Journaling & Field Notes
Marikina Field Notes: A Handmade Notebook for Wandering the City
Meet the Marikina Field Notes: a ₱100 handmade notebook for documenting cafés, walks, friends and small moments around Marikina. No two are alike.
The Marikina Field Notes is a small handmade notebook made for one job: helping you notice the city you are already walking through. It costs ₱100, it is made in small batches at our home studio in Marikina, and no two copies are exactly alike.
What it is
It is a notebook, not a guidebook. There is no list of places you are supposed to visit and no boxes you have to tick. The cover is a cluster of painted circles in warm, earthy colors, crossed by trails of footprints going in different directions, with the title set in quiet lowercase letters. Inside the front cover is a short letter that begins "Dear Explorer."
The letter says what the notebook is for. Cities are not only buildings and streets. They are made of people moving through their days, meeting friends, trying new places and sharing small conversations. Some of those experiences will be wonderful, some ordinary, and some memorable for the wrong reasons: bad coffee, awkward hangouts, strange desserts. Each one was still a moment in your life. The notebook, the letter says, is your quiet companion to notice with you.
Why we made it
The Field Notes started with Marikenyos Hangout, a group of people in Marikina who meet up for coffee, badminton, crafts and whatever else sounds fun. That is why the cover still carries the line "a Marikenyos Hangout publication." It is now made and sold through CHQ Home Arts Studio, and it has its own Instagram at @marikinafieldnotes. We kept noticing that the best parts of a meetup were the small things nobody photographs: the drink someone ordered by mistake, the street you took because the usual one was flooded, the stranger who recommended a bakery. Phone photos keep the big moments. A notebook keeps the small ones.
What people use it for
- A coffee journal. One page per café: what you ordered, what it cost, where you sat, whether you would go back. Pair it with the Marikina coffee shop directory and you have a city-sized checklist. We wrote a full guide to keeping a coffee journal in Marikina.
- A walking log. Riverbanks at sunrise, a new route through Marikina Heights, the shoe shops in the old part of town.
- A meetup memory book. Pass it around the table and let everyone write one line.
- A sketchbook for people who "can't draw." A badly drawn pandesal is still a record of the pandesal.
- A gift. For someone who just moved to Marikina, or someone who just left.
Where it has been so far
The first copies were offered on Instagram in April 2026. Since then the notebook has mostly travelled the way small handmade things do: from hand to hand, at small hangouts with friends.
- Sunday craft hangouts. The @marikinafieldnotes feed shows arts and crafts afternoons with Marikina friends, including a foam clay session and a friend's wearable resin art.
- A café open house, rained out. In August 2026 the Field Notes was set to go on sale at a community open house at The Retreat Coffee Lounge in Marikina Heights, alongside wearable resin pieces. Heavy rain and the risk of flooding cancelled it, which is about as Marikina as a launch story can get. A new open house is planned for the near future, and you will be invited. Follow @marikinafieldnotes for the date.
- Made at home. One of the makers joked on Instagram that people assume the notebooks come off an industrial printer. They do not. It is one very overworked home printer and a lot of folding.
What people say about it online
We looked, and we will be honest: it is still early. The account is small and most posts are from the people who make the notebook and the friends who join the hangouts. That means the pages you share will be among the first anyone sees.
If you fill a page, we would love to see it. Tag @marikinafieldnotes and @chqhomeartsstudio on Instagram and use #MarikinaFieldNotes so other people in the city can find your spread. We will repost the ones we are allowed to.
How to get one
There is no checkout button, on purpose. Each copy is made by hand, so we sell by message.
- Send a note through the inquiry form, or DM @marikinafieldnotes or @chqhomeartsstudio on Instagram.
- Tell us how many copies you would like.
- We will reply with what is in stock and how to pick it up or have it sent.
Because every cover is finished by hand, yours will not match the photo exactly. That is the point.
Quick answers
How much is the Marikina Field Notes?
₱100 per notebook. It is handmade in small batches, so stock is limited. Message us to reserve one.
Where can I buy the Marikina Field Notes?
Directly from CHQ Home Arts Studio in Marikina. Send an inquiry through our site or DM @marikinafieldnotes or @chqhomeartsstudio on Instagram. There is no online checkout.
Is it a planner or a guidebook?
Neither. It is a notebook with a welcome letter, made for writing down what you notice around Marikina: cafés, walks, food, people and small moments.
Can I use it as a coffee journal?
Yes. It was made with café visits in mind, and there is even a café edition. Give each café a page and record your order, the price, the seat and whether you would return.