filofax personal setup ✿ starting a commonplace book ✿ decolonial fieldnotes ch. 1

Welcome to the very first chapter of decolonial fieldnotes — a new series on the Tiny Tiger channel where I create a living, breathing commonplace book inside my Filofax Malden Personal rings binder in Ochre.

In this video, I share why I chose to begin this project (including its long incubation!), what a commonplace book means to me as an academic and mother, and why the rings binder format offers a resonant approach to theory, praxis, and kinship.

°˖✧ in this video I share…
what commonplace books are and what they mean to me
why the filofax malden in ochre felt like the right choice
the anticolonial potential of the rings system
how I craft inserts and design a slow, intentional archive
my hopes for this ongoing series and your invitation into the kinfold

Tell me in the comments below if you had to choose one focused theme or dedicated interest to explore in your dream commonplace book, what would that be?

I hope you will stay and join me as this series unfolds, one entry, one hope at a time.

°˖✧ people who have inspired my commonplace book
‪@JobsJournal‬ and his terrific overview of commonplace books    • You NEED a Commonplace Book 📕The Past, Pre...  
‪@torionpaper‬ for filofax binder systems
‪@sleepynotesclub‬ for filofax printables
mylifeallinoneplace.com for filofax printables
‪@saraspages‬ and her marxist commonplace book

°˖✧ featured in my commonplace book
filofax malden personal size in ochre
amyjane’s coolstuff
santa fe palace of the governors markets
trinh t. minh-ha and the ways she tells stories that are “headless and bottomless”
example featured is her film, surname viet given name nam
nakkiah lui and her plays how to rule the world and blackie blackie brown
black sexual politics by patricia hill collins
a litany for survival by audre lorde
this is not a humanising poem by suhaiymah manzoor-khan, which you can hear her perform in    • The Last Word Festival 2017 - Poetry Slam ...  
decolonization is not a metaphor by eve tuck and wayne k. yang
how do you spell [ ] in chinese by tim tim cheng
fire dragon feminism by ee ling quah
also referenced are staying with the trouble: making kin in the chthulucene by donna haraway and pedagogies of crossing by m. jacqui alexander
a4 loose leaf clairefontaine trophée paper in cream
clairefontaine’s flagship fountain pen–friendly paper is called “triomphe”
my turquoise ring was made by ruth ann begay and purchased at silver sun in albuquerque, nm

°˖✧ pens tested
opus 88 demo with custom nib grind “the cassowary” by bryan ang, inked with pilot iroshizuku kiri-same
benu euphoria hand-painted cherry blossom with a fine nib, inked with diamine shimmering seas
sailor pro gear slim in dragon palace with a medium fine nib, inked with diamine celadon cat
lamy 2000 with an extra fine nib inked with j. herbin vert empire
uniball one 0.5mm
zebra sarasa markon 0.5mm
uniball jetstream 0.5mm
pilot custom 823 with a fine nib inked with j. herbin ambre de birmanie
asvine c80 with a fine nib inked with robert oster toffee (thank you to ‪@tortagialla‬ for the pen recommendation and ‪@LittleCocoStudio‬ for the ink sample!)

°˖✧ research on commonplace books
Hess, Jillian. “Paper Bodies: Data and Embodiment in the Sisterhood of Slade’s Commonplace Books.” The Wordsworth Circle 53, no. 3 (2022): 374–94.
Smyth, Adam. “Commonplace Book Culture: A List of Sixteen Traits.” In Women and Writing, c.1340-c.1650: The Domestication of Print Culture, edited by A. Lawrence-Mathers.York Medieval Press, 2010.
image of commonplace book from mid 17th Century is from the James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
Farr, James. “‘So Vile and Miserable an Estate’: The Problem of Slavery in Locke’s Political Thought.” Political Theory 14, no. 2 (1986): 265–89.
Welchman, Jennifer. “Locke on Slavery and Inalienable Rights.” Canadian Journal of Philosophy 25, no. 1 (1995): 67–81.

°˖✧ timestamps
00:00 intro
02:09 what is a commonplace book

°˖✧ tools
camera: iphone 16 pro
editing: davinci resolve
mic: elgato wave:3

°˖✧ music
♪ tomomi kato from pixabay

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