I love notebooks. Love, love, love them. And there is no notebook that I love more than the ones sold by the Traveler’s Company. These notebooks consist of a leather cover, and different varieties of inserts that you can purchase to customize your notebook for your own tastes and needs. I love these notebooks so much that I decided to make my own.

I wanted to pretty closely replicate the Traveler’s Company design so that I could use their inserts, in addition to ones that I made myself. I used Badalassi Carlo Pueblo leather for the covers. And I made my own, hand bound notebooks from really nice journal paper, and with handmade Japanese washi as endpapers on the insides of the covers. Eventually I learned enough about enameling to make my own charms for my notebook.

This was a super fun project, a celebration and homage to a beautiful thing made by someone else, an opportunity to appreciate how much care and attention goes into these notebooks, and a chance to learn some new skills.