Custom Tomoe River leather bound journals

[gwgtaylor]

Hey guys. I'm so in love with these things I wanted to share.

I already had two black leather journals from Don Taylor ( www.dontaylorbookbinder.com ) and after I got a ream of 2000 sheets of Tomoe River I decided I needed more. This time in red leather!

They're super big and chunky with around 600-700 pages each. The review on my blog has video:

http://mycoffeepot.org/?p=827

Do any of you get custom bound journals? I could never go back to mass produced.







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[WmEdwards]

Well, now that I know that this can be done..................................

[gwgtaylor]

Well, now that I know that this can be done..................................

/should/ be done. :-)


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[Tiggercat]

I'm a little scared to ask how much something like this costs.

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[gwgtaylor]

I'm a little scared to ask how much something like this costs.

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Well they are handmade and I think they are a bargain for what they are.


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[Jon Szanto]

They can also be handmade and out-of-reach for many people. I love the paper, but I'll hold off on a leather-bound, self-emblazoned tome for the moment. The workmanship looks exquisite.

[gwgtaylor]

They can also be handmade and out-of-reach for many people. I love the paper, but I'll hold off on a leather-bound, self-emblazoned tome for the moment. The workmanship looks exquisite.

The workmanship is fabulous. Definitely worthy of the pens and inks that get used in it.


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[Jon Szanto]

They can also be handmade and out-of-reach for many people. I love the paper, but I'll hold off on a leather-bound, self-emblazoned tome for the moment. The workmanship looks exquisite.

The workmanship is fabulous. Definitely worthy of the pens and inks that get used in it.

I have fine pens and inks, as well. The maker doesn't even list prices (that I can find). I'm just assuming these are absurdly expensive.

[Brilliant Bill]

I'd consider it if I had anything that worthwhile to say.

[gwgtaylor]

I didn't find them absurdly expensive at all.


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[Jon Szanto]

I didn't find them absurdly expensive at all.

So, is there any particular reason you can't simply state the price for these bespoke notebooks?

[gwgtaylor]

I didn't find them absurdly expensive at all.

So, is there any particular reason you can't simply state the price for these bespoke notebooks?

Edited. Feels weird stating what I paid when he doesn't post his prices on his site. Maybe I got bulk pricing. Don't know. Email him if you'd like s quote.


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[TSherbs]

I'd consider it if I had anything that worthwhile to say.

doesn't stop me, but I have reduced my expenditures to marbled notebooks from Vietnam/Brazil (better paper) that cost 1 buck on teacher discount.

[Jon Szanto]

Edited. Feels weird stating what I paid when he doesn't post his prices on his site. Maybe I got bulk pricing. Don't know. Email him if you'd like s quote.

Now all I'm left with is wondering if the quote you gave was for a single journal or all three.

[gwgtaylor]

Edited. Feels weird stating what I paid when he doesn't post his prices on his site. Maybe I got bulk pricing. Don't know. Email him if you'd like s quote.

Now all I'm left with is wondering if the quote you gave was for a single journal or all three.

Single of course.


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[gwgtaylor]

Quite sure I said $XXX CAD each. I think that's pretty clear.


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[Jon Szanto]

Gerald, I'll just finish out with a couple of thoughts on all of this.

First off, I'm happy that you are pleased with your journals. It is obviously a great pleasure for you to have, for whatever thoughts go down on paper in them. I, too, love the Tomoe River paper experience, and the combination of the luxurious writing surface with a container so handsome will be something to cherish for years to come.

However, there are other aspects that come to mind. In all of my fountain pen discussions, in many fora, it becomes painfully obvious that terms such as expensive, cheap, value, bargain are essentially meaningless in a conversation that has an audience with a wide range of financial means and responsibilities. The only thing that really communicates is the hard data, and then every reader can assess for themselves, within their own situation, whether or not a product or service delivers value or is a worthy investment.

When you write "Single of course" it is as if it were obvious to me, or anyone else; it isn't. Without re-divulging that figure, my question was honest, never having purchased bespoke leather-covered journals with my own name embossed in gold. I had precisely NO idea if that was for one or three. I now know, and it brings into focus that what you consider a "bargain" remains - as always - a very relative term.

[gwgtaylor]

It should have been obvious by the use of the word "each" and furthermore even if I hadn't used that word that price for three would have brought them into the range of mass produced Tomoe River journals that are neither leather bound nor stamped with gold leaf. So even then it should be obvious. Someone with 30+ years of experience and a studio to pay for would not price himself in that range.

I totally agree that words like cheap or bargain are absolutely subjective. I still stand by my statements though and find them very fairly priced for items handmade my a master of his field. Anyone who wants hard prices is welcome to reach out on their own.

Thanks for reading.


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[Jon Szanto]

It should have been obvious by the use of the word "each"...

To be fair, I'm not certain whether that word was there or not, and it certainly isn't at this point. If I missed it in my reading, naturally, it is my fault and *should* have been obvious. Not being a purchaser of these kind of journals, and not having a history of perusing mass-market vs. bespoke journals, obvious is not something it would be to me. For you, yes.

[kazoolaw]

Perhaps to put it into perspective, the link goes to Design Y, which includes a price of 14,700 yen, which today is approximately $146 US

http://design-y.near-mint.com/eprecord.html

gary