Archer and Olive

Journal review: Back in 2020 after using a 100gsm journal for most of the year, I decided to find a journal with 160gsm paper and the Archer and Olive journals were a natural place to look, as I had seen so many positive reviews on social media. I bought it through a local (approved) supplier, protesting a little at the price, but deciding that I just had to see what all the hype was about. When I started using the journal I remember immediately being so excited that I could colour in with my Tombow brush pens, and even go over an area twice! After using a 100gsm journal where this was an impossibility without bleed, I felt liberated! I have included the video of my review and flip-through of that journal below.

Update to 2023. There’s really not a lot of recent journal reviews – most date from 2020-21. I wanted to compare the latest version of Archer and Olive to a number of other popular brands, so bought a new Road Tripper A5 notebook (pale blue linen cover and dot grid) from the Retro Road Trip collection. Light journal covers, especially in linen, are not super-practical, but I’ll use it with a cover to protect it from daily life! 

My opinion hasn’t changed much from the original version I had. The paper quality and construction of the journal is excellent. Archer and Olive impress with their focus on mental health and supporting their staff and journaling community, but they absolutely fail to impress on the sustainability front. They need to do a lot of work here to improve, and other brands have shown it is possible.

The journal reviews (of both versions) discuss the company and their products, the packaging of the journal, features of the journal, the paper and my innovative pen test. The more recent review also discusses the construction of the journal and the company’s approach to social and environmental responsibility. See my pen test page for an explanation of each test.

I completely filled both Archer and Olive journals, so I’ve included a full flip-through that will help you see how it performed. See the 2024 one by theme here and the 2021 journal by theme here.