As I have written before
I have long been a fan of the work of Joseph (Joey) Delsordo from Naked Cow (now called Journals by Joey) on Etsy. Joey has a selection of really lovely leathers (which are nicely described in some of his YouTube videos, particularly in terms of pliability), and continues to develop the range of extra choices he offers for his traveler’s notebooks. These extra options make all the difference. You can see Joey takes all suggestions on board and really thinks about new options before he introduces them.
Once you have chosen your cover leather and size, you can (if you wish) build your own TN by adding any of the following:
- your choice of elastic colour
- your choice of stitching colour
- different kinds of pockets (floating, secretarial, credit card)
- page holders in the colour of your choice
- floating pen pouch
- pen loops – either fixed or floating
- magnetic closure (if you do not want an elastic)
Joey also offers certain ‘fixed’ designs, such as the wallet/notebooks.
At the end of 2016, Joey changed his shop name from Naked Cow to Journals by Joey. All items purchased up to and including 31 December 2016 had the old name and logo. On 1st January 2017, Joey started to use his new name and logo. I knew that if I did not get one with the old logo, I would be sorry. So I placed an order late December 2016. Remember though, nothing has changed except the logo so if you order anything, it will be exactly the same item, just with a different name.
As it was my first purchase and I was not too au fait with the leathers, I did some research on Joey’s channels on
to see which would suit me. I found the YouTube videos to be most helpful because for me it is most important that the leather is firm. I hate floppy leather, and Joey did a pliability demonstration in one of his videos which showed me which suited me better.
So, I went for black pebbly leather and red stitching. I usually go with the same stitching colour as the leather, because I hate making those kinds of choices, but this time red really jumped out at me as the option I wanted. I bought a KayB personal because it is a ‘fixed design’ option and worked out much cheaper than if I had built the notebook myself by adding each option one by one.
It was made very quickly and shipping was incredibly quick. So many TN sellers are running queues of months that it was refreshing to get something so quickly.
And I love it. Love it love it. I am thrilled!
- it was easy to choose this model in the Etsy shop
- it was made extremely fast
- shipping was quick
- the leather is perfect – thick and pebbly and has some heft to it but it is not too heavy
- the red is a perfect bright colour for the black
- the elastics are nice and thick. I love thick elastics!
- a perfect size (personal wide) – not too big and not too small
- and the perfect layout for a wallet
- a whopping 8 credit card slots and two secretarial pockets
- it was shipped in a lovely box and beautifully wrapped
- it came with a box of caramels and a really nice graph notebook by Joey
- it really is a TN and wallet in one, and both are perfectly functional
This one is also available in a smaller size.
At the moment I am using a personal size Van Der Spek ring organiser for my wallet, my schedules, and my lists, and a traveler’s notebook (TN) for my personal stuff. I have been thinking for a while about moving into an A5 with small rings for my schedule, and a TN for my wallet and lists. This will reduce the amount of paper I have to carry around with me if I am just nipping out to the shops.
So, this cover will be that TN!
If you liked this notebook cover (and what’s not to like?) remember that everything remains the same after the name change – the only thing that is different is the name and logo. The leathers and notebooks will be the same glorious works of art as ever. Joey is a real sweetheart and I would recommend anyone who has not dealt with him before to peruse his site and buy with confidence.