TRAVELER’S Company Notebook [Olive]

An icon in its own right, the Traveler’s Notebook is an essential for anyone who appreciates the art of journaling. The Journal Shop is proud to have been the UK’s very first stockist and distributor of the range across Europe, as early as 2005 when the brand was formerly known as ‘Midori Traveler’s Notebook’. We fell in love with the notebook not just because of its good looks and toned down minimalism, but also for its fine quality which has always remained just so.

The Traveler’s notebook is hand-made from a single piece of leather in the northern city ofChiang Mai, Thailand – you’ll notice that the notebook, when opened flat, does not have seams or any stitching. This is part of its unique charm and means that your notebook will have all the natural look and feel of that particular hide. When you first unbox your Traveler’s notebook, you’ll notice a fine white powder that covers the entire piece of leather; this is the natural oil which seeps from the skin and takes on a powdery appearance. Don’t wipe it off – instead, gently brush it or massage it back into the leather to enrich the hide and keep it soft and supple. Make sure to frequently condition the leather by using specially formulated oils or wax designed to keep the leather from cracking.

If you love the look of a unique piece that ages over time and acquires marks, dents and scratches that tell a story of a well loved and used notebook, then this is a journal you’ll no doubt appreciate. If your look is more decorative, you can accentuate the cover with charms, different coloured bands and stickers all available within the Traveler’s Company range.

Is it refillable?
Yes, that’s one of its best features. Once you’ve used the refills inside, simply remove your refill, and replace with a new one. Your Traveler’s Notebook can hold up to four refills together (you can certainly try and squeeze a few more in but it tends to look quite bulky with more than four) and what’s really nice is that you can change up the refills to suit the way in which you like to use your journal – ruled, grid, kraft paper or perhaps water colour paper fora spot ofart.

The colour
Colour is very subjective because of the different ways in which we all perceive colour. What appears dark to some people might appear a touch lighter to others. In fact, where some people see white others see gold, and black will appear as blue to most of us (remember the viral ‘is it blue and black or white and gold’ dress that divided the internet?). The Olive TRC notebook is pictured looking quite Green (or Khaki, to some) and most eyes will perceive this to be a light shade of Green. In real life, we would say the colour is closer to a very dark Olive, almost brownish-green hue. If you’re after a cover which is a true Green, the Olive cover from TRC might not meet your expectations. Most users, upon unboxing the Olive, are certain that they’ve incorrectly received the Brown version by mistake; a testament to how much this cover leans brownish-green in its colouring. If you hold the Olive cover up to a light source or take it outside in natural lighting, you will notice that the Greenish-Olive shade is definitely there and an even better comparator is the Brown TRC cover – if you own one, place them side by side and you’ll see the subtle difference between the two.

After some use, the leather will wear and the colour may change slightly; a quick Google online will pull up lots of images of used Olive TRC Notebooks and some have even started taking on a more Green hue owing to the natural oils from the user’s hands.

In short, please note that the colour pictured on the screen is not necessarily the colour that you will receive in real life. Depending on the die lot and your lighting environment, the Olive cover will almost always lean towards a brownish hue.

Good to know