Field Notes Colors: County Fair

County Fair is an edition I took my time warming up to. I didn’t buy it until 2013 or so. Crazy, right? Now I quite like it. I love the sturdy, linen-textured covers. And the colors are fun for sure. It’s always interesting to see which state other Field Notes fans choose for themselves, too. As you can see, I got Illinois and California, states I’ve lived in. Last Christmas, I used one of the Illinois notebooks as a journal when I went to see my family in Chicago, and it worked out really well. It gave me an excuse to have some “me time” whenever I felt too overwhelmed by family stuffs. Maybe I will make it a tradition of taking an Illinois memo book whenever I fly there. :)

Firsts

County Fair is the first COLORS edition to use Neenah Paper for its covers; previous editions were all French Paper. You can tell the paper is different because it’s linen-textured and slightly stiffer. It was also the first time they printed colors on white cover stock to achieve the three different colors: blue, red and yellow.

This release had 50 different versions, representing all 50 states of the good ol’ US of America. The front cover is labeled with the state’s name and logo, and the back cover is full of facts and figures specific to that state. Holy… Can you imagine the amount of research that went into this? Talk about labor of love!

The white belly band is designed differently from the previous COLORS, too. Centered on the band is a handsome “Great Seal of Field Notes Brand.” Such attention to detail. Amaze.

This is also the first COLORS edition to join the “regular” line of products (perhaps this explains the item number FN-01a?). At the time of writing, you can still buy individual states online. The box set of all 50 states are still available online, too. It comes with a blue “First Place” Ribbon. I’m very tempted, folks. I saw the box set at a local store, and I was *this* close to getting it.

I wonder if any of the back covers got updated with new or edited stats in later printings…

Some fun (for me) details

• County Fair was first released in summer 2010 and is the 7th edition in the COLORS series.
• Item number: FN-01 or FN-01a
• Edition size: So complicated. That’s exactly what FN says. First printing in June 2010.
• Cover paper: Neenah Sundance Linen 100#C “Chicken Egg” printed with “Bluejay” blue, “Cardinal” red, and “Yellowhammer” yellow inks.
• Outside and inside cover: text in “Forty-niner Boomtown” gold Toyo ink
• Paper inside: Finch Opaque Smooth 50#T “Whitewash”
• Graph grid inside: “Babe the Blue Ox Underbelly” light blue soy-based ink
• Belly band: white paper with black text and “The Great Seal of Field Notes Brand” in the center
• “Practical Applications” on the back inside cover are the same across all three colors, and in all states.
• Extras for subscribers: First Place Blue Ribbon with the same seal featured on the belly band.
• Extras in the box set: First Place Blue Ribbon, pin, pens
• I have the third printing, printed in February 2012, so the specs you see may be different.
• Staples color: silver
• Film: Field Notes Field Trip to Monona, Iowa
• Film: United Memo Books of America

My favorite Practical Applications

• #02. Corn Dog Batter Recipes (I love corn dogs.)
• #23. Rabbit Cage Diagrams

For the love of god though, please don’t read the small text on the red books too closely. I don’t know about you but that gold text against the orange-red really hurts my eyes!

Field Notes Colors: Balsam Fir

Ah, Balsam Fir. One of my top favorite editions. The edition Jim Coudal (of Field Notes Brand and Coudal Partners) described as the “biggest screw-up” because they didn’t get them ready in time for the Christmas shopping season. Whatever, these are definitely not a screw-up in my book. I loved using these. Something about the foil-stamping, how the white text almost looks glossy and cool-toned against the warm, dark green of the matte cover stock… I really think the finished look of Balsam Fir perfectly matches the intended theme for this release, and I wholeheartedly agree when they say:

“Think of a heavy, fresh snow on the boughs of a proud Midwestern fir tree.”

Overall, I think it looks quite sophisticated but it still captures the spirit of Field Notes. It is probably not a coincidence that the Day Game edition, also foil-stamped, is another of my top favorites.

The 3-pack of Balsam Fir came with an envelope (with red lining!) and a letterpress card, so that you can insert the pack into the envelope for holiday gift-giving. I still have these envelopes and cards. Because I’m selfish. No giving these babies away!

Firsts

What’s interesting about this edition, besides the accompanying envelope and card, is that it is the first edition to feature foil stamping, where the foil in this case is non-metallic, matte white (explained better here). You must watch the Making of Balsam Fir video to see how these are printed! It’s fascinating. And calming. I love me some Beethoven.

This edition was also the first time two different belly bands were used. For the COLORS subscribers, the belly band was off-white and speckled (French Paper’s Speckletone) with red text, while the retail version came with regular white belly band with black text.  I don’t have the belly band for this edition anymore, and I don’t remember what it looked like. The inside cover reveals that I have the retail version? It’s labeled as “Kraft Green” (as opposed to “Balsam Fir”). 

Which is strange because I swear I got these as part of the subscription… I didn’t get that sprig of spruce either… Darn my fuzzy memory. Oh well.

Some fun (for me) details:

• Balsam Fir (Winter 2010) is the 9th edition in the COLORS series.
• Item number: FN-01
• Retail version is labeled as “Kraft Green” on the back inside cover.
• Edition size: 10,500 books/3,500 packs printed in December 2010.
• Outside cover: French Paper Co. Speckletone 100#C “Olive” with foil-stamped white text
• Inside cover: text in “Wet Bark Black” soy-based Toyo ink
• Graph grid inside: “Coniferous Green” soy-based Toyo ink
• Paper inside: Finch Paper Opaque Smooth 50#T “Bright White”
• Belly band for the subscription version: French Paper Co. Speckletone in “True White” with red text
• Belly band for the retail version: White paper with black text
• Extras: holiday card/envelope in the same French Paper Co. Speckletone in “True White" and sprig of spruce. 
• Staples color: silver
• Film: Making of Balsam Fir

I wanted to choose a favorite among the “Practical Applications” from this edition but I see that they are the same as the “regular” ones from the original kraft Field Notes. Anyone want to confirm this with their Balsam Firs? Does the subscription version have different “Practical Applications”?

Also, I noticed that this edition uses Finch Paper, instead of Boise Offset of the previous edition, Raven’s Wing. Is this when they switched the paper? I see that most of the editions since Balsam Fir use Finch Paperexcept for Expedition and Traveling Salesman.  

If you haven’t noticed, I obsess over details. Can’t be good for my sanity.