STAR PILGRIM - Handmade Leather A5 WICCA Journal Diary Grimoire - Refillable

Handmade Refillable Vintage Leather Journal Diary

Leather Slip-Cover with A5 Blank Journal

Hand-Embossed STAR PILGRIM Design

- cover will fit standard A5 diaries and notebooks -

- re-fills available -

•  Slip-cover of vintage buffalo hide to fit standard A5 diary or notebook
•         supplied with A5 size insert book with choice of three kinds of paper
•         will also fit standard A5 day-to-page diaries up to 2.5cm thickness (eg W H Smith)
•         overall size of cover 24x17cm
•         Cover hand-embossed with STAR PILGRIM design
•         edge of cover machine stitched for strength
•         smart GENUINE LEATHER alternative to cheap PVC and synthetic leather covers
•         can be re-used with a new diary every year
•         heavyweight vintage buffalo hide matures and improves with age
•         FAST freepost within UK
•         handmade from 100% renewable and recycled materials

The cover of this journal is tooled with my re-working of the mysterious 'Star Pilgrim' drawing*, which presents a medieval cosmology, including a flat earth bounded by a solid and opaque sky, or firmament. It is seen as a metaphorical illustration of either the scientific or the mystical quests for knowledge. (*The drawing is often referred to as 'Flammarion' in connection with its first documented reproduction in a 19th century print.)

Size: A5 (21x15cm or approx 8.5x6inches)

Slip-cover of buffalo hide; edge of cover is machine stitched for additional strength. The slip cover is made of vintage buffalo hide and is supplied with a separate replaceable insert book.

The book is a standard A5 size, so you can re-use the cover with a refill book - you could also use it with a standard A5 printed diary. You can choose from the following options:

1) unlined handmade cotton paper (50 pages/100 sides)

2) lined milled paper (100 pages/200 sides)

3) unlined cartridge drawing paper (50 pages/100 sides)

The cover is available in two colours:

Emerald Green
Mahogany Brown

This is a versatile book. You could use it as a grimoire, book-of-shadows, or personal diary. You can also re-use it year after year with a standard A5 printed diary. This leather will acquire a beautiful patina with age.

I love working with leather, but for ethical reasons I only use vintage leather for my books- ie leather from working animals that have come to the end of their lives.
 

My Ethical Production Policy

It is my policy to produce books from natural and renewable materials that will have a minimum impact on the environment.

I use exclusively water-buffalo hides and cow hides from mature animals that have come to the end of their working life. No animals are bred and slaughtered solely for the purpose of producing leather for my books. All prepared leather 'blanks' are sourced from Hindu village communities in India and Nepal and are imported to UK by my own company DESTINY HANDICRAFTS Pvt Ltd; I do not purchase or import from any other wholesaler. I am personally responsible for all aspects of design, embossing and finishing. Metal book furniture is - regrettably - imported from China, as all other sources have dried up. But I can make up book clasps/locks/trims etc in silver for custom orders.

To tan leather I use a natural tannin wash as an alternative to the highly toxic chromium salts commonly used in tanning. This natural tannin dye occasionally leaves a small residue on the surface of the leather, and some dye may appear on your hands on first handling of a new book. This is entirely harmless, and will cease altogether on further handling when the dye stabilizes. I hope you will agree with me that this is a small price to pay for a method of production that avoids poisoning our environment.

My handmade paper is sourced directly from the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, Taj Handmade Paper of Jaipur, and the cooperative of paper producers in Luang Prabang, Laos. It is produced without the use of bleaches and other toxic chemicals commonly associated with paper production.

It is my aim to produce books that meet the needs and wishes of the artists, art students, travelers and writers and poets who commonly purchase my books. For that reason I am always interested to hear your comments, and any suggestions you have for improvements or for new products. Of the 200 designs in my 'library' of embossing plates over half were made in response to requests from individual customers - but if you do have a special request, please remember that embossing is a low-tech mechanical process and that etching a plate requires time.

You are very welcome to choose and collect items from my workshop in Sussex rather than receiving purchases through the post - so that you can see exactly what you will get before you make your selection.