An Illustrated Story Book & Haxley A Sketch Book, Both 64 Pages

An Adventure of a 2-Pack

Chicago-area illustrator/postermaker Jay Ryan is an old friend. He’s a craftsman with great visual style and more than his fair share of imagination, and you can see tons of his work at The Bird Machine. For years we’ve been looking for a way to collaborate with Jay for Field Notes.

During October, Jay set himself a goal of creating one small ink illustration each day. These drawings revealed a story about a bear and his squirrel neighbors. We followed Jay’s progress on Instagram, and found the drawings irresistible. We knew that they’d look great in a special Field Notes edition. Jay agreed. He revealed the bear’s name is Haxley, and that this story is sort of a preamble to a larger project that he’s been kicking around for years. We can’t wait to see that.

The “Haxley” edition includes two 64-page books. The first is a “Story Book,” featuring ruled pages alongside Jay’s 31 black-and-white drawings. You can expand on Haxley’s adventure, or, just maybe, recount a completely different journey, one you make yourself.

The other book in the 2-Pack is a “Sketch Book” with blank pages. We trust you can find a way to fill that one up.

Both books feature Neenah Royal Sundance Felt “Warm White” covers with four spot colors and a fifth-glow-in-the-dark ink, illuminating the flashlight beams. They’re PUR-bound with Domtar Cougar smooth 70# “Natural” text paper inside.

Note: We have a limited number of uncut, signed and numbered press sheets from the Haxley print run, available for sale. And, of course, they include the glow-in-the-dark flashlight beams! 

Everyone is invited to tag along on Haxley’s adventure, but it might be best if you bring a kid with you, and maybe a couple squirrels with flashlights too.