Buying or Making Journals?

Posted by Jenn Greenleaf Mar 28, 2008

I love the look and feel of handmade journals, but I never seem to use them. I’ve made and sold them by the truckload, I’ve worked on them for mail art projects, and I’ve made them for gifts. I’ve never actually made a journal for me to work in, though.

This strikes me as odd, to be honest. How can I make product, sell a product, and never use said product? It is a strange reality, but still mine nonetheless. I have a large collection of handmade journals I have collected in mail art swaps, received as gifts, and purchased. Will I ever use them, though? That remains a mystery yet unsolved.

So, which do you prefer: buying or making journals? Or, on the flip side, do you prefer buying handmade journals? Why or why not? If you prefer buying ready-made journals, what do you look for in particular? I prefer hardback journals that are 8.5 x. 11 inches with ruled pages more often than not.