Hello everyone, I really hope you’re doing well. Today I want to talk about a set of pocket notebooks that genuinely surprised me: the Ashmolean Museum mini notebooks by Flame Tree Publishing. These are the kind of notebooks that make you stop for a second when you see them on a shelf. I found them while travelling, tucked away in a bookshop, and I pretty much had to pick them up because the covers were just so beautiful. They come as a set of three in a little sleeve, and the whole presentation feels much nicer than you might expect for a small affordable notebook set.
What immediately stood out to me was the artwork. I usually lean toward plainer notebooks, darker covers, and designs that feel a bit more minimal. I am not always drawn to bright or decorative pocket notebooks, and I do not usually chase every colourful edition that comes out. But these felt different. They are decorative without feeling cheesy, and the designs have a kind of museum gift-shop elegance to them. They are colourful, but still quite refined. If you like pretty stationery, this is probably one of the more visually appealing pocket notebook sets I have come across.
The set includes three different cover designs, each with its own artwork. The covers have a foiled finish, and in person that makes a big difference. The gold details catch the light nicely, especially on the darker floral and bird designs. They are not hardback notebooks; they are softcover notebooks with coated stock covers, so they still feel lightweight and easy to carry. But visually, they look more special than a basic utility pocket notebook. I think that is really the main appeal here. They are functional little notebooks, but the cover art makes them feel like something you would enjoy pulling out of a bag.
In terms of size, these are proper pocket notebooks. The dimensions are about 3.5 by 5.7 inches, or roughly 9 by 14.5 cm, so they are close to an A6-style notebook. That makes them small enough to carry around without much thought, but still large enough to write quick lists, notes, plans, or little daily thoughts. They have rounded corners, which I always appreciate on a notebook this size because it makes them feel a little softer in the hand and helps the edges avoid looking too sharp or scruffy straight away.
The binding is stitched, and you can see the stitching clearly when you open the notebooks up. I like stitched pocket notebooks because they tend to open more comfortably than stapled ones, and they also feel a bit nicer. These are still simple notebooks, so I would not describe the construction as luxury, but it is absolutely decent for the price. The covers are flexible, the notebooks are light, and the whole set feels like something you can actually use rather than something too precious to write in.
Inside, each notebook has 64 pages of slightly off-white paper. The layout is a little different from many pocket notebooks because one side is lined and the other side is blank. The ruling is about 8 mm, printed in a light grey. I actually quite like this format because it gives you a bit of structure without making every page feel too rigid. You could use the lined side for notes or journaling and the blank side for sketches, little diagrams, stickers, or anything more visual. It makes the notebooks feel a bit more versatile than a standard fully lined pocket notebook.
The back of each notebook also tells you what the cover artwork is based on, which is a nice detail. One design is based on a Japanese painting with cranes and wisteria from 1905. Another is based on a casket with flowers and butterflies from around 1860. The third comes from an embroidered textile hanging with a peacock from the late nineteenth century. I really like that they include this context because it makes the notebooks feel connected to actual art objects rather than just pretty patterns printed on paper.
Paper quality is always the big question with notebooks like this. These are affordable decorative pocket notebooks, so I was not expecting premium paper. The paper does not feel especially thick or luxurious; my guess is that it is somewhere around 70 gsm. But it performed better than I expected. I tested pencil, ballpoint pen, a couple of gel pens, rollerballs, and even a fountain pen. With thinner paper, I usually expect quite a lot of ghosting and sometimes actual bleed-through, especially with wetter pens.
There is definitely ghosting on the back of the page. That is not surprising, and if you are very sensitive to seeing writing through the paper, this may bother you. But what impressed me was that nothing fully bled through, not even the fountain pen. I used a Pilot Metropolitan with a medium nib and Diamine Marine ink, and while you can see the writing from the other side, it did not completely break through the page. That is better than I expected, and honestly it performed better than some more famous pocket notebooks, including the Moleskine Cahier in my experience.
Value-wise, I think these are pretty good. I paid around nine dollars for the set, which works out to about three dollars per notebook. Of course, if you want the absolute cheapest pocket notebook possible, there are cheaper options out there. But for something this pretty, with stitched binding, museum artwork, foiled covers, and paper that performs decently, I think the price is very reasonable. They feel like a small stationery treat without being so expensive that you are afraid to use them.
Overall, I think these Ashmolean Museum mini notebooks are gorgeous little softcover pocket notebooks. They are not perfect, and the paper is not thick premium paper, but they are practical, affordable, and much prettier than most basic pocket notebooks. If you like decorative stationery, museum-inspired designs, or small notebooks that feel a little special, I think these are definitely worth checking out. They would be lovely as a small gift, a travel notebook set, or just something pretty to keep on hand for everyday notes.
