How Your Journal Is Made
Leather
Most of the leather that we use is vegetable tanned. This is leather which is tanned using vegetable matter rather than metal salts. When we buy the hides they come in their natural state, uncoloured and unfinished.
We handpick our hides so that we can choose pieces with interesting grain patterns, this means that every journal is unique and has its own personality.
We make a number of journals from other types of leather. This is when we find interesting and unusual hides that we feel are too special not to use. These books are limited to the number that we can get from the hide.
Decoration
We make all of our books using handtools. First of all, we cut the book from the hide by hand. The designs on our journals are individually handtooled, the design is scribed onto the leather and some areas are pushed back and textured. When we stain the leather, the dye stays in the textured areas, forming contrast in the design and highlighting the natural markings in the leather.
We colour our 'Ghost Fern' journals with dyes that we make ourselves using natural materials and traditional methods. We use real fern leaves in creating the patterns.
Paper
The paper that we use in our journals is 100% recycled from post-consumer waste, there are no bleaches or dyes added during its production. It has achieved environmental awards, including Blue Angel and Nordic Swan. It has a life span of several hundred years, which is great if you want to leave your words for future generations to read. This paper is a natural, oatmeal colour with faint flecks. It is slightly textured and takes a fountain pen without 'bleeding', it is also a good mid-tone for sketching.
We do not put lined paper in any of our journals, this is because we feel strongly that lines stifle creativity, words should not be confined to a particular size or direction.
Stamp of Approval
When we have completed a book, and we are happy with it, we sign it with the Earthworks logo.This is a small stamp that can usually be found on the spine of your book or on a leather button inside the back cover. We put a lot of care into our journals and we are pleased to send them out into the world with our mark on them.
This is how your journal starts its life, the next part is up to you. If you do buy one of our journals, please use it, because there's nothing sadder than an empty book.
) 
