This has got to be the most romantic personalised gift commission that we have had the pleasure of working on in all our time making bespoke books. It was made for a gentleman who had been through a tragic accident and recovery and who's wife had stood by his side throughout his ordeal as his rock. He wanted to present her with a gift that would touch her heart and express what she meant to him.
She had a love for journals and writing so a bespoke book was the perfect choice.
It was such a well thought out idea with so many lovely little touches and meant that my client collaborated with several makers who submitted several customized pieces to us that we brought together in the final book.
The cover was hand stitched with a poem written by our client that he wanted immortalized in leather. Such a beautiful sentiment. This is the longest passage that we have been requested to stitch onto a leather journal cover so far. Usually we do monogram initials or names or short quotes so this was a challenge and a true labour of love as each letter is marked and pierced into the leather and by hand before being hand stitched.
There was a hand written dedication on the 1st page that was done by the talented Genevieve from Gunpowder & Ink who's writing is just so beautiful. You can get in touch with Gen directly if you want to include a hand written page in your journal and she will send it to me ready to stitch into your journal.
We also included a personalized black and white charcoal pencil portrait of the couple which was done by Oli from Oli Fine Art Based in Florence, Italy. Again, you can commission Oli to create something for you from a photograph and we can include this in your journal.
Our client also added a delicate custom charm to the strap and more custom embroidery on the back.
Let us know in the comments what you think, and do get in touch if you'd like us to work on a custom leather bound journal for you. It makes for such a unique gift that will be treasured forever..... and it will be custom made to order so you can have your own words hand stitched onto the cover in addition to choosing to have it made in any of the leather and thread colours that we have. If you’d like more info on how to get your own hand written dedication or custom portrait into your journal, get in touch and we’ll get you connected with those makers so we can incorporate those pieces into your custom journal.