I have been so excited to get this red Janet Leather custom Hobonichi Cousin (A5) Codex cover from Van Der Spek!
Petra Van Der Spek had received Janet Leather in the new colour – red – and wanted members of the community to see it ready-made into an item instead of just seeing the hide.
I went to town on the features, because I wanted to be able to not only show the leather, but also all the design options available to Hobonichi users. So, the Codex cover includes:
- Bontex stiffener on the back cover (not full length wallet pocket). It provides some structure but is still very flexible.
- full length back wallet pocket
- outward facing slip pockets on both sides
- ‘Janet pockets’ (ie pockets with credit card slots from top to bottom) on both sides
- 3 popper fasteners and an extra long clasp to allow for expansion
- secretarial pocket
- two slip pockets
- embossing
- 3 bookmarks
- two pen loops
There are so many other options you could have – zipped pocket, outside slip pocket, elastic closure. The list is endless!
The leather is absolutely beautiful! It has the same smooshy soft feel of the original Janet Leather, but is a gorgeous bright red. I requested pebbles and pebbles I got!
Here are some photos from the production process, including Petra’s sketches.


And here it is! Absolutely perfect workmanship and colour, and perfectly packaged. And it is not heavy or bulky. I love it! Thank you Petra and team for the wonderful opportunity to try this cover!
If you find the VDS website a bit daunting to navigate (it is easy to become overwhelmed if you are new to VDS because of the customisation and leather options), drop Petra Van Der Spek an email at website@vdslederwaren.nl – refer to this post and take it from there. Petra is amazing to deal with and VDS customer service is second to none.
I’m not a Hobonichi user myself, but this cover is a thing of pure beauty. I love all of the details in the design like the poppers and the layout. The end result is just wonderful.
It’s so beautiful! 💕
Thank you 🙂
That is a gorgeous cover, should be very handy with all the pockets
It is stunning! I love that red!
Gorgeous!
Janet, This is amazing!!!!! Absolutely gorgeous! I do love the embossing!