The History of Field Notes Notebooks

In 2006 or 2007, a designer named Aaron Draplin made around 200 pocket-sized notebooks and gave them to his friends as holiday gifts. He used a Gocco press and cut the corners round. His friend, Jim Coudal, told him he thought the idea had potential, and the two started a company and set up a website to sell Field Notes notebooks. They made 13 sales the first day. Each Field Notes notebook was designed with a utilitarian simplicity. The typeface they chose is called Futura, a font created by German designer Paul Renner. The notebook’s size, design, and functionality was based in part on promotional notebooks distributed by seed and farm equipment manufacturers in the agricultural Midwest. (Draplin grew up in Michigan and collected these on drives through the region.) In 2008, J. Crew opened a trendy clothing store in a former bar in Tribeca that became known as the Liquor Store. For the new shop, J. Crew curated a few brands to sell alongside their own, one of which was Field Notes. This gave the fledgling notebook brand its big break and Field Notes quickly became popular. Even in today’s digital age, Field Notes notebooks remain a favorite of many and are sold in a variety of designs ranging from the simple brown cover they debuted with to special editions depicting everything from birds to scenes from national parks.