Several years ago, during one of my periodic fits of organizing, I was walking through the old, creepy Itoya and stumbled across a pocket briefcase I quickly decided I could use for notes. Since then I’ve abandoned and started reusing it many times.

The pocket briefcase holds small sheets of paper and has a built in slot for business cards, used notes and receipts. The front flaps hold several pieces of paper and since I’ve had the briefcase, I’ve found that the backing paper and cards from small packs of tissue also fit the slots. It is about 11.7 centimeters  (4.6 inches) tall by 8.5 centimeters (3.35 inches) wide. It is made of some sort of faux leather, although the slots that hold the paper are made of actual, albeit cheap, leather of the sort used to make Bible covers.

The pocket briefcase fits my hand well.

The pocket briefcase with the insides exposed and a Karas Pen Co Retrakt for size comparison.

After I first got it I used it for writing notes and shopping lists and random notes and random ideas. It was convenient to use and I liked having the pocket for but I quickly found myself overwhelmed with the random scraps of paper, including the ones I stored in the pocket. itoya used to sell a pack of paper to fit it, but I that would be sitting at home when I needed paper so I ended up using other kinds of paper which led to messes and small piles at home. Also, the paper is not fountain pen friendly.

For those reasons, I stopped using it and started using other notebooks. However, because I have a tendency to try to get my money’s worth (with a vengeance) out of stuff I buy, I started using the pocket briefcase again. Then I stopped. Then I started again.

Lately I use the pocket briefcase mostly for shopping lists and, on occasion, class notes when I come up with ideas for changing the lesson plans I’m using. Despite the fake leather, the briefcase has held up well. I’ve had it for several years and only recently has it begun to show its age.

I’ve not seen any suitable replacements for it at Itoya and it’s no longer the kind of thing I use that much. I’ll use it until dies and then throw it away.