Oberon Designs

Although I love the convenience of blogging, I still treasure keeping a "real" (as opposed to virtual) journal. Oberon Designs is one of my favourite companies. They create gorgeous journal covers out of cowhide that are finished with cast pewter buttons. Each design comes in your choice of nine different colours.

They are absolutely beautiful and seem to last forever. I have one small journal from them, and one larger one. I use the small one to take sketching with me (and for quick notes) and I use the larger one for actual journaling.

While the journals are pretty pricey ($54 for the small 5x7 size), they are refillable, and you can buy hardbound inserts for $13.50, so once you get over the initial expense, they are pretty affordable. Also, all their products are made in Santa Rosa, California, so you don't have to worry about some giant corporation getting wealthy off of cheap goods manufactured by poorly paid labourers in China. They're a great company that really cares about craftsmanship and has been around for a long time.

Oberon has expanded their business to make a number of other goods, including these beautiful lead-free pewter hair clips (most run around $14). They also make lovely bookmarks and jewellery. They've also begun to make gorgeous leather handbags, moneyclips, cardholders, portfolios, organizers and ornaments (I was particularly impressed with the handbags--it seems almost all leather handbags are being made in China now--even pricey designer bags!). I've been looking at handbags on Etsy, but although their cloth bags are gorgeous, I think most of the designers there have a way to go before their leather handbags become competitive. If you are a talented leather worker, start an Etsy shop because I'd love to have a nice handmade leather bag!

At any rate, Oberon is a really cool company with a conscience. Unfortunately, shipping costs to Canada are really high, so I probably won't be buying anything from them until they offer reasonable postage. I guess that will motivate me to buy local!