Luxury Italian Leather Journals

In this article we are going to be looking at some of the most gorgeous Journals I have ever seen or used, these Italian Leather Journals are hand crafted in Italy providing that authentic artesan feel. This written version of my review will be relatively short, simply highlighting the important details such as paper type, various journal types and most important, the company name and how to place an order with them should you wish to do so.

Before I get into the details, I just want to make something clear and hopefully help new viewers and subscribers understand a bit about who I am before making comments. I have not been sponsored or employed by this company to review their products. I discovered this gem of a product about eight or 9 years ago, possibly even ten years ago, I purchased a journal from them fell in love with the beauty, craftsmanship and professional service. After years of buying these journals, I contacted the company and asked them if they would allow me to review their Journals on my website and YouTube channel, to which they agreed and as a thank you, sent me an extra journal when I next ordered a new journal.

I have had many companies offer to pay me to review products and I have turned them all down, I am happy to review a product if the company are happy to send said product to me and that is it. Occasionally companies do this but more often than not I buy the product with my own money as is the case with this product. My reason for doing these reviews is two fold, to help other artists know exactly what they are getting before they hand over their hard earned money and because I love creating the reviews, art and the majority of the art community have been instrumental in my mental health improving after suffering with PTSD from Operational Tours in the British Army and Depression from a long standing spinal injury.

What I am trying to accomplish with The Art Gear Guide, is a catalogue of art supply reviews, of which are so detailed and informative, that when an artist decides they would like to buy a certain product and they watch my reviews, it is the next best thing to them actually testing the product themselves. However, all of that being said, I have no issues whatsoever with content creators earning money from the work they do. Unless you have made videos and wrote articles for YouTube and a website, it’s unlikely you know the amount of hours invested in the content created. It is beyond me why anyone thinks, should a content creator earn money to pay their bills, feed their family and keep a roof over their head, they are unscrupulous, but earning a wage in any other walk of life is fine, it doesn’t make sense.

Italian Leather Journals Characteristics.

The company that sells these amazing journals is, “Legatoria Koine”, although every thing I am going to talk about in this review can be purchased online, the company is a store in Italy. They have four stores in total, all in Italy, if you take a look at their website you will get a glimpse at the treasure trove that is these beautifully quint book binding art supply stores are. I personally would love to one day visit Italy and spend a few hours just browsing in amazement, making sure my wife keeps hold of my wallet as I might bankrupt us.

Its important to note, that online, via Legatoria Koine, there is a wide selection of gorgeous products you can purchase, ranging from calligraphy sets, various journal types, genuine Italian leather handbags, leather rolls for pencils and brushes, etc, the list goes on. But today I am going to be showing you, what they refer to as their “Half Leather Journals.”

The half leather journals are the ones I absolutely love because you can choose from a wide range of covers to make up your journal, and I personally feel the gorgeous designs on the various covers just help to add to the luxurious aesthetics of the journals.

The spine of the journals are equipped with this gorgeous Italian Leather binding, making the journals look like something you might find in a Harry Potter movie or Lord of the Rings movie. On the corners of the journals, they too are protected with the high quality Italian leather, ensuring that opening and closing of the journals over time do not fray and curl up. One of my journals I have had for almost ten years now and other than slight fading where I have left the journal in direct sunlight, it still looks as gorgeous as the newer journals purchased.

The journals come in various sizes, which when you are ordering one, you can select the size. You can also specify how many pages and the type of pages you want inside your Journal, either 128 or 256 pages, plain or lined, this only applies to the Classic Journals which I’ll explain below. With regards to the old style journals they come with 120 pages. As you can see from the images of my journals, I have only ever purchased plain paper, I feel it just gives me more freedom to include sketches, diagrams etc.

They also provide two different styles of paper, their classic is just plain simple gorgeous paper and the other is their old style which has the deckled edges to the paper, internally the paper you write on is all the same, just this old style deckled edge aesthetic to the paper. I have both styles and you can see from the images what each journal looks like.

The paper used in the journals is an Ivory color, laid paper sheets by Fabriano, gr. 120/m2 and the old style paper as explained above is cut by hand.

An example of the sizes are for the Old Style Half Leather Journals are 12.5 cm x 17.5cm ( 4.9 x 6.9 inches ) or 17.5 cm x 25.5 cm ( 6.9 x 10 inches ) or 25 cm x 35 cm ( 9.84 x 13.77 inches ) and each Journal comes with 120 pages, 240 sides

Or if you choose the Classic Style Half Leather Journals there are a lot more sizes available 9 cm x 13 cm ( 3.5 x 5.1 inches ) or 12 cm x 16 cm ( 4.72 x 6.3 inches ) and lots more. With the classic style you get the option of choosing 128 pages or 256.

In the case of the half leather journals like mine, as I mentioned earlier, you also get to choose the design on the cover and I have included a few here for you to check out. Actually quite recently, they have also included half leather journals which sport coloured leather, red blue and green, personally not for me, but they still look gorgeous.

Paper Quality and Performance

It’s important to note that these journals are not sold as sketch pads or watercolor pads, even though the paper is from Fabriano, which is a name we are all aware of in the paper world. That being said, I am talking to a mainly art community and so I wanted to test the paper and see how it performed.

Journaling in this day and age has taken off in leaps and bounds, it has become a form of therapy for many who suffer with mental health. I am so happy to say that suffering with mental health or talking about it is no longer a taboo subject, it is much more widely understood and I think as a result, more lives can be saved. That being said there is still a long way to go before we get to a place were prevention is better than cure.

Although I myself have not yet taken part in journaling in is truest definition, I am aware that for a lot of people, adding sketches, diagrams, doodles as well as writing is all part of the process. I know just by feeling the paper that it is not going to take watercolors, not even a light wash, the paper would buckle and perhaps rip.

I tested the paper with graphite and charcoal, I wanted to see how well I could layer in such a smooth paper, how well the graphite and charcoal moved about, blended etc, and so I drew a very quick sketch on an eye. I must admit I was really pleasantly surprised with the process, the paper took to the graphite and charcoal as well as any other sketching paper I have used.

I also tested the paper with colored pencils and pastel pencils, all of which also behaved remarkably well. I obviously wasn’t able to apply lots of colored pencil layers or anything like that, but for simply applying color to the paper, I was impressed. The pastel pencils worked exactly the same as the charcoal, I was able to apply deep tones and move the pastel about for blending.

Mixing It Up

As I mentioned earlier, Legatoria Koine also sell many other items, worth taking a look at. As well as the Half Leather Journals they provide full leather journals, photo albums in both styles and I know most people have their photos in the cloud these days, but I still think there is something special about getting out the old photo album and flicking through memories, even more so in a gorgeous album, or am I just getting old and sentimental?

With regards to the journals, they also provide journals specifically for music, recipes, diaries, address books, wine journals, travel journals etc. Each themed journal on the inside has paper laid out in whatever format allowing you to log your information in this amazing luxurious style.

You can also buy wonderful gift sets comprising of a journal, dip pen and ink, Italian Leather bags, Italian leather rolls for pencils or brushes, and even colored leather bound books. The list is endless and certainly worth a look.

Like I say, I am not being paid by this company at all for anything, everything I have wrote here and said in my video review is all exactly what I think of the journals and the service I have received. I happen to think they are simply the most amazing journals I have ever seen and I am not alone. Many famous authors of the years have purchased these very journals to take notes in for their next masterpiece.

Pricing Examples

The largest journal in my collection is the dark blue, deckled edge, old style, half leather journal, W 17.5 cm x H 25.5 cm ( 6.9 x 10 inches ) cost £50 or €59 or $63.88

The next largest journal in my collection, the cream color with writing on the cover, Classic Style, half leather journal, 256 pages, W 14 cm x H 21 cm ( 5.51 x 8.27 ) cost £29.86 or €35 or $37.89. To help compare, a popular brand Journal, slightly smaller and less pages would cost approximately £23

The small aqua blue, classic style journal, with 256 pages, W 12 cm x H 16 cm ( 4.72 x 6.3 inches ) costs £26.45 or €31 or $33.55

I know cost is a very subjective issue and I feel wrong saying whether or not I feel a product is affordable, my affordability is not the same as someone else’s, just as someone else’s affordability is much more than mine. What I can say is this, the quality of the journals is staggering, these journals are crafted in the same fashion books from two or three hundred years ago were crafted and still being read today.

Italian Leather Journal Conclusion

There is no doubt this is a luxury item, you might have to save a bit to buy one, but this is a journal that will last you a lifetime, a lifetime of traditional use, obviously if caught in a fire it will be gone, but under traditional circumstances, I feel money well spent.

I know not everyone is into journals in which case this review may not be for you, but you might have a loved one or close friend who would absolutely love something from this store. It is becoming more and more difficult in this day and age to find quality products made to last, but this is one such product.

I hope you have found this review helpful, either for yourself or perhaps as a special gift for a loved one on a special occasion. These Italian Leather Journals are journals I have been using for a considerable length of time and they have served me well. Occasionally when I find a product that I personally find amazing, the first place I want to go, is to you guys and show you all. I have also added a video to my YouTube channel showcasing these beautiful journals including writing on the paper using a fountain pen with zero feathering.