The skies were clear blue, and the air was crisp and dry. It was the perfect fall weather for the USA Road Trip Caravan to embark on its trip.
The vast lands and long, winding roads have long defined the quintessential American experience: “Let’s go on a road trip.” Whether it is to visit family living in another state, or a vacation to a new destination, it seems like many of us are frequent travelers, always on the road. This year, TRAVELER’S COMPANY crossed the Pacific Ocean on a plane and began a literal road trip along the West Coast. From the bustling streets of Long Beach, California to the serene shores of Port Townsend, WA, the TRC USA Road Trip Caravan went on quite the journey, meeting many TRAVELER’s notebook users along the way.
Traveling north from Long Beach, San Francisco, to Port Townsend, each stop holds its unique special charm. One can create their unique SPIRAL RING NOTEBOOK through a special customization workshop, bound by an expert craftsman. TRAVELER’S notebook fans meet each other through the TRC USA pop-up shop, exchanging stories over the stamp caravan. Collaborators at each stop provide their fun experiences such as a tile factory tour to a TRAVEL & SKETCH demo. Each stop along our journey reinforced what makes our community special: the joy of creating together, the thrill of travel, and the genuine connections formed through shared passions.
Join us as we recount this heartwarming journey across the West Coast.Buckle up, and let’s go on a road trip!
USA Road Trip Caravan first stop: Intertrend at Long Beach, California
The USA Road Trip Caravan began at Intertrend, a Long Beach marketing agency, inside a vintage red brick establishment with an unassuming exterior. TRAVELER’S COMPANY USA first began its footprint inside the basement of this building. The TRAVELER’S COMPANY pop-up took over the entire first floor as well as the lower-level community space. The line of eager fans stretching outside the building was our first glimpse of the incredible energy this caravan would generate.
When you first enter, it’s as if you’re transported to TRAVELER’S FACTORY, an iconic experience for travelers when they visit the stores in Japan. A wooden kiosk holds special TRAVELER’S FACTORY limited items and displays the Road Trip collection featured for this event. Several tables hold special editions from previous releases, while new visitors can also browse the existing TRAVELER’S COMPANY lineup of notebooks, accessories, and tools. Our first stop drew Long Beach locals and visitors from the greater Los Angeles area.
It was exciting for our staff to see familiar faces who had visited us at previous events, while travelers in the queue also recognized new and old friends.
“As is typical in America, the people are of various races, clothing and ages, but everyone uses the TRAVELER’S notebook with great affection. All of these people gather in one place and spend a fun and happy time [together]. I felt that this place was a space of LOVE AND TRIP.”
An excerpt from Atsuhiko Iijima, Producer and founder of TRAVELER’S notebook on his recount of the Long Beach event.
A corner of the room resembles TRAVELER’S TOWN, where we were joined by local friends from Kado (Japanese lifestyle goods stores) and Bel Canto Books, sharing their love for analog items with the community.
A special highlight was our road trip gallery wall featuring artworks from 35 winners from the Road Trip Submission Contest. It was a beautiful showcase of our community’s creativity and love for the open road.
The basement of Intertrend, was transformed into a lively stamping station where users gather to customize their TRAVELER’S notebook refills. Lounging spaces with ample of chairs also allowed travelers to sit and enjoy the company of new friends they made at the venue. The energy was electric as visitors explored each carefully curated corner of our pop-up space.
The star of the show was the SPIRAL RING NOTEBOOK Viking Event, where users could create their own unique notebooks from a “paper buffet” of different paper options. In Japan, “Viking” is a common term to describe a buffet, an idea that was inspired by smörgåsbords in Sweden. There were papers of different colors, weights, and ruling, as well as our signature MD Paper which is a mainstay in many of our TRAVELER’S notebook inserts.
The craftsman from TRAVELER’S FACTORY then manually bound each selection of pages into a SPIRAL RING NOTEBOOK, completed with the users’ choice of cover page and colored spiral rings.
USA Road Trip Continues along the The Golden Coast
Wrapping up the first stop in Long Beach, California, the team packed up a van and a trailer to continue their journey north along the coast. The caravan took the iconic Highway 101, hoping for a glimpse of the glittering coastal view.
The team made memorable stops along the way, including a classic American diner breakfast and a breathtaking pause at Pismo Beach, where we soaked in the California sunshine together. These moments between destinations became some of our most treasured memories, as team members from different cultures found common ground in their shared adventures.
“When it comes to traveling in America, it’s all about traveling by car. Holding events while traveling with materials and products for the SPIRAL RING NOTEBOOK Viking in a car is just like a caravan. By repeatedly going to events and traveling together, we quickly hit it off with the American staff.”
An excerpt from Atsuhiko Iijima, Producer and founder of TRAVELER’S notebook on his recount of the road trip to San Francisco.
USA Road Trip Caravan second stop: Heath Ceramics at San Francisco, CA
Heath Ceramics in San Francisco provided a unique venue that embodied the TRAVELER’S TOWN concept perfectly. Housed in a reclaimed factory alongside Heath Newsstand and Tartine Manufactory, it created an organic community space that celebrated craftsmanship in all its forms. For both days of the event, the light filtered through the glass windows of the tile factory creating a cool atmosphere for the TRAVELER’S COMPANY pop-up store. We were fortunate to have sunny and comfortable weather for all the travelers that came from afar to visit us.
Although the atrium space is a little smaller, the smiles and the energy of the traveler’s spirit soon filled the room when the pop-up event began. Fans could customize their unique SPIRAL RING NOTEBOOK with the help of the craftsman, while the rest of the staff helped new users pick out their TRAVELER’S notebook and tools. Heath Ceramics also offered a unique tour for fans to see how their flagship tiles were created.
“San Francisco is also the land of hippies, the flower movement, and the origins of love and peace. At City Lights Bookstore, a mecca for Beat literature, posters were distributed saying, “Vote for a world where you can read books freely!”, and at the event’s pop-up space, a message from a poster said, “All races, all nationalities, all religions, all genders are welcome. We are with everyone. Everyone is safe here.””
An excerpt from Atsuhiko Iijima, Producer and founder of TRAVELER’S notebook on his recount of the road trip to San Francisco.
The team also enjoyed a relaxing day exploring San Francisco’s rich cultural landscape. We were lucky to see the Golden Gate Bridge unobstructed by the city’s iconic fog. We visited Mel’s Diner, another fun establishment unique to our team from Japan. We followed the street cars to Ghirardelli Square, where we stumbled upon Tunnel Records. Finally, we ended the evening at City Lights Bookshop, inspired by its history of passion and free spirit.
The city’s diverse creative energy perfectly complemented our mission of bringing people together through analog tools and TRAVELER’S notebook.
USA Road Trip Caravan final stop: Art Toolkit at Port Townsend, WA
After four days of bustling events in California, the team arrived via air and then via ferry to the quiet coastal town of Port Townsend in Washington. This out-of-the-way destination may come as a surprise to some, but this location is the scenic home base to Art Toolkit, our longtime collaborator of previous TRAVEL & SKETCH releases. By the time the team arrived in this small Victorian town, the night was starting to fall. Warm lights from the Palace Hotel across from the Art Toolkit store were a welcoming sight for us to rest our feet for the day’s travel.
“The hotel lobby looked just like the second floor of the TRAVELER’S FACTORY. In a small town with not many hotels, most of the guests at this even smaller hotel were TRAVELER’S notebook users. I see, if there was a TRAVELER’S HOTEL, it would probably look something like this. That’s what I thought.”
An excerpt from Atsuhiko Iijima, Producer and founder of TRAVELER’S notebook on his recount of the road trip to Port Townsend.
When morning came in Port Townsend, we were surprised at the turnout for the event. The town is typically quiet and slow during winter, but the enthusiasm of TRAVELER’S notebook users turned it into a bustling event. The weather was cold, and we could see our breaths turn into white mist in the air. Fortunately, the queue for the pop-up event was mostly indoors, inside the warm wood-furnished building called Flagship Landing. The Art Toolkit store itself has a TRAVELER’S FACTORY-like workshop loft, and travelers could browse a variety of art supplies for urban adventures.
Maria Coryell-Martin, founder of Art Toolkit Adventure Art Supplies, presented a demo on tips for TRAVEL & SKETCH for travelers and artists alike. We loved seeing TRAVELER’S notebook users take their notebooks out and about the town, documenting its charming character through writing and drawings. Our staff also braved the cool weather and joined the TRAVEL & SKETCH exercise.
TRAVELER’S notebook as a mean of connection
This caravan has been our largest event to date, bringing together TRAVELER’S notebook users from across the United States and beyond. From the bustling streets of California to the coastal scenes of Washington, each stop reinforced what makes TRAVELER’S notebook community so special: the ability to create connections through the simple joy of analog tools.
“During the event, I was taking a break outside to have a smoke break, and my eyes met with a customer I had spoken to earlier at the venue, so I waved lightly. Then, even though she was about to leave, she suddenly started walking towards me as if she had remembered something. Then she said to me, “I forgot to tell you earlier. The TRAVELER’S notebook has a beautiful design, and there are many customizable items available, all of which are of great quality and design. But the greatest appeal of the TRAVELER’S notebook is that it connects people. You naturally meet people, a community is born, and your life becomes more enjoyable. There is no other product like it. Thank you so much for coming to San Francisco.”
An excerpt from Atsuhiko Iijima, Producer and founder of TRAVELER’S notebook on his recount of the road trip to San Francisco.
And like that, the TRC USA Road Trip Caravan 2024 drew to an end. Beyond the limited edition items and other analog tools, it was the enthusiasm and creativity of TRAVELER’S notebook users that made this experience special. The team enjoyed looking through the variety of pages, filled with countless stories from different backgrounds and contexts. The caravan wasn’t just a series of events – it was a celebration of the human connections that make our community unique and vibrant. Thank you for being part of this journey, whether you joined us in person or in spirit.
Have a nice trip!
