Notebook Therapy (Kraft)

I’m not sure what to think of Notebook Therapy, the company, but I do like their journals. The thing that bugs me is that all their marketing, including the way they name their journals, makes you think they are a Japanese stationer, when in fact the company is English and the journals are made in, and ship directly from, China. As I’ve said before with Tekukor, it just feels a bit dishonest when a company isn’t upfront about where they are based and where their product is from.

I chose a kraft journal because I’ve been wanting one for a while, and the ones from Notebook Therapy look good. The cover is a beautiful soft brushed fabric finish that you just want to keep running your hands over. The journal has ribbons, an elastic closure, but does not have a pen loop. It has a return to owner page, but no other marked pages and no page numbers. You get a few free gifts – stickers and a cute bookmark. The paper is super-tough, and there is zero bleed or ghosting, and I love the results with gouache paint.

My in-depth review video looks at the business and their products, the construction, features and markings of the journal, the paper, the business’ approach to sustainability, and a pen test of a full range of pens and watercolour paints. See my pen test page for an explanation of each test.