A while back a friend of mine, Kate Bernasconi, asked if I would like to test one of the traveler’s notebooks she would be making. Naturally I jumped at the chance! I was pretty vague and requested a brown A5 with external slip pocket. So I had no idea what I would be getting.
It arrived last week and I absolutely love it. The leather is really nice and feels strong yet is very light. It is the most amazing colour and there is a pen loop which you can push into the cover when you are not using it. I have never seen anything like it before.
Kate told me:
The exterior leather in your cover is called Behemoth in the colour Tan Brown. The interior leather is recycled from sofa manufacturing- I love using recycled materials wherever possible, and I also love using the natural edges of the hide, as in the credit card pockets, and the interesting shapes that come from the sofa manufacturing, such as sweeping curves on the left side.
I won’t be making custom pieces yet as I am working full time and I want to dedicate myself to making a wide range of different notebook covers with interesting leathers and newly-invented pockets etc. I’m hoping to also start making pen cases etc, and other types of notebook covers
So every month I’m going to release a batch of new covers, a minimum of 5 per month, each different – some simple, some with decorative stitching, some with a range of interior pockets. I am going to leave some things customisable for the buyer- which hole configuration they want etc.
All of my leathers are named after mythical creatures, hence Behemoth – my shop name is Phoenix Willow Designs, so I wanted my leathers to reflect that.
Isn’t it lovely! The colour of the exterior does indeed look like the hide of a mythical beast. I am most impressed by the feel of the leather. Kate is an Egyptologist so her covers really do have an Indiana Jones feel about them!
Kate opened her Etsy shop PhoenixWillowDesigns a couple of days ago and for the month of November she is offering a 10% discount on her already-reasonable prices if you use the code PWDNOV2017.
Congratulations Kate! All the best with your shop and thank you so much for letting me review your notebook cover!
