Not a Challenge

When you buy yourself a beautiful shade of lipstick or a skin-sensitive aftershave, do you think, “Wow.  I’m really going to have to kiss like a movie star to deliver on this.”?  Oh, I hope not.

I ask because clients who order themselves nice journals often say, “I don’t know if I have anything good enough to write in this.”  Be gentle with yourselves, Dear Readers.

A well-made journal is for your comfort, not to challenge you.  It’s like letting yourself have nice soft shoes, or a leak-free fountain pen.  It makes your life more enjoyable, easier, a bit more pampered and fun.

A hand-sewn book will lay open readily in your lap or on a table.  You don’t have to fight its spine because it has been stitched to open fully and to last and last and last.  Its pages are smooth yet absorbent so that you can write furiously or doodle at leisure.

Its one-off design makes it uniquely yours, an expression of who you are, where you want to go, what you admire, etc.  It’s a personal effect.  It doesn’t dare you to do anything more than to use it as you please.

A well-made book is a gift you give yourself, and it supports the acts of writing and reading.  The building of it is a process, and so is the using of it.  Enjoy the ride.