Field Notes
Last verified: April 2026
Read our full verification: Is Field Notes Made in USA?Verification Summary
American Score
Manufacturing Location
Chicago, IL
Headquarters
Chicago, IL
Founded
2007
Products Verified
7 products
Evidence Breakdown
Factory Location Specificity
Specific factory city identified
Website Claim
Brand website explicitly claims Made in USA
Manufacturing History
Established USA manufacturer
Known Overseas Production
No known overseas production
Verification Notes
Field Notes pocket notebooks are designed in Chicago and printed at American printing facilities. The company explicitly states Made in the USA on every notebook. Paper sourced from American mills, printed domestically.
Last verified: April 2026
Manufacturing Profile
Field Notes manufactures at a specific factory location in Chicago, IL. Founded in 2007. Our 7 verified Field Notes listings sit in office & school.
Verification tier
91% average
High — strong brand-level and product-level evidence
Factory evidence
Specific city
Chicago, IL
Catalog breadth
7 products
1 category
How we verified Field Notes
Most recent check: Oct 16, 2026
From the brand's website
US-manufacturing statement found on fieldnotesbrand.com · checked Sep 21, 2026
Independent source
“The brand emphasized U.S. printing and materials and developed an early following in design-oriented communities.”
en.wikipedia.org · checked Sep 20, 2026
Amazon listings
We read the live Amazon listing for 7 of the 7 Field Notes products on this page (most recently Oct 16, 2026). 5 of them state US origin on the listing itself:
- “Made in the USA” on Field Notes Pitch Black Memo Books 3-Pack Dot-Graph
Company history
“Field Notes, founded 2007, a joint venture of Aaron Draplin's Draplin Design Company and the Chicago design firm Coudal Partners; emphasized U.S. printing and materials.”
en.wikipedia.org · checked Sep 20, 2026
Ongoing monitoring
We scan news for factory closures, offshoring and ownership changes. Last scan Sep 20, 2026: no change found.
These checks are run by our software on a schedule: brand websites are re-read about every three weeks, Amazon listings weekly, and news is scanned monthly. Every flag is checked against its original source before anything on this page changes. How the American Score works.
Field Notes has been manufacturing products in Chicago, IL since 2007. We carry 7 verified American-made Field Notes products.
The Chicago Pocket Notebook
Field Notes was founded in Chicago in 2007 by Aaron Draplin and Coudal Partners, designed to reference the utilitarian memo books used by American farmers, traveling salesmen, and field workers in the mid-twentieth century. The design language draws from USDA crop reports, hardware store giveaways, and the vernacular commercial printing that characterized pre-digital American business communication. The original Kraft paper cover notebooks are printed in Chicago on Finch Opaque 60lb paper from mills in the United States.
The physical specifications are deliberate: the 48-page count, the 3.5 x 5.5 inch format, and the staple binding are sized to fit in a shirt pocket and open flat on a surface. The paper weight is sufficient for ballpoint and pencil without bleed-through for most pens, and the paper has enough texture that pencil erasure is clean. For a pocket notebook intended for daily use rather than archival permanence, these specifications are well-chosen.
Seasonal Editions and the Field Notes Community
Beyond the standard Kraft, ruled, graph, and dot-grid editions, Field Notes produces quarterly limited-edition runs with different paper stocks, cover designs, and format variations. Past editions have used colored paper, waterproof materials, and covers designed in collaboration with regional artists. The limited editions have developed a collector following, but the standard editions are the practical daily-use product.
For buyers comparing Field Notes against mass-market pocket notebooks: the paper quality, the printing precision, and the Made in the USA sourcing are genuine differentiators. The standard Kraft 3-pack at its typical price point is competitive with comparably specified notebooks made with domestic materials and American printing labor. For buyers who take notes daily and want a pocket notebook with a clear American manufacturing provenance and a design sensibility that is authentically Midwestern rather than aspirationally European, Field Notes is the natural choice.
Quick Picks
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Field Notes made in the USA?
Yes. Field Notes manufactures 7 verified products in Chicago, IL. Field Notes has designed and printed pocket memo books in Chicago, Illinois since 2007, producing notebooks on American-made paper with covers and printing that reflect the brand's roots in Midwestern commercial printing traditions.
Where is Field Notes manufactured?
Field Notes is headquartered in Chicago, IL. Manufacturing takes place in Chicago, IL.
What Field Notes products can I buy?
We carry 7 verified Field Notes products across Office & School. Every listing links directly to a trusted online store with verified American manufacturing.
When was Field Notes founded?
Field Notes was founded in 2007. Field Notes has designed and printed pocket memo books in Chicago, Illinois since 2007, producing notebooks on American-made paper with covers and printing that reflect the brand's roots in Midwestern commercial printing traditions.
Where can I buy Field Notes products?
Every Field Notes product listed here links to a trusted online store — a major retailer or the brand's own shop — where you can purchase directly.
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