Notebooks as a foundation for life and work
Inside Someone Else’s Notebook - Amber Christian of Handmade Seller Magazine
Amber Christian is the editor and writer behind Handmade Seller Magazine, and while she has a tech background, she’s also someone who genuinely loves notebooks. In this chat, Amber tells me how she actually uses them day to day, and how writing things down supports her work and creativity.
From tech nerd to building an independent media company
Before Handmade Seller Magazine, Amber spent years working in technology and finance, implementing payment systems for Fortune 500 companies,She describes herself as a “hardcore tech nerd” and eventually hit the point of asking, “Is this what I’m going to do forever?” (with the pandemic helping to nudge that question along).
So she made the leap: she bought Handmade Seller Magazine when it was a defunct publication, purchased the back catalogue, and revived it as a quarterly magazine, alongside weekly news articles so she could cover topics that don’t fit neatly into print.
Over time, it’s grown into what she describes as an independent media company and because Amber can’t help following interesting threads, that same curiosity has also led her into the world of puzzle makers where she’s building a mini brand called The Craft of Play.
Amber’s Notebooks
Amber uses notebooks because writing helps her think. She keeps digital notes too, but she loves physically writing things down because recall improves when you write by hand.
Amber has a few notebooks on the go at the same time.
1) Morning pages: ideas, observations, and processing
The first notebook Amber shows me is a leather notebook from Istanbul, Turkey, she likes buying notebooks when she travels. This one is for morning pages: open handwriting, general thoughts, and whatever rises to the surface in that moment.
For Amber, this kind of writing isn’t about perfect journaling, it’s part of how she processes what she’s noticing, what’s happening, and what ideas are trying to form. She describes it as giving her subconscious space.
2) The trade show notebook: tape the business card in, write the notes beside it
Her second notebook is one she uses for trade shows and business events, the kind where you come home with a stack of business cards and “48 follow-ups you were supposed to do,” and then you can’t remember who anyone was or why you kept their card.
A trick someone showed her changed how she solves this problem.: tape the business card into the notebook and write notes next to it.
It’s simple, but it solves the real problem, picking up a card later and thinking, “I have no idea who this person is… there’s nothing on it.” With the notes right there, the context is never lost.
3) The to-do list notebook
The third notebook is Amber’s to-do list / work notebook Amber says that she’s always wanted to be the kind of person who makes a to-do list every day… and she’s just not.
Some days she lists things, some days she doesn’t. Because she’s a few years into running the magazine now, she knows many of her workflows so well that writing out every step would be “a strange repetition” of what she’s already doing instinctively.
Going back through old notebooks: themes, proof, and “nuggets of gold”
Amber regularly goes back through her notebooks, especially her morning pages, to look for underlying themes in her life and work.
Sometimes it’s practical (“what was I working on at that time?”) and sometimes it’s deeply reassuring: she’ll look back and realise she actually did far more than she’d been giving herself credit for, because it’s so easy to minimise what you’ve done when you’re in it.
She also has moments where reviewing notes changes her direction.and sends her down a rabbit hole that leads to building new things. That kind of “noticing” and revisiting is something she sees as central to how she navigates strategy intuitively.
Amber says that creative businesses don’t come with a rule book, and going back through your observations helps you listen for what fits, what the market is telling you, and what patterns are emerging.
Doodles + art journaling
When the conversation turns to mind maps and drawing, Amber says she’s “a failure at doodles. ” She loves the idea of art journaling, thinks art journals are beautiful, and nerds out over them… but her brain “hasn’t figured that one out yet.”
I suggested travel journaling as a gentle entry point for her, knowing that she loves to travel and visit artisan food brands. Sticking in labels (like from olive oil bottles), documenting sensory memories, and using already-pretty things as the starting point.
Amber doesn’t currently travel journal, but her eyes sparked with interest at the idea, saying that travel is full of sensory experiences and local products, and writing it down could help her remember what she tried (especially when you can’t bring everything home because of suitcase weight limits).
The notebook stash…
Amber also admits she has a stash of unused notebooks, including some upcycled ones made from old board games, and beautiful notebooks she bought in Australia. She’s currently on a notebook-buying hiatus and keeps telling herself she needs to use what she already has.
I asked if she has a stash of pens, stickers, and washi… and Amber realises that it genuinely never occurred to her to put stickers all over things.
As we talk it through, Amber reflected: it’s almost like scrapbooking has evolved - from memory-keeping into something more like journaling and day-to-day documentation
“Notebooks are part of your infrastructure”
Amber’s biggest takeaway on reflecting about her notebook use, is that all her notebooks serve something: her creative process, her business process, her thinking, her noticing. Notebooks aren’t something you “consume” - they’re something you use as a supporting process.
She describes them as part of your infrastructure - the behind-the-scenes support that helps you build, reflect, and move forward with more clarity.
Quick-fire: ink, pens, paper preference, and tea vs coffee
Before we wrapped up, I asked Amber a few quick-fire questions.
Ink colour: black
Favourite pen: “Whatever I can find.”
Handwriting: depends on the day, sometimes slanted, but legible - and Amber’s learning that lined notebooks help.
Lined vs blank: depends on the purpose — daily/to-do lists must be lined, and she’s leaning towards lined for morning pages too (because she’s half awake and drinking coffee).
Tea or coffee: Amber is coffee all the way, with a special connection to a local company she buys from at a farmer’s market (imported from their family farm in Colombia and roasted in Minnesota).
I want to thank Amber so much for taking the time to chat with me. If you’re interested in anything Handmade then I highly recommend the magazine The Handmade Seller: handmadeseller.com (and its mailing list), and if you’re a puzzler or cosplayer - Do have a look at The Craft of Play. thecraftofplay.com
