A few years ago I was at the pink thrift store across the street from Sony Studios in Culver City (now closed). And I found a faux-leather spring binder. I instantly knew this device could help save a lot of money on sketchbooks. They don’t seem to be common in the USA but are in Europe.

Well, some fiend broke into my car and stole my prized spring binder, and it took a while to find another one . They usually come in international paper sizes like A4, A5, etc. Which is fine if you can take a 8.5″x14″ legal size paper and fold in half–that fits into an A5.

But I’m glad to say I found a seller that has 8.5″x11″, and 9″x12″ for the Americans.

If you are a sketchbook user, you know those bound books cost, and some of the contents don’t need to be preserved forever. The cool thing about a spring binder is that you can remove any page you want and preserve the “bound” status of the rest of the book– or include unusual paper colors and textures. Its a lot more functional, practical, and pragmatic than a book that is static once it is filled.

Spring binder. Get one.