There are a few products that you encounter that truly feel unique and innovative. Bound custom journals fall into that category. These are truly custom journals, built to your specifications, crafted one at a time by hand in North Carolina. Expensive, you might think, but they are not. For $35 you get a 140 page hard-bound journal made up entirely of pages that YOU need. For $10 you have the same custom options in a smaller 48 page memo book.
The ordering process is a great and enjoyable process. The hardest part is deciding what you want your one-of-a-kind journal to be. You can add blank pages, grid pages, a calendar with any duration of your choosing, game pages, address book, to-do lists, maps of major world cities and more! Just add what you need up to 140 pages, in any order, and it will be made. Not only will it be made, by hand just for you, but you will receive your book within a week of placing your order.
I ordered two books. One hard-bound journal and one memo book.
The hard-bound book came wrapped in kraft paper with a stamp and signature of the craftsman who bound my custom journal, and proudly stated: “Hand Crafted in North Carolina.” For the 4.375″ x 6.125″ hard-bound book, I opted for a healthy variation of blank and grid pages for sketches and renderings. I plan on using this book on an ongoing basis, so I had a calendar inserted starting with September 2012 through December 2013. In addition I made a few pages of to-do checklists, some address pages and a multi-page city map of my hometown of Chicago, just because I could. I opted for the ‘Sunbeam’ yellow cover and gosh-darn, it looks great. The paper is easy on the eyes, not a bright white, and thick enough so you won’t see bleed-through if using an ink-gel pen, like I do. I’ve already filled in the calendar and can see this being a great companion for keeping the chaos in my brain a little more organized.
For the 3.5″ x 5.5″ soft-cover memo book, I geared it more for a specific purpose. I plan on using this book for an upcoming Europe trip that will have a good mix of business and pleasure. Some note sections to keep business meetings organized, a contact section to keep track of the people I meet, a checklist area to make sure I make time for the sites I want to see and a map of Western Europe to personalize the journal just for this trip. The smaller memo books use the same high-quality paper as their larger journal counterparts, and come with about 100# Kraft cover.
These are truly awesome keepsakes made from quality materials, right here in the USA. I plan on going back to purchase more of each for myself, and for gifts.
