FAQ

Who are you, anyway?

Hello, we’re Samantha Webster and Jason Lineham. We’ve been making leather journals and binders for more years than we care to remember. There’s just the two of us here so when you contact us you will be speaking to one or the other of us and not some anonymous bot armed with template answers. It’s just us. We do everything. We process your order, make your items, answer your questions, package and ship your parcels and everything else you can think of. You can read more about us on our ABOUT US page.

 

About what we make

Are your journals and binders made from real leather?

Of course! We only ever use real leather. By real leather we do not mean leather composite (leather dust mixed with resin) or bonded leather (thin leather shreds on a paper or fabric backing with a polyurethane coating) or leather splits (the middle layer of the leather, which is left after the good stuff has been taken off, and disguised with a printed grain). We mean 100% natural, full grain, vegetable tanned cow hide from Europe. It’s expensive but it’s the best, why would we offer you anything else!

Ok, I like how your stuff looks online but how do I know it will be as good in real life?

It's always a worry buying on the internet, isn't it? The only thing we can really suggest is having a look at what some of our other customers say about our journals and binders on our REVIEWS page.

Can I have lined paper?

We make all of our journals with plain, unlined paper. Personally, we prefer the freedom of not being constrained to the tyranny of lines so we make our journals accordingly. If you prefer lined paper then you may like to consider our journals with replaceable pages or our ring binders, that way you can use your own favourite paper in them.

Can I buy replacement paper for my journal?

Yes. If you have one of our journals with replaceable paper then we’re happy to supply you with a complete refill, along with a new binding cord, at a small cost. If you have one of our permanently bound journals then you can send it back to us to be rebound with fresh pages, please CONTACT US before sending it to us.

Can you make me a journal with more (or less) pages?

We make our journals with the optimum amount of pages for the binding style. We may be able to make you one with more or less pages, just get in touch to ask.

I’ve seen a design I like on your website but can I have it on a different size journal?

Yes, that’s no problem at all. Almost all of our designs can go onto any size journal. There are a few exceptions where the design is too complex to make smaller; for instance, the Tree of Life design can only be tooled onto an A4 size. Please CONTACT US to ask.

Do you do personalisation?

Yes, we offer free personalisation on most of our journals and binders. You can see what sort of personalisation you can have on the individual listings and you can see examples on our PERSONALISATION page.

If I order a custom design or text, how will I know what it will look like?

Once you've placed your order we will get back to you to confirm the details and to show you a layout of your design and/or text. You will have a chance to make any changes before we start work.

Can I have text or a design on the cover of a wraparound journal?

Unfortunately not. We hand tool all of our text and designs and hand tooling requires a very specific type of leather, our wraparound leathers are not this type of leather. Cover designs and text are only available on our Tooled and Plain Classic journals and binders. However, all is not lost, you can still have a free inscription printed on the first page inside and/or a personalised leather tag with initials, you can see examples on our PERSONALISATION page.

I’d like a custom design on a journal but I don’t have the artwork, will you do it for me?

We usually ask our customers to provide their own artwork. It doesn’t have to be the right size or absolutely perfect, we’re happy to resize and tidy up designs at no additional cost but we do ask that you send us something to start from.

Can you tool a custom design from a photograph?

Not usually. We need black and white line drawings to tool into leather. You can send us a photograph of a design, such as a tattoo, but we will not be able to work from a photograph of a 3D object, such as a snapshot of your dog in your garden.

Can I have pockets on the inside of my journal or binder?

No, we make all of our items from a single thick piece of leather. The sort of binders with pockets on the inside are usually made from a very thin leather covering a card stiffener, that’s not our sort of thing at all.

I like your ring binders but can I have one with a different size mechanism?

Maybe. We have to buy our ring mechanisms in such large quantities that, as a small company, it’s difficult for us to keep a huge range of mechanisms in stock; so we tend to keep the popular types and sizes. However, if you can send us your own ring mechanism (even if it’s still attached to a binder) then we can make one of our covers to fit it. Please CONTACT US about this before sending one to us.

How do I care for my leather journal or binder?

We recommend a natural dubbin or clear polish on most of our journals or binders. Please do not use polish or dubbin on our items made with our Distressed leather unless you do not want them to look distressed any more!

Whenever using a product on leather, always test on a small area first to make sure it is suitable. If you’re not sure then contact us with any questions or use our own brand of DUBBIN which we know is safe and gentle on our leather.

Never use water or alcohol / acetone based products on our leather!!

 

DELIVERY TIMES

Why do you have a waiting list?

When you buy one of our journals or binders we will be making it especially for you. As we make each item completely by hand you will have to wait a while. The length of our waiting list varies depending on the time of year; at our slower periods it can be just a week or two and, at our busiest times, it can be up to six weeks. We always keep our current dispatch date displayed in the footer of our website.

If I offer you more money can I jump your waiting list?

No. We operate on a strict first come, first served basis. If you’re really desperate to get an item in a hurry then there may be a chance that we can fit you in on our waiting list, but we wouldn’t dream of asking you for more money (ask yourself, would you really want to do business with someone who puts money over customer service?) Just CONTACT US and if we can fit you in then we’ll be happy to do it at no extra cost.

But I really need a journal in a hurry! Don’t you have any in stock?

We do have a READY TO SHIP section where we try to keep a few items for those gift giving emergencies. At our busiest times you may find that this section is empty but we'll do our best to keep a few in there.

 

SHIPPING & PAYMENT

Can I pay by cheque, postal order or bank transfer?

Obviously, we try to make online payment as easy as possible for our customers. Our checkout system takes most forms of payment but we understand that you may want a different option. If you want to pay by bank transfer, that's no problem just CONTACT US for details. If you want to pay by cheque or postal order then, even though it is delightfully retro of you, we still do analogue banking; once again, CONTACT US first.

How much does shipping cost?

Well, that depends where you are and what size item you order. We charge on the weight of the actual item, we think that’s the fairest way to do it. To get the exact price you will need to add your items to your shopping cart and enter your location. As an overview you can visit our SHIPPING page to get the prices for sending individual items. Standard UK shipping is free.

What mail service do you use?

Royal Mail and, where possible, by a trackable method. We’ve found them to be extremely reliable over the years and it’s very rare that a parcel goes missing. We could perhaps use one of these new, cheaper services but, from our experience from buying online, I’d rather pay a little bit more and actually get my item.

Do you ship to … ?

Probably. We ship to most countries in the world and if you add your shipping details during checkout you will find out if we ship to your country. Unfortunately there are a small handful of countries we no longer ship to due to the unreliability of their postal service.

My journal hasn’t arrived! Where is it?

You’re probably really angry and thinking something like, “Great, I’ve been ripped off by another dodgy internet seller.” We can commiserate, we’ve been there ourselves. On this occasion, you can afford to relax a bit. Just CONTACT US to let us know and we’ll do everything we can to help you out. The good news is that we always ship our parcels on the day promised, we send them using a trackable method and it is incredibly rare that a parcel gets lost forever. The bad news is that, once in a while, parcels do take a little longer than expected to arrive.

Like a great man once said, “…nothing in this world can be certain, except death and taxes and stuff I’ve bought online getting delayed in the post.”

I’ve just received my parcel and I’m really not happy. What are you going to do about it?

First of all, take a deep breath, and before you contact us please remember that we are real people with feelings, just like you. We do our absolute upmost to make sure that our customers are happy but on extremely rare occasions something can go wrong. Humans are fallible and so are postal services. We’re always happy to help, please give us a chance to put any problems right for you. Keep hold of the original packaging and CONTACT US.

You can also find more help on our RETURNS & CANCELLATIONS page.

 

OTHER STUFF

Do you sell wholesale?

No, never. We took the decision to sell directly to the public so that our customers could buy our journals and binders at a more affordable price without the inflated prices which are incurred by going through a reseller. Perhaps an unusual choice but it seems to keep us and our customers happy. But that doesn’t mean that we do not accept large orders.

What do you do with my personal information?

Get over yourself, I bet I could find out loads of stuff on the internet about you anyway! No, really, joking aside, privacy is really important and we do not give your information to any third parties other than the ones that are entirely necessary to complete your transaction. If you sign up to our newsletter then the same is true, we will not share your email address with anyone else and we won't spam you.

If you would like to look at this in detail then you can read our PRIVACY STATEMENT