Writing it all down

I've written about inspiration quite a lot lately, but what do you do when an idea siezes you? I tend to forget about it, or if I'm lucky write it down on a piece of paper. But recently the idea of a fully fledged notebook has been appealing to me more and more. Yesterday I was browsing in Selfridges and came upon the stationary department. I found some very sweet and satisfactory notebooks; an ethnic-style set, leatherbound with little locks and pretty patterns and a table with notebooks of special cover designs; Orla Kiely, the Design Guild etc.

But I was especially drawn to the beautiful Smythson stationary with the thick leather covers and gilt pages.

Typically, Smythson stationary has sky-high prices; they are an established brand, the leather is top-quality, the pages are made with a special patented technology. But still, the above gorgeous 'Lockable Manuscript Book' will cost you upwards of £220.

But doesn't just looking at or holding a beautiful notebook give you a sudden urge to write, inspire a fountain of ideas? There's nothing quite like the blank pages of a notebook, definitely not a blank Microsoft Word document (possibly the most depressing sight ever). Better start saving?