„Journal ecosystem“ is one of my favorite searches on tiktok and instagram because they inspire me and I love to see how people use their journals. I am super excited to finally share mine!

1. Paper Republic Portfolio A6 in Chestnut

This journal was my first one from Paper Republic (my favorite brand ever) and I saved up for it for quite some time because I wanted two strings with it, which you can order via the l‘atelier option. The journal goes with me everywhere. It is the perfect size for my purse and I love how the patina has developed. It carries an „everything“-journal where I jot down notes on the go, things I want to remember or simply lists. In it is also my sudoku book which comes in handy in waiting rooms etc. and it‘s just super fun. The last journal is my „Letters I will never send“-notebook where I process difficult conversations or write letters to people I will never talk to again. It‘s been a very healing experiene. The lovely charm in the front is by Nicole Josephine.

2. Paper Republic Grand Voyageur Pocket in Rustic Rose

My grand voyager pocket was generously gifted to me by Alessandra (House of Honey Studio)as a thank you for capturing the Sicily Journal Retreat with my camera. She made me cry when giving it to me because we‘ve been texing about the new standard colors from PR and how this rustic rose captured my heart from the beginning. It means so much to me. This journal hosts a clear zipper case and sticker release paper by Traveler‘s Company, a card holder by Paper Republic, a brain-dump journal and journal for my poetry! The front charm is by Cloudy&Gilded, the sun charm by Louise Carmen and the cornicello was a gift from Alessandra.

3. Paper Republic Portfolio A5 in Bordeaux

My beloved A5 portfolio is a special edition from Paper Republic (though I hope they will add this color to their standard colors!) and I was in love from the first post. Their promotion for this color was lovely but because the portfolios are more expensive I hesitated and then it was all sold out. I got super lucky and checked their website randomly sometime after and they had a mini restock and I KNEW I had to have it. This shade of red is one of my favorite colors! The pockets on the inside hold some meaningful things like my friend Hayley’s snail mail Poésie Perdue, some photos and sticker. Inside I keep my creative journal which is a Midori A5 with Hayleys wonderful art piece on it. This journal mostly stays on my desk where I have all of my creative stuff like stickers, washi tape, mini printer and so many pencils. I love creating collages!

4. Paper Republic Grand Voyageur XL in Congac

The nickname for this journal is „Sicily Journal“ as this was one of the goodies we got on the Journal Retreat by Alessandra. We were all so excited that Paper Republic sponsored our retreat! The embossing „felice“ means „happy“ in italian and it is an hommage to a camping village in italy where I spend my childhood summers. My friends Lilly and Leslie brought the beautiful lace from their trip to Paris and it suits my jounal perfectly. This is also the journal with the most charmes, four of them are from Alessandra‘s shop: the sun and moon, the little flower, the cross and the cornicello. Hayley gifted me the dragonfly charm and it holds so much meaning for me and I think of her every time I see it. This journal houses a card holder with pictures and post cards from the sicily trip, a reading journal and a lined „everything“ journal.

5. Louise Carmen Honoré in Marine

This is the first leather notebook that I got when I fell down the Lousie Carmen rabbit hole. It is what got me into the journal game and what sparked my love for leather journals. Currently it holds some finished journals: a paris travel journal, my journal from Sicily and a photo book from our time at the Journal Retreat. I also have a clear zipper pouch with a collage and some stickers. The lovely star charm was gifted by Alessandra!

6. Louise Carmen Ernest in Whiskey

The Ernest followed shortly after the Honoré and it‘s also the sister journal as it has the same layout just smaller. I call this my faith journal as it houses my prayer notebook and a journal for service and bible study notes. It mostly stays in my purse together with my PR A5.

7. Louise Carmen Organizer in Rouge

I got this journal at the Louise Carmen store in Paris and it was such a wonderful experience! This journal is home to my commonplace book where I write about everything that interests me, historical figures, meaningful words or research about different topics. I also have a rose portfolio in there where I keep pictures I want to put into my entries or some articles. The quote on the front „courage, dear heart“ by C.S. Lewis means so much to me as well as the two charmes: a celestial charm and a key charm from LC. If you have not looked into commonplacing, I encourage you to do so!

8. Louise Carmen Pocket in Prune

While I was in Paris getting my Organizer, I also got a Pocket as my tiny travel journal! It holds my passport, a portfolio for ephemera I collect while traveling and a notebook where I can write down what I did each day. I will use these notes to make a proper journal/album when I‘m home. The embossing on the front is a quote from a Taylor Swift song and I feel it fits the travel theme pretty well.

9. Traveler‘s Notebook Regular in the „Love and Trip“ Edition

This is my only Traveler‘s Company notebook so far but I absolutely love this format! The red color from this limited edition is so beautiful and I am so lucky I got it as it was sold out so fast. I use this journal for my longer trips like out three week long vacation in England and Scotland. It holds a portfolio, a card holder which I use as an instant film album while on the trip, a travel notes journal, a sticker release notebook and another clear zipper pouch - everything is from Traveler‘s Company, they have the BEST accessoires!

10. Hobonichi Weeks in „Little My“

Without this notebook, my life would fall apart, like seriously! The Hobonichi weeks is my perfect format to organize every day, my appointments, my to-dos, birthdays and a habit tracker. The entries mirror my google calender which I share with my husband but I look into this calender multiple times per day. I also decorate it every week and I look forward to it. I absolutely love the Moomin theme, as I watched the tv show in my childhood and I had forgotten about it until a few years ago. I‘m so happy I got this version and also the case which is from Hobinichi as well. It holds sticker, washi tape and different paper goods like business cards and notes.

11. Hobonichi Techo

This is a one-page-a-day calendar which I use as my (creative) diary. I write in it almost every day about what happened that day, how I feel or sometimes just use pictures. I decorate when I feel like it or when I have scraps and I look forward to writing in it every evening. The cover is also by Hobonichi and it is in collaboration with Liberty Fabrics. The techo (japanese for „calendar“) sits on my desk so it reminds me to wind down and think about the past day. I‘ve been using a Techo for 5 years now!

12. Hobonichi Cousin

While I have been using the Techo for many years now I wanted to try the Cousin format this year. Initially I wanted to use this calendar for morning pages but I realized that it is not for me. Right now I‘m using is as a collection of poems and quotes from books and songs and to improve my handwriting with it. I‘m thinking about switching up my diary to the Cousin format for next year but I‘m unsure about the bigger size and the potential blank space.

13. Midori A7

My latest journal that joined my eco-system is my „Hyperfixation Journal“ that is inspired by Abbey Sy. Here I write down what I currently obsess over with the date and a short entry. Tv shows, book series, albums or games. I love the tiny size as it puts less pressure on me to write in it, I just make some notes and put a picture in. I‘m excited to see how it progresses.

That‘s it! I did not realise how excessive it was until I wrote this article but honestly I had so much fun! I love journaling and I love talking about it and while I don’t use each journal every day, I use them all regularly. The love I have for each notebook and my passion for journaling is what keeps me getting more and while it is a lot, it is also so pure joy.

Please tell me about your journal ecosystem, I‘d love to hear about it! If you want to get a better look about what is inside my journals, stay tuned for my next article (I‘m already super excited to share more!).

Until next time.

Ever yours,

M

"Life was meant for good friends and great adventures." — Unknown

It all started with an idea. Not mine but Alessandra‘s (aka House of Honey Studio). It was her dream to take her love for journaling and talking about it online, and bring it into a real life experience: A Journal Retreat. Five days, journal lovers, authentic italian food, wonderful company and the beautiful island called Sicily. Perfect combination.

Alessandra and I became friends online about a year ago. Our beloved Louise Carmen notebooks brought us together and once we started talking, we never stopped. I could tell she was kind and warm-hearted right from her first message and I felt so honored when she shared her dream about a journal retreat with me. It is a huge step to plan such an event and I was (and still am) so very proud of her for doing this.

She has the special gift of bringing the right people together. People who are so different but share the same love for journaling and writing. Lovely souls who were meant to meet and bond deeply.

I am so blessed I was able to join this wonderful group and take pictures and videos of our time in Sicily and my favorite view was Alessandra‘s smile when it she saw that it all came together beautifully.

Right from the beginning, on the first evening, we sat together in the living room, talking about our past and struggles but also our dreams and things we don‘t share with a lot of people or have not even dared to say out lout. We knew on that first day that this group was special.

We spend the days talking, drinking coffeee, eating the best pasta (cooked by Alessandra!), writing in our gifted Paper Republic notebooks and being creative in so many different ways everyday.

We painted with watercolors, sketched in our notebooks, painted tiles, learned about Neurographica, made collages and so much more. In the next article I will go more in depth about what we did each day, so stay tuned!

These five days have filled my soul. I got to be creative and share meaningful conversations all day but even more important: I was able to be creative with four woman who encouraged me to pursue my dream, dared to show the world my creativity and gave me so much love.

The goodbye was so hard. I did not only cry while a big hug to each friend, I cried in the car, on the bus, at the airport and on the plane. I cried while reading their letters to me and because the thought of not being with them everyday anymore was heartbreaking. I cried because I love these women deeply, because I am thankful I got to experience this retreat and becasue I missed them the second I stepped out of the villa. We do not live close to each other - some of us are separated by an entire ocean. But I am sure of one thing: we will see each other again.

“Once someone touches your heart, those imprints will stay there forever.” -Woodland

The bond we created is strong and the friendship we formed so deep. None of us expected that the love we have for one another would develop so quickly and yet here we are, still dreaming about our time together in our lemon grove villa in Sicily.

Hayley, Alessandra, Leslie and Lilly. Those names are engraved in my heart.

Each woman shared her own story, her own way of being creative. Each one has taught me someting I hold dear in my heart forever.

This trip was so much more than I could have ever imagined. It changed me. It changed all of us.

I came home feeling more encouraged than ever before. I am forever grateful I was able to be part of this retreat and to Alessandra for creating it and trusting me to capture it. It was truly one of the best and most meaningful trips ever.

Ever yours,

M

Hi, I am Miriam, a 30 year old living in central Germany in a small town near Frankfurt. Being creative is my outlet, it is the air I breathe and I cannot live without it. I feel very thankful that I have a life where I can be creative freely and journal as much as I want.

“You can‘t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.“ - Maya Angelou

For as long as I can remember I was always creating and writing, always working on a project. I am a very visual person which is why I have a slight propensity to perfectionism and I‘m often standing in my own way. Especially the journal retreat in Sicily this year (which I will write about soon) dared me to dream big, to use my talents and share my creative projects with the world. My biggest dream is writing a book and telling a beautiful story which I would love to read myself. I already started writing and I am excited to share more with you soon.

Journaling is one of the best things that I have discovered and a day rarely goes by where I'm not writing. My journal eco-system is something I'm very proud of, dearly love and use regularly. Having a journal or notebook for a specific reason helps sorting my thoughts and honestly is just wonderful looking at! I am already looking forward to sharing my beloved notebooks!

I am still in the process of what I want my Substack to be about and what it will look like so please be patient with me. I am happy if you stay and read my posts. If you are interested in any topics regarding journaling, writing or being creative in general, please let me know!

Thank you for being here, you are a gem.

Miriam 🤍