The Archer & Olive notebooks mentioned in this review were purchased by me before I became an Archer & Olive affiliate – and I only became an affiliate after trying out their products first. So, below is my honest opinion about the Archer & Olive company and their notebooks.

Oh, and if you decide to purchase one of their products after reading this review, you can save 10% on your order with my code CAROLA10.

Archer & Olive – The Company

Here’s why I love Archer & Olive as a company: it’s female-owned, environmentally conscious, produces high-quality products, is dedicated to “customer delight” (they go above and beyond to resolve any customer issues), and prioritizes mental health awareness.

The following review is of the A5 Fall Flowers Dot Grid Notebook:

Dot Grid Notebook Features

• Size: A5 (5.75″ x 8.25″)
• 160 pages
• Dot grid
• 160gsm ultra-thick brilliant white paper
• Faux leather cover
• Back pocket
• Two ribbons (one with an attached ampersand charm)
• Pen holder

The Cover

The faux leather cover is so pretty and feels sturdy, which is important if you are toting it around as a planner or journal on-the-go. Two ribbons mean that you can bookmark sections such as a monthly view and daily view if you are bullet journaling. The back pocket is handy for the random notes you jot down or stickers and other things to decorate the pages with.

The Paper

If you enjoy using markers, gel pens, and paint (watercolour or acrylic) in your journals and notebooks, you’ll understand why paper quality is the most important factor of any book. Since Archer & Olive notebooks are 160gsm, it prevents ghosting and bleeding through the paper, which is amazing. The paper is really thick and feels luxurious. The 0.5cm dot grid pages lay open flat, which is perfect for writing and bullet journaling.

Archer & Olive also offers a dot grid notebook with black paper, kraft paper, and a combination of white-black-kraft paper (the Neopolitan). If you’re intrigued by the black paper notebook, continue reading my review of the Archer & Olive Blackout notebook.

The following review is of the A5 Rainbow Blackout Notebook:

Blackout Notebook Features

• Size: A5 (5.75″ x 8.25″)
• 160 pages
• Dot grid
• 160gsm ultra-thick black paper
• Faux leather cover
• Back pocket
• Two ribbons (one with an attached ampersand charm)
• Pen holder

The Paper

The paper quality of the Blackout notebook is the same as the white paper – 160gsm ultra-thick with no ghosting or bleeding. The edges also have a beautiful holographic sheen to them. It can seem intimidating (it was to me, at first) to use black paper for bullet journaling or writing, but once you find a few writing tools to use, it’s actually quite fun. Here are some tools that worked for me on the black paper.

Bonus: Writing Tools for Black Paper

Here are some of the tools I have tried in the Blackout book and have had success with:

• Sakura Gelly Roll in white (or any other colour) looked vibrant and was easy to use on the black paper
• White lead (I have a mechanical lead pencil from Bohn France) is a great choice if you like to erase mistakes
• The Archer & Olive acrylographs (acrylic marker pens) are perfect for their notebooks, including the Blackout book
• If you like pointed pen calligraphy, the Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay White India Ink is a great choice

Final Thoughts

If you are interested in bullet journaling, writing, planning, or memory keeping, I would highly recommend an Archer & Olive notebook. While they are not at the cheapest price point for notebooks, the quality of paper and cover is worth it, in my opinion. I like that they offer a variety of paper types to try as well as sizes of books. Personally, I love Archer & Olive notebooks, and can understand why they can easily become a collector’s item.

Also, if you like stationery happy mail in the way of a subscription box, check out my post Read This if You Are Curious About the Archer & Olive Subscription Box

If you end up purchasing from Archer & Olive, remember that you can save 10% on your order with my code CAROLA10.