Hello again. Daryl here. I hope you're all safe and well.

Another letter, so soon? Yes, our March drop is already here. We got all the business updates out of the way in the previous letter, so I'll keep this one relatively breezy, and focused on all the new releases we're announcing today.

And boy, is there a lot of new stuff — our biggest drop ever, actually. Let's get dug in.

A new generation of folio notebooks

I'm just going to leave the buy link here, at the start, because I know full well many of you have been waiting patiently for months and just want to get this stuff in your cart right away:
https://www.musu.bi/shop/tomo-system/folio-notebooks-a5/cosmo-air-light-83

So — yes. Our new Cosmo Air Light folio notebooks are here.

This is a paper that's been generating some buzz in the fountain pen community as of recent weeks, and for good reason. It's an incredible everyday use paper while still managing to be a shading and sheen monster that brings out the best in your favourite inks. You can find more details at the link above.

We've been planning to add Cosmo to our folio notebook lineup for a long while now — almost a year and a half — but supply chain issues caused by you-know-what delayed things a little. So, rather than sit on our hands, we decided we'd use the additional time to work on something I've always wanted to add to our notebooks. I'm pleased to say that we've managed to finish that in time for this release.

The CAL folio notebooks will come in our new, second-generation rulings:

• blank (as before)
• 7 mm lined (new!)
• 5 mm cross grid paginated (new! - previously unpaginated)

These new rulings should be fairly self-explanatory. You've been asking us for a lined version of our folio notebooks pretty much non-stop, and so I'm happy to oblige. We've included markers on the top and bottom edges to help you find the midpoint, thirds, and fourths of the page:

As for our new cross grid paginated ruling, it's identical to our current 5 mm cross grid, with the addition of page numbers along the side edge, near the bottom of the page:

This upgrade should make keepers of bullet journals, and folks who need to remember where they've written something down, a lot happier.

These new notebooks also come in at just 25 USD — our most affordable price point ever. Those of you looking to start out with your first Musubi will find a good entry point here, and I'll wager folks looking to stock up on notebooks for the year ahead won't be too upset, either.

We have plenty of these Cosmo notebooks, so feel free to load up:
https://www.musu.bi/shop/tomo-system/folio-notebooks-a5/cosmo-air-light-83

The curious case of old Tomoe River

Now, obviously we couldn't add these new rulings to the Cosmo release without also thinking about our Tomoe River notebooks.

After finding out about the change to Tomoe River last year, we set out to see if we could scrounge up as much old paper as possible. Basically, we called up everyone we knew — a myriad of suppliers and merchants around the world — and begged them to sell us any deadstock Tomoe River that they might happen to have lying around.

I'm pleased to say that after months of work we've managed to gather enough paper to commission one last run of our folio notebooks using old TR.

These new notebooks will incorporate our second-generation rulings mentioned above: blank, lined, and cross grid paginated. Apart from the rulings, these notebooks are identical to the current version you know and love — same grey linen cover with the debossed logo, and the same stiff and durable construction.

The non-paginated version of our cross grid ruling will be discontinued. For those of you who prefer that slightly cleaner look, we'll continue to sell the ones we currently have until they run out.

These newly-upgraded folio notebooks, still using old Tomoe River, are available right now:
https://www.musu.bi/shop/tomo-system/folio-notebooks-a5/tomoe-river-52

As for our Bank Paper folio notebooks, we're still selling from our current stock and don't have the physical space to commission and store a run with the new rulings. These notebooks will remain on the old rulings for now, but future runs will be updated to include the lined and cross grid paginated versions. I'll update you via this newsletter when that happens.

Reopening orders for sketchbooks

As you may already know, we previously paused orders for our large format Kinkakuden sketchbooks in order to find some more of this out-of-production paper. A few of you have written to us, asking if and when we might be able to reopen orders for this unique two-sided washi.

I'm pleased to say our paper merchants have come through, and we can now do a few more of these sketchbooks on a made-to-order basis. We should be able to ship your sketchbook in about two weeks from the day you place your order.

If you've been waiting for these sketchbooks to return, you know what to do:
https://www.musu.bi/shop/handbound-journals/sketchbooks-large-format/tonbo-dragonflies-kinkakuden-washi

More vintage kimono diaries

We've pulled another vintage kimono from the vault to add to our lineup for this month.

With a beautiful carriage and flower theme wreathed in gold, this should be an instant classic for those of you who've been assiduously collecting our kimono diaries.

There was only enough fabric on this kimono to make just six pieces, so move fast if this is your jam:
https://www.musu.bi/shop/handbound-journals/diaries-a5-vintage-series/vintage-silk-kimono-with-gold-and-silver

It's raining cats

We paused our ad hoc diary series for a little bit, in order to work on the new folio notebooks. Now that those are done, our ad hoc diaries are going to be back in season. For this March drop, we're beginning with two playful patterns.
First off, cats, drums and other Japanese toys dance across a textured, slubby cotton in this wonderfully lighthearted print. Available in black, navy, and purple:

Buy now:
https://www.musu.bi/shop/handbound-journals/diaries-a5-ad-hoc/cat-fan-drum

And our second print is themed around classical wagasa, or Japanese umbrellas, in a very fetching purple:

Buy now:
https://www.musu.bi/shop/handbound-journals/diaries-a5-ad-hoc/wagasa-japanese-umbrellas

Well, that's a lot of stuff for one drop! I think we'll leave it there for now, to give everyone's wallets a breather. I'm particularly excited to see what you all do with your new Cosmo notebooks.

As always, thanks for your support as we work together to empower the disadvantaged and balance the scales. Stay well, and keep on lighting candles in the dark.

Much love
Daryl
on behalf of everyone here at Musubi