Journal

A person writing in an open notebook on their lap, with filled pages resting underneath.
Writing on your lap: why cover thickness decides it
Thin leather covers slump. A cover cut at 2.0–2.4 mm holds the page flat enough to write on standing up, which is the only real argument for thick leather. Read more...
A hand guiding a leatherworking tool along a tan leather cover beside the embossed SLOWLINES mark.
What a leather cover costs, and what you are paying for
€65 to €95 depending on size and shape. What is in that, why the trifold costs more, why Ready to Ship is 10% less, and why there is never a... Read more...
A stack of colourful leather-covered notebooks on a round side table in soft window light.
A cover in a bag with a laptop: what actually damages one
Corners, water, heat, keys, and the fold. What genuinely shortens the life of a leather notebook cover, and what only looks like it does. Read more...
Colourful leather notebook spines and elastic cords side by side in warm light and deep shadow.
Patina, honestly: what it is and what it is not
Patina is a word doing a lot of work in leather marketing. What actually changes on a vegetable-tanned cover, how fast, and where. Read more...
Orange, cream, brown and green leather notebook covers arranged in a wooden drawer.
Buying a leather notebook cover as a gift
What to know before buying a cover for someone else: which decisions are safe to make for them, which are not, and what personalisation locks in. Read more...
Overlapping sheets of leather in blue, green, yellow, pink and brown, with their natural edges visible.
What vegetable tanning actually does to a cover
Vegetable tanning takes weeks and uses tree bark rather than chromium salts. What that means for a notebook cover, in behaviour rather than in marketing. Read more...
Leather-covered notebooks stacked at different angles, with curved spines and paper edges catching the light.
The traveler's notebook format, and where ours differs
The traveler's notebook is a leather sheet, an elastic and a replaceable insert. What that format gets right, and the three places we do it differently. Read more...
An orange leather notebook cover hanging from an elastic cord held in one hand.
Refillable, and what happens when the notebook runs out
A refillable cover outlasts the notebooks inside it. What that means in practice: how the elastic system works, how many notebooks fit, and what carries over. Read more...
An orange leather-covered notebook on top of a stack, with glasses resting on the table beside it.
Looking after vegetable-tanned leather, and what never to do
Vegetable-tanned leather needs very little: let it dry on its own, condition it rarely, keep it out of long direct sun. Here is what each of those is protecting against. Read more...
A stack of leather-covered notebooks reflected in a glossy tabletop beside a window.
Will your notebook fit? Softcover yes, hardcover no
A leather cover holds the notebook on an elastic cord through the spine, so the book has to bend around it. That is why softcover journals fit and hardcovers do... Read more...
Colourful leather notebooks arranged on a wooden shelf, with one rolled cover resting across the top.
Custom orders: what we can change and what we cannot
A cover cut to your notebook, an elastic layout that suits your system, or a leather that is not in the range. How a custom order works here, what it... Read more...
The SLOWLINES autumn 2026 range stacked on a shelf, every new colour visible
Twelve new colours, and what each one does
Twelve colours across three Italian leathers — Pueblo, Buttero and Freedom. What each one looks like, how it behaves with use, and which of them is the wrong choice for... Read more...
Colourful leather-covered notebooks layered horizontally on a wooden shelf in warm side light.
Ready to Ship and what you can still choose
A Ready to Ship cover already exists as one finished A6 piece. It can leave in 1–2 working days, and you can still add initials and choose the elastic colour. Read more...
Hands unrolling a brown pebbled leather hide across a workshop table.
Dollaro: the one for people who are rough with their things
Fine-grained Dollaro handles the small scratches a bag gives out every day. It is not better than Freedom or Ghost Wax; it is the option if you want a cover... Read more...
Close-up of reddish-brown pull-up leather showing the lighter tone along the fold
Pull-up leather and why the fold goes pale
Bend it and the crease turns pale. Rub it and the colour comes back. That is the leather working, not failing. Read more...
A close-up of pale wax patterns across dark leather, set against an orange background.
Ghost Wax: the leather that erases itself
Ghost Wax can arrive with marks already in its pale wax layer. Here is how to tell that temporary surface wear from damage to the leather underneath. Read more...
Edge-finishing tool shaping the rounded corner of a navy leather cover on a workbench
The edge is where a cover shows its age
The slowest part of making a cover is the part nobody photographs. Here is what happens at the edge, and why it decides how the cover ages. Read more...
An open notebook in a leather cover showing two blank pages
The first page problem
A new notebook is easy to buy and hard to open. The first page carries weight it does not deserve, and it stops more people than it should. Read more...
Leather notebook covers of different colours and grains standing in a wooden rack
Italian leathers, side by side
Italian vegetable-tanned leathers, side by side. What each one does in the hand, and which kind of person tends to like it. Read more...
Leather notebook covers of different sizes arranged diagonally on a vivid blue background.
A5 or A6: how to pick without guessing
The measurements, in millimetres, and the one question that decides it: where does the notebook spend its day? Read more...
Finished leather notebook covers standing in a wooden drawer
I make leather notebook covers and barely use one myself
I own one of our covers and hardly use it. That is a strange thing to admit on a shop, so here is the whole answer. Read more...
Green pebbled leather trifold cover closed with a pale elastic, on an orange background
One cover, three notebooks, and the elastic holding it together
Most people buy a cover for one notebook, though the modular elastic system already fits two or three thin ones. A trifold adds a panel that wraps around the whole... Read more...