(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)
A couple weeks ago, the Traveler’s Company Caravan, USA Road Trip event started in Long Beach, CA, home of Traveler’s Company USA, with an event at M. Lovewell, which was very well attended (and quite crowded from the posts and stories I saw on instagram). It looked like a lot of fun and I couldn't wait to experience it in San Francisco (which was the next stop, followed by Port Townsend, WA). I went on Thursday afternoon and I was told that it was a lot less crowded than Wednesday, and much less crowded than at M. Lovewell, where the line was out the door and down the block!
Love this cute sign welcoming you to the Road Trip event.
The event was held at the Heath Ceramics location, where you can also find the cute Heath Newsstand shop (behind the sign.)
I love that this is a welcoming space. ♥️
Here are all the Traveler’s Company partner shops - not sure if they are planning to do the Road Trip event at all of them or just the 3 West Coast locations.
Just inside the entrance, Traveler’s fans are stamping their Traveler’s Notebooks and showing them off to other enthusiasts.
I had Christina from the team sign my passport accordion insert after I finished stamping it. I love these inserts for quick memory keeping of events!
The Road Trip event space.
Who’s ready for a Road Trip?!?! Me, Me, ME!!
On the shelves along the walls and above the retail displays, there were portraits of winning entries from their “USA Road Trips with your TRAVELLER’S notebook” contest. I enjoyed seeing the creativity and artistry behind these lovely spreads!
Products from their standard lineup, as well as gallery entries on the top shelf.
Traveler’s Company water bottles and Back Dog Coffee Roasters coffee in Long Beach, CA.
Look at this amazing artwork that was done in the Accordion insert!!
This is the view from the far corner, looking back towards the entry ramp.
There was also a Spiral Ring Notebook Viking event (which required prepaid appointments) - In Japan, the term “Viking” is often used to refer to a buffet, like the smorgasbords in Sweden, where you pick and choose what you want to eat. The team brought a variety of papers that you can choose from to put into your notebook in whatever order you like, and then their craftsman, Ishi-san, would bind the notebook before handing it back to you!
I spent a lot of time in this area figuring out what papers I wanted to get.
After checking in, I was given this tray with instructions on how to get started. Essentially you pick the papers and make sure the stack fits in the slot on the Thickness Guide. It’s quite simple, unless your pile of papers is too thick, in which case, picking out which papers to keep is really tough!
There were two covers to choose from - Black or Copper imprint - and a bunch of papers with different colors, rulings (or not), designs, textures, etc.
Cover sheet, maps, and other papers in both white and cream.
Lest you think they only have “normal” colors, they also have colorful papers of different textures too! The 6 closest to the left feel very smooth and likely to be FP-friendly. The two in the middle were a lot more textured.
I love this playful, confetti patterned washi paper!
Phew! It fits!
Ishi-san is installing the spiral coil into the punched holes of the paper & cover.
Such a sweet smile from Ishi-san, as he hands you the completed notebook!
Here are some of the papers I chose for my notebook - I’m especially excited to try the speckled ones as well as the brightly colored papers.
I knew that I would be coming home with a custom spiral notebook and likely another TN but I also picked up a few other goodies cuz I couldn’t resist.
L to R: Road Trip TN, Passport Accordion with Road Trip Stamp (which I smudged, oops), custom spiral notebook with Copper imprint and coil, Road Trip brass clip, Short Trip refills in Passport and Regular size, 2025 Sticker set, Road Trip stickers.
It was a lot of fun figuring out what papers to put in my custom notebook and it was wonderful to see the Traveler’s crew again! If the Road Trip Caravan ever makes it near you, I highly recommend the experience!
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