Aaron in Denver is using his customized FIELD NOTES (above) as a “Vinyl Want List” for record-shopping expeditions. (It also turns out we have a lot of common friends in the motorscooter scene, cheers Aaron!)

Vanessa here in Chicago is documenting a messy breakup of a long-time relationship on her blog “Nine,” and is looking forward to running out of space in her old notebook so she can break open her Grass Stain Green FIELD NOTES.

Andrea in Oregon found an 1880s FIELD NOTES ancestor, and points out that our “FN-09 Band of Rubber” (included in online orders!) makes a great cat toy.

Keep the stories coming to pages@fieldnotesbrand.com! And get on the mailing list (top left of the site), we’ve got some good stuff in the pipeline that will be announced soon!

A few weeks ago, COLORS subscriber Ladd Cotton of Salt Lake City, Utah fired up his Smith Corona and typed us a letter about his FIELD NOTES customization projects. Ladd’s been making hand-stitched leather covers and adding ledger information to each page for some adventurous friends and family. The other day, he followed up with an email and some photos:

Your memo books are secured in the inside back cover and there is a pocket for a fishing license, cash, or whatever else. With some use, the leather will develop a nice patina.

Fly-fishing with my brothers is probably my favorite thing in the world. We always have a friendly competition during these trips (First, Most, Largest). Mostly, we just like spending time on the river together and always leave it with a story that may not be directly related to the fishing. I wanted a tangible record mostly for whatever happened other than who caught the largest cutthroat.

My good friend Backpacks A Different State Every Year (BADSEY). He keeps details of the trip on a piece of scratch paper and then transfers the information to a digital record afterwards. I hope that he’ll enjoy a log that he can hold in his hand, turn the pages, and see how it’s aged nicely through all the years and all the states.

I’ve looked far and wide for an activity log. I wanted something with simple, classic looks, could fit in a pocket, and didn’t make me feel like I was writing in a diary. Everything I found was either too complex, too large, or too commercial. Thank you for providing exactly what I wanted.

Thank you, Mr. Cotton, for showing us another great way to make FIELD NOTES even better and more personal!

(note: that’s Ladd’s letter in Amy’s old Corona in the top picture, Ladd Cotton’s Smith Corona is the blue one in the bottom photo)

Filmmaker Juan Camilo Barriga in Rome writes:

I am currently shooting a short film. And we didn’t have an eyebrow for the camera at the time so I improvised with my field notes. The only downside is that I had to take the cover off. But now it is back on the notebook!!
Field notes are awesome! I not only use them as makeshift equipment for cameras, but it’s also where the shot lists are made and where the storyboard is born!

So add “Prevent lens flare” to the list of uses for FIELD NOTES! (Maybe we’ll look at some matte black paper for COLORS?) Thanks, Juan!

The fourth in our FIELD NOTES COLORS series of seasonal limited-edition memo books, “Mackinaw Autumn” has been released for Fall 2009. 500 3-Packs of these tri-color graph paper books sold out in less than 24 hours, a new record. Thanks to everybody on our mailing list! FIELD NOTES COLORS subscriptions starting with “Mackinaw Autumn” are available now.

Like a shrink-wrapped and pressed collection of fall leaves, this edition contains three different cover colors, all from the French Paper Company in Niles Michigan; one in a burnt red, one in a running-board brown, and one in a harvest moon orange, all with brown text.

• Sketches for award-winning Jack-o-Lantern designs.
• The Twitter handle of the blonde girl at the bonfire.
• Lecture notes and/or Beer Pong tournament brackets.
• Set lists.
• Fantasy football rosters and trade ideas.
• The things that suck about your current job.
• The things that don’t suck about starting your own thing.
• Anything by William Carlos Williams.
• Planning for canning and making jams.

Our “Mackinaw Autumn” memo books are the perfect place to record, analyze, and solve these important issues of the season. Subscribe to FIELD NOTES COLORS and never miss a new installment, and be sure to sign up for our mailing list (top left of this page) to find out about special offers and limited editions before they’re available to the public.

UPDATE: Subscribers now get two BONUS standard 3-Packs, one Graph and one Ruled. More details here. That’s TEN 3-Packs over the course of your subscription, plus the usual extra goodies.

This weekend we got two emails, one from my old friend Zach Matthews, and one from Jim’s old pal David Sutton. Both were wandering the streets of Williamsburg in Brooklyn and saw our Mackinaw Autumn FIELD NOTES in a shop window. Both of them were thoughtful enough to send us an eerily similar photo (David’s is on the left, Zach’s is on the right). The shop in question is dijitalfix, which you may remember from Michele’s Brooklyn Field Trip. Thanks, David, Zach, and dijitalfix!

Limited-edition FIELD NOTES COLORS “Mackinaw Autumn” 3-Packs sold out in presale via our email list, but there are still a few available at selected retailers or via subscription.

The good people of NewCity in Blacksburg, Virginia got a wild hair and did some laser cutter experimenting on a “Butcher Orange” Field Notes memo book. That’s what you are seeing above. That logo is etched in for the ages!

And check that little “NewCity” tag on the edge. Nice little touch!

Glenn “Helvetica Tramp Stamp” Sorrentino manhandled the laser, Sara Andrew took the shot and Brian Maddox put the whole thing together for public consumption. A team effort with awesome results.

Field Notes internal wholeheartedly endorses all customization of our memo books. Now is the time! Get creative, people.

Writer Tyler C Hellard used FIELD NOTES to chronicle two days without modern technology for Calgary’s Avenue magazine. Avenue sent more FIELD NOTES to illustrator Kelly Sutherland, who used them for a series of illustrations for Hellard’s story “The 48-Hour Luddite.” There’s a taste at Hellard’s blog Pop Loser, hopefully we can share the entire story when the magazine comes out next week.

A pack of new “Mackinaw Autumn” FIELD NOTES also inspired Sandro Rucci to briefly ignore his gadgets and write a lovely post about his new “Mackinaw Autumn” FIELD NOTES. Thanks!

And if you’re sensing a “back to nature” theme here, you’re right. Patrick Ng, from Hong Kong FN retailer City Super, came across a perfect complement to “Mackinaw Autumn” FIELD NOTES on a trip to Korea: the “Leaf It” kit, a series of leaf-shaped Post-It-type notes.

Here in our beloved midwestern U.S., the temperature is dropping, the winds are brisk, and real leaves are starting to change color and fall, providing us with an endless supply of colorful bookmarks. It’s our favorite time of year but it’s always too brief in Chicago, where it’ll start snowing in a week or two. Of course, we’ll have limited-edition FIELD NOTES COLORS ready for winter, too, don’t miss out, subscribe now!