Monologue, mon ami

Monologue is a notebook manufacturer from Singapore. The Monologue brand falls under the brand of Grandluxe which is a family business in existence since 1945. Even though Grandluxe started out in Singapore, it now has a presence in more than 30 countries. Monologue is one of the brands of Grandluxe but Luxe and PaperLuxe are also brands that fall under Grandluxe.

Monologue attracted my interest because of their colorful notebooks but they actually provide more stationery. On their website the following is said about it: “Monologue is a series of lifestyle diaries, stationery and accessories that are made with the finest synthetic leather polyurethane in different colours. The beauty of Monologue lies in their construction and finishing – applied not as an afterthought but as an integral part of the process. It has never been easier to express your thoughts aloud with Monologue.”

It made me curious to try not only their notebooks but also their diairies. One of the things I miss in most diaries are world maps. I remember that diaries used to have them many years ago but for some reason I could not find diaries that still had them, or they were from such an expensive category that they were unaffordable. The diairies of Monologue have these maps of the world. They have details of each continent and in the end they have a small map of the world. It is the best overview of the world in a diary I have ever seen. And they have more!  The overview of calendars in the beginning is very practical. There is not only the overview for the year 2015 but also for the previous year (2014) and the year ahead (2016). It is followed by an extensive list of International Holidays, Weights & Measures, Conversion Tables, a World Time Chart, IDD Codes, Space for Addresses and Telephone numbers and sufficient space to write down notes. In the back end there is a pouch where you can put tickets, business cards and anything else you want to carry with you.

But the best part is the structure of the week itself which gives the overview. The only thing that I missed was a bit more space for the Sunday. There was enough writing space for the other days but for some reason there is only a little space for Sunday, even though this is a day where I meet most people and therefore plan most things. Still, this is a very practical diary that helps you with your organization. It is the diary for the cosmopolitan. Mine came in a happy yellow color and I could not start my day brighter than with this yellow diary. Don’t worry, they also come in other colors, such as blue, that I gave away as a present.

The notebooks of Monologue are gorgeous and highly impressive. They were bigger than I expected when they arrived and they come in the most wonderful colors. I have a golden, red and orange one. The paper is quite thick, just like the paper from their diaries, and is therefore very useful when you want to write in it with fountain pens. In addition, the inside designs of the notebooks of Monologue are spectacular.

The orange notebook is candy for your eyes. It is not an ordinary notebook or journal. It has sufficient space for drawings, doodles, your own created charts or graphs and on the right lined pages where you can write down your thoughts, ideas, information relating to the left space or whatever you want to remember. 

 

The orange and red ones are more similar on the inside and I will use them for personal journalling, since they come in such nice colors and are very pretty to look at. Also, the outside covers are strong and will stand the test of time. They might make for great travelling journals as well.

 

 

With Monologue, I feel I have added new friends to my family of notebooks. I have a bright dairy to lighten up my day so no chore or appointment will feel like a bore and I have beautiful notebooks to write down and remember whatever beautiful memories, ideas and thoughts I have. They also make for great presents to others. I gave one of the diaries to someone who was not a stationery fan and used to only digital planning but who appreciated the diary so much that he feels he cannot work without it anymore.