I have always loved brass. After my parents died, I went to live with my aunt and uncle. My uncle used to collect brass. Horse brasses, brass beds, brass ornaments, huge brass bullet casings as umbrella stands, brass fire screens, brass coal scuttles. You name it.

The brass bed I slept on in my new home (pictured above) was a bit rickety and had to balance perfectly on the frame. If someone sat on it too heavily, all the brass bits would fall apart and you would have to put it back together again like a jigsaw puzzle!

The picture above is of me on my brass bed at about 18, with two tiny abandoned tuxedo kittens that we had rescued from a gutter when they were just three days old. The others had died but we fostered these two. The one on the right with the two white cheeks took a shine to me and I was allowed to keep him. Bully was my constant companion for the next 18 years. Bully brought me back to life as my cats had to be put to sleep when my parents died and our house was sold. And he is the reason I adore tuxedo cats.

Everything around me in that photo means a lot to me. My boyfriend (later husband) was an art student at school so used to do all the art for my walls.

So, back to the brass. Due to dear memories of gorgeous antique aged brass, I have always had a fondness for it. So I recently splurged on some brass Midori accessories.

Two stencils, a ruler, and a pencil case.

Sturdy box, which had a plastic sleeve over it as can be seen above.

Sealed in another sheath

Very simple, as are many things Japanese. That is why I like Muji!

It does pick up prints but a quick wipe with a polishing cloth and it looks marvellous!

The pencil case easily fits all I need. Pencils, spare lead, lead pointers, erasers, stencils and rulers.

This is the pencil case I have been using for the past 2 years. A pilot pen came in it and it was perfect for my pens. But the Midori one is just so special!

I am also using these in my personal sized TN from Strawberry Notebook. I really like that there is an increasing range of inserts and accessories for this wonderfully useful size of TN (traveler’s notebook). I always found the Regular size a bit big and the Passport and Field Notes size too small. This is perfect. Probably because I use Filofax regular size.

• Pencil boards with grid and ruler. These are invaluable if you work with thin paper like Tomoe River. Many lefties, myself included, tend to press very hard when they write. So a pencil board makes a huge difference. These ones came from Etsy.
• Metal tabs/page markers. These were a gift from Monique because there had been a delay in my order.

• A board folder in personal size with two secretarial flaps on each side plus (get this!) full length back pocket. This came from Strawberry Notebook on Etsy

Categories: Animals, Midori and other Traveler's Notebooks, Notebooks, Stationery

Tags: Midori and other Traveler's Notebooks, personal size, TN