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That Portland sketchbook fair almost got me to spend $240 on a notebook
I went to the big analog supplies swap meet at the convention center last month, expecting a fun day of browsing. Instead I watched a vendor demo a $240 leather notebook with handmade paper and special binding, and he kept saying things like "you owe it to your craft" to a crowd of people nodding along. I almost bought it on the spot, but then I saw a kid next to me using a plain spiral notebook and a ballpoint pen, and his sketches had more life than anything in that booth. That moment snapped me out of it, but it also made me realize how easy it is to get pulled into gear worship at these events. I've been journaling for 11 years now, and my best entries came from a $2 notebook I carried through a rainy week in Seattle. Has anyone else walked out of a fair or market feeling like you had to resist the hype, or am I the only one who almost dropped serious cash on something I didn't need?
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jamie_carter871mo ago
That moment with the kid using the spiral notebook really resonates with me. Gear always looks better in the demo than it does in real life, you know? I've got a shelf of fancy pens and sketchbooks that mostly just sit there, while my beat-up pocket notebook from the drugstore is the one I actually reach for every day. The hype at those fairs is real, and it's wild how they make you feel like you're not a real artist unless you drop a paycheck on supplies. Good on you for catching yourself, because that kid's sketch probably cost him like fifty cents and it was better than anything that vendor will ever make.
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