Presents for him that actually get used
The same page from the other side, and the same problem with it: you know who it is for and the occasion is doing none of the work. What tends to land is either the thing he does at the weekend drawn across the foot of the cover, or the plainest possible statement that the notebook is his and nobody else's. There is also one more cover here, for a man who would find both of those far too earnest.
- GolfA golfer mid-swing on the fairway, the flag waiting on the green.£17.99
- Football bandA shirt, a ball, boots, gloves, a whistle, a goal and a set of shinpads.£17.99
- Ski gogglesGoggles over crossed skis, a mountain run reflected in the lens.£17.99
- CampervanA campervan parked by a river, pines and hills behind it, drawn in one line.£17.99
- CampingA tent, a campfire and a shooting star over the mountains.£17.99
- TravelSuitcase, compass, camera, passport and a world map, everything a trip needs.£17.99
- In the kitchen, himA cook at the stove with a mixing bowl, short hair under a chef's hat.£17.99
- Property of£17.99
- Name and monogram£17.99
- World's best BrotherA championship nobody else entered, engraved on the trophy anyway.£17.99
- World's best UncleTwo typefaces and a large claim, pitched at about the volume he talks at.£17.99
- NSFW (Not Safe For Work)A cover that says the quiet part out loud, shuffled or written yourself. The notebook says it in full; this picture cannot.£17.99
NSFW: strong language, covered in this picture but not on the notebook - Famous quotesA line worth keeping and the name of whoever wrote it, shuffled from sixty-odd out of copyright, or written yourself.£17.99
- Your place, mappedAny place on earth drawn as a map, marked with a symbol, its name and coordinates beneath and a line of your own under that.£17.99
Name the thing he would rather be doing
Most of what is here is a picture and a name, with no message anywhere on the cover. Goggles over crossed skis have a mountain run reflected in the lens. The suitcase, compass, camera, passport and world map are for the one who is always about to go somewhere. Then there is a golfer mid-swing with the flag waiting on the green, a campervan by a river, a tent and a campfire under the mountains, and a cook at the stove with a mixing bowl. Choosing between them comes down to one question: if you can name what he would rather be doing on a Saturday, the drawing says it and nothing else has to be written.
A title, or no words at all
Two of these refuse to be about an occasion. Property of carries his name and the flat fact that the book belongs to him, and name and monogram cuts the initials large with the full name beneath. Either is right when the notebook is the present and the engraving just says whose it is. If a title would land better than a name, World's best Brother and World's best Uncle make the claim formally, in two typefaces, which is roughly the tone it tends to get made in anyway.
If sincerity would be a mistake
The NSFW cover says the quiet part out loud and is shuffled from a bank you can type straight over. What gets engraved is not censored; only the picture of it on this site is, so the shop can be listed anywhere. The famous quotes cover is the sober version of the same idea, pairing a line worth keeping with the name of whoever wrote it, drawn only from work that is out of copyright. And the map draws any place on earth with its coordinates beneath it, which is the one to buy for somebody who has a place.
Each one is made once you have ordered it, so leave a couple of days between ordering and needing it. How long making, dispatch and delivery take is set out on Delivery and returns.