Central Crafts Notebook [review]
I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year. It’s a bit late, but better late than never. And what better way to begin the new year than with a new notebook or two. Am I right?
In September, I was approached by Alma of Central Crafts to see if I’d be interested reviewing some of their notebooks.
Of course I would!
Well, after a bad email connection, missed emails and life in general keeping me from these babies, I finally got around to taking in all of their loveliness.
HUGE thank you to Alma and her team for their patience with me in getting this review done and sharing your creative journey with me!
I have received two complimentary journals from Central Crafts in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Also, there are links to products that you can purchase on Amazon that I am using with my Central Craft notebooks. If you click on these and make a purchase on Amazon, I will receive a small commission. Please read The Fine Print for more information. Thank you for supporting me!
About Central Crafts
Central Crafts is family run business (husband and wife team) who are passionate about finding and making handmade, quality, ethically sourced products.
Dwelling in the scenic Hertfordshire countryside, an idyllic setting, which sparks the creativity, intimacy and beauty that sets their products apart.
Their passion for handmade pieces was discovered while traveling across South East Asia back in the 1990’s, and once settled back in the UK they started out sourcing and designing bespoke pieces with small independent producers in Thailand. Central Crafts was established in 1999.
Over the years Central Crafts has evolved to working with various small independent producers elsewhere in Asia and Europe, and now ship all over the world – in fact they sell more outside of the UK than in it!
Online stores will open soon in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, and Central Crafts is set to continue to grow and evolve organically into the future.
About the Journals
The journals/notebooks, along with the other Italian products on the site, are made by a family run business, that has been working in the leather industry for generations, employing not only classic tanning techniques but also new ethical methods such as vegetable and organic tanning.
The leather is responsibly sourced and great pride is taken in their recycled leather range which is created using an ingenious tanning method which is far kinder to our environment and ensures that impact on the planet is kept to a minimum.
When it comes to their leather products, Central Crafts principal is simple: quality is key and there is nothing finer than Italian leather.
Ok, on to the notebooks!
Firenze Classico Handmade Leather Wrap Tiny Notebook
How stinking cute is this? I can’t stand it! It’s small, it’s leather; I don’t know what could make it better.
The Firenze Tiny is all sorts of tiny perfection. This 6cm x 6cm x 3cm chunky notebook has Italian acid-free plain paper wrapped in a warm, chocolate brown full-grain leather hide.
If you couldn’t tell by now, I love the tiny size. A very close second is the smoothness of the leather. So soft and shiny.
This was going to be a mini photo album. Printing photos on my Polaroid Zip in 4’s is a perfect size. Then I thought it might get too thick. So it’ll be a combination of photos and tiny journaling..
The first tidbit I added was a statement that was given to me at the end of my Headspace meditation session the other day.
Creativity isn’t separate from the essence of mind. It simply lies beyond the clutter of everyday thought.
If I wasn’t going to us this for memory keeping, it’d be perfect to keep in my purse to jot things down on the go. Phone numbers. Things to grab at the store. You get the idea.
For my pen/paper people… The ink is an Inkjoy gel pen .07 in teal. There was no bleed through but some ghosting.
Enya Mini Rustic Brown Handmade Leather Bound Notebook
Typically, in a leather covered book, I prefer something removable but this notebook intrigued me.
The Enya Mini is a unique notebook with 5 paper pads stitched in with leather twine and a leather wrap closure.
The leather is soft and what I would call ‘unfinished’. The site’s description calls it hand rubbed distressed leather. The leather is smooth, matte and very accepting to scratches and character. You can see mine has gained a few scars already.
Now. The paper.
100% acid-free plain cream recycled cotton pages. Oh the texture! The pages are beautiful! So beautiful that I’m afraid to write on them just yet.
Central Crafts states the paper is suitable for any type of pen you’d like to use. I’ll keep you posted on my trials. When I get brave enough…
To make this notebook even better, Alma and her team were sweet and added my initials to the cover =)
I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with this one yet. Mostly because of my fear of writing on the gorgeous paper. For now, I’ll hold it and admire it’s beauty.
All in all, the notebooks from Central Crafts are fantastic! I would definitely order one. In fact, I have my eye on a refillable journal…
If a new notebook isn’t your thing, Central Crafts has a myriad of other adorable items on their site. Pop over if you’re looking for something unique. The owl adventure bags are adorable!
How would you use your Central Crafts notebook?
