Leather Journals For The Story Of Your Life

So who keeps a journal these days? In the last few years the 'blogosphere' has just exploded, with literally millions of us sharing our lives online. Of course, lots of blogs, like this one, are designed to foster a relationship between a company and its customers, but many more are personal online diaries. Yet, at Oh So Cherished, we are still seeing a great demand for beautiful journals, especially our fine leather ones; people are still journaling as well as blogging.

Hungarian A4 Journal

So why keep a journal? Of course there is the pleasure of handling and writing in a beautiful book, but there's more to it than that. Did you know, it's actually good for us? An American study of asthmatic and arthritic patients found that those who wrote regularly for 20 minutes actually showed an improvement in their symptoms!

Chunky Tan Leather Journal Wtih Lock

One use for a journal is to record the daily events in our lives, simply as a way of keeping memories alive. We are inundated with information and ideas and life is just too hectic to be able to remember everything we do. Some keep a diary in this way, but the beauty of a journal is that there is no restriction of space; you can write as much or as little as you like and not necessarily every day. In a journal you can create your life's story by recording not just events, but thoughts and feelings, dreams and reflections. Looking back in years to come can be a real revelation as we revisit our earlier lives.

Large Soft Wrap Journal

 
Naturally there are some of life's episodes that we'd rather forget, but writing about stressful and disturbing experiences actually provides a release, a way of coming to terms with the past and moving on with life.

Crocodile Style Brown Leather Journal

Lots of people use a journal for personal growth. They find that writing helps them to clarify and organise their thoughts, to solve problems and set goals. A journal can be a way to ensure that we set aside some quality time for ourselves to focus on what is important to us and take some time out for reflection.

Large Fleur de Lys Leather Journal

 
To blog or to journal, that is the question! What is it that keeps so many people devoted to putting pen to paper? I know that when I write by hand my thoughts flow much more freely than when I am typing. And isn't there a pleasure in the feeling of  the pen gliding over paper, a sense of creativity as our thoughts and feelings appear on the page? To me, the keyboard is more connected to the world of work and I tend to focus more on the accuracy of my typing than the meandering paths of my thoughts. 

Purple Wrap Leather Journal

Then there's the "who sees it" issue, and I think this is the deal breaker. A blog is public, it goes out to our friends and family or even the wider world. It has to be correctly spelled and punctuated, logically structured and sprinkled with hyperlinks and SEO if we want it to get read. 

Small Hot Pink Leather Journal

 
But a journal can be just for you - random jottings, dodgy spelling, angry rants and emotional outbursts. That's the whole point - in a journal we can feel free to let our feelings out with no need edit or censor for anyone else. It's a private space where we can create, explore, express and muse with no fear of judgement. 

Small Stitched And Stoned Leather Journal

So we will continue to stock our lovely leather journals and notebooks of all shapes and sizes. Bound in fine leather and filled with chunks of inviting quality paper, they are a writer's joy! We have journals filled with recycled paper to ease the conscience and locking journals to keep our musings away from prying eyes! Fabulous journals from Hungarian craftsmen sit alongside handmade journals with treeless paper from Nepal and high quality journals made specially for us in the UK, bound in the most supple Italian leather.

Chunky Stiched Leather Journal

Of course, as well as our leather journals we have a wide range of lined and plain notebooks that are just as good for writing a journal.

And in the pipeline are some quirky little journals that you won't have seen before - so watch this space! 

NEW for September 2012!!! The Thickest Journal In The World! A massive tome with 1020 plain white pages, (2040 sides) bound in fine ltalian leather in choice of aubergine, black or deluxe tan antique hide. Never run out of space again!

THE Thickest Journal In The World' - Aubergine