Just like beauty products, more and more local manufacturers are bringing in really good stationery items on the table, and I am here for all of it. The question now is, Is the Veco Idea Notes on of them? Let's find out. 🤓

You know what, I'm delighted to dive in this little review, even though I have had my Veco Idea Notes for two years now, because it's been a while that we've taken a thorough look at the paper products. 

It's a fairly well-reviewed item and highly suggested to those who are looking for local journals. With that, I'm thinking there might be people who maybe want to research about it more before eventually getting one for themselves.

Let's begin. ♥︎

THE LAYOUT 

The Idea Notes A5 is one of the newer items from the vault of local manufacturer Veco Paper Corp. You may find the brand name familiar, and as you should since the company has been in the business for a while now. You may place them from PaperOne copy papers or those block pads that come in different colors. Come 2020, they released the Idea Notes. 

I bought just when they were out the oven and just before we were all locked up for the you-know-what. I was watching bestdressed religiously at this time, and that ultimately led me to reaching out for the red one, instead of the typical black. 

Here are the other features:

• 100 GSM paper
• 80 leaves
• cardstock cover
• gusseted back pocket
• ribbon bookmark
• garter closure 
• comes in dotted and ruled pages
• available in these colors: anthracite gray, red, midnight blue, beige, black, aqua blue, and raspberry

QUICK NOTES

SAMPLE PAGES

A happy dream :]

♥︎♥︎♥︎

PEN-TO-PAPER TEST

We've reached again to the section where we see how the pages fair against the different writing instruments. I wanted it to be as varied as possible, so I got 13 markers to test it on the paper.

Here are our representatives: 

• Tombow ABT (Crimson, 847)
• Tombow ABT (Port Red, 757)
• Crayola SuperTips (Red) ⏤ read my review here
• DS Highlighter
• Zebra Mildliner (Copper) ⏤ read my review here
• Uni Pin Fineline 0.4 
• Sakura Pigma Micron 0.3 ⏤ read my review here 
• Zebra Sarasa Vintage 0.5 ⏤ read my review here
• Uni Ball One 0.38 
• Uni Ball Signo RT 0.38 
• Zebra Sarasa Gel Clip 0.3 ⏤ read my review here
• Pilot Acroball 0.3
• Uni Shalaku S mechanical pencil 

Findings

1. There's obvious ghosting in most⏤if not all⏤of the pens used. Perhaps the only one that didn't quite show up on the back page is the mechanical pencil. 
2. Even though the Tombows seem to almost bleed, I'm quite impressed by how the sheet managed to keep it together and did not get any ink to get to the other side. 

THE YELLOW LEGAL PAD TEST

pros

1. It's very much accessible. You can get it at Art Bar, National Bookstore, and online. 
2. The paper quality is good for its price. There can be visible ghosting, but at least it doesn't bleed. It's not flimsy too, which I like. (Though I listed one con below.)
3. I really like how the notebook looks. It looks clean and expensive. I thought it was thoughtful that the logo was just debossed delicately on the lower bottom of the back cover. 
4. The features are superb! The Idea Notes checks all my three of my feature favorites: ✓ elastic band, ✓ ribbon bookmark, and ✓ gusseted back pocket. 

cons

VERDICT

final rating: 4.0

RECOMMENDATION

By all means, kid, if you need a pretty notebook that serves its purpose quick, I think that the Veco Idea Notes is a decent choice. It can be a good tool for school and journaling, but perhaps not aesthetic notetaking or journaling because of the ghosting⏤unless you want to start on a fresh page each time.

Especially that this is a local product, I would encourage you to support this brand. But to be cruelly honest, if you have extra cash to spare, you can always opt for the PaperNotes A5 for an even better paper quality (read my review here to compare).