Portfolios... & a soapbox

Long have I searched for a good looking portfolio case that is:

1. logically portable
2. professional + stylish
3. well made + well designed
4. decently priced

Let's face it, if you are a designer/artist in the market for a new portfolio odds are you are looking for a new job – which also means you are or are about to be unemployed (read: broke). Maybe it's just me, but I find chain office supply stores to be good for things like staples and a ream of recycled copy paper...not the place to go for a design portfolio. Art supply stores (at least the ones I'm familiar with) are notorious for carrying HUGE, cumbersome portfolios and a small selection of black leather portfolios that have shoddy stitching and scuffed covers & with a price tag that makes me think it should have been hand-sewn in Italy.

Today while wandering home contemplating day planners (more on that later) I stopped in my local Barnes & Noble to browse the journal section. And this, friends, is what I found. Jonathan Adler designed a snazzy, professional looking, portable, very affordable, portfolio for B&N. (giddy, I am.) Only downside for this veggie-girl is the leather...but we can't always have our cake & eat it too. *note: this photo does not do justice to the real thing.

A supplemental note on portfolios: I also found these (wood grain // aluminum) awhile back from Veer. They are fun & functional (& non-leather) but a little more of a splurge item.

*top image via Barnes & Nobel, bottom images via Veer.