging and bleeding onto the other side.
I used a number of pens:
A Sakura Pigma Brush pen
A Sakura Pigma Micron 005
A Bic Intensity
A Sakura Pigma Micon with a Stabilo Highlighter
A Crayola Supertip
A Sharpie
A Stabilo fineliner.
These are the results on the page and on the back
None of the pens bled through to the other side. Most of the pens couldn’t even be seen from the other side, with the exception of the Sharpie and the Sakura’s. There were only two issues – the Crayola Supertip didn’t turn out as well as I would have expected – the ink seemed to run ever so slightly and the Stabilo highlighter smudged the ink from the Sakura pen. This was because I forgot that the pages have waterproof properties and therefore the ink would take slightly longer to dry, which is something to bear in mind for the future when using a highlighter. However, this is one of the only notebooks that I ever seen where a strong pen like a Sharpie can be used without it destroying the other side of the page, which is brilliant.
It’s a lovely notebook to use – it’s well-made, lightweight, strong, fits easily in my bag and is a brilliant resource for bloggers, students, bullet journal enthusiasts and diarists. It’s ethically made, easily recyclable, really enjoyable to write and create designs on, and the strength of the paper means that popular stationery pens don’t go through to the other side.
Interested?
The notebooks are priced at €17.50, which works out at about £15.00, and can be ordered in two colours – Marble Grey or Space Blue – and you can choose from lined or dotted paper to suit your own tastes.
The Stone Notebook can be purchased from the Greenstory website here
You can also find this amazing company on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @ourgreenstory.
AND JUST AS EXCITING – Greenstory are sponsoring the Annual Bloggers Bash Awards this year, so the winner of each category will receive a Stone Notebook! Have you got your ticket for the 2018 Annual Bloggers Bash in London yet?
Disclaimer: I was given a Greenstory Stone Notebook free-of-charge in exchange for an honest review.
Suzie Speaks 
Reblogged this on Thoughts by Mello-Elo and commented:
A Valentine’s Day share: for those with a love of stationery, this is one for you. I’m putting this on my wish list, so if you’re feeling generous…!
Thanks for the reblog!
Great post as always, Suzie.
Thanks lovely!
Love it! Shared this as I’m sure many bloggers will be interested.
Thanks so much Eloise!
What an amazing notebook! I’m excited that they ship internationally too – this just may be the next notebook I try. Thank you for sharing!
Ooh thanks Kelsey! It’s such a nice product!
Now how cool is this! Wow, I love this, Suzie! “Etched in stone”! Hahahaha Cher xo
Oh my gosh I never thought of that haha!
Hahaha 😉
Reblogged this on i havesevenbooks.org and commented:
I WILL ASK MY SWEET HEART TO TRY ONE
Thank you for the reblog!
I am just finding my way around this issue
I’m obsessed with stationery too! These products look fab! I’d love to give them a try. Excited to hear Greenstory are sponsoring the Bloggers Bash!
They’re not sponsoring the whole bash, but they are sponsoring the awards which is amazing! I could spend all day in stationery stores haha!
This makes my little notebook-hoarder heart happy!
Hahaha! Me too – I really wanted to keep it pristine and use it for my next bullet journal but I ended up testing lots of pens… I’ll have to buy one now haha!
fascinating! Thanks for the info!
Thanks lovely! I was really intrigued by it and it defied all expectations!
I am loving how sustainable the company is and the notebook sounds awesome…they don’t ship to Thailand however…Maybe some day 🙂
Aww gutted! I’m sure they will at some point!
I am sure they will but I am used to it Suzie living here..maybe I will win the competition and then I will get one..lol…Have a lovely weekend 🙂
It’s a bit pricey for 80 pages, but I’m sure it will make lots of people happy. You didn’t try a fountain pen, but I’d be interested to know how notebooks perform with them in any future reviews. I’d love to know how they work with waterproof paper.
It’s a shame a written review doesn’t allow us to touch the page.
Ooh I haven’t used a fountain pen in years… I had a gorgeous one in my teens and have no idea where it went!
That’s a shame. They’re wonderful to write with.
A notebook made of stone? I love creative people!
It’s ingenious isn’t it! And you really can’t tell at all by the paper…
I’ve never heard of a stone notebook! Wow sounds so nice & environments friendly too. Lovely 😊
It was really surprising when I felt the paper as it just feels like soft paper – genius!
This looks like a very interesting notebook. I got quite curious about the Stone notebook and think I will have to try one next time I need a new notebook. I have given myself a shop stop on notebooks untill I have used the ones I already brought.
Hahaha! Yeah, I think I need to do this – my house is full of them!
That looks like a very classy notebook! I do always take one with me when I am travelling – and waterproof sounds good for that!!!
It’s a really great idea for a travel notebook…
These look pretty amazing, and I WANT ONE!!!!
Hahaha!
😉
I love the idea of this notebook! I too am a huge stationery and notebook fan – hence my blog title – and the idea of a stone notebook is fascinating.
Oh my gosh yes – I really liked the idea of it too
I love hearing stories of very creative people who are risk takers!! Nothing ventured nothing gained! I love that it is environmentally friendly too. I am sure to pick up a few innovative objects as we travel around 🙂 Interesting post!
Thanks lovely! I’m always a big fan of entrepreneurs
I’ve never heard of a stone notebook, but I’m intrigued!! I must get one!
That’s great! Let me know what you think?
Interesting! Just a quick question: you mention it’s recyclable, but how? Do you have to return it to the manufacturer when you’ve finished with it? Surely it requires some special recycling collection and process?
I’m assuming so – I’ll ask questions and find out!
Hi Denzil, Yagmur here. Stone Notebook should specifically be recycled with plastics and not with paper. If you have a recycling station in your city which is for plastics only, that is perfect. If not, you can send it back to us to make sure it is properly recycled. As long as the pages are not confused with paper made of trees, no special process is required. Polyethylene + calcium carbonate can be recycled together as part of the plastic recycling cycle. Calcium carbonate is often used as additive in plastics so it is already part of that same recycling cycle.
I just like looking at all the different types of pen. Lovely! My own handwriting is pretty awful so any pen and notebook that makes me concentrate is super.
Am a notebook obsessed person anyway so loving the stone.
Aren’t they addictive? The pens took quite well, although there was one or two that I wouldn’t use on this sort of notebook as they ran a little
Hate that. I hate when I am correcting work and the pen won’t take to the paper properly😣
Like the idea of recycled and smaller carbon footprint. Will check site out. Always enjoy bloggers (especially BUYB) ones doing reviews as feel like friends are telling me what is good/bad/indifferent. thanks.
Thank you! Let me know what you think!
All I could picture where stone tablets when I first started reading this, Suzie. Though the paper is ‘heavier’ than normal, at least you can lift them! And use a pen instead of a chisel. Seems like quite a revolutionary way to produce paper.
I was so surprised – I expected the whole stone tablet thing too but it looks like a paper one!
It looks amazing! I love bullet point journaling, but I have been using a notebook. Since it’s stone, is it heavy?
No it looks and feels exactly the same as any other notebook
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