crazy horses: galen leather a5 folio

Warm days seem to be here to stay. Under the constant stream of the spring sun, the plants are blooming and happier than ever. The birds sing outside, baby ducks are swimming around on the canal right outside of the house. All of the windows are wide open to let in the fresh air and the sunlight. Perhaps we should change rose-tinted glasses to sun-tinted glasses. With a bit of added warmth, the world looks a little better.

Due to a love of good quality, durable leather; I was super excited to get my hands on the Galen Leather A5 folio in Crazy Horse Forest Green. They deliver good quality products for a price that is definitely worth it. This A5 folio is not super elegant and dainty looking, but I like the rustic look a lot. I think it suits the Crazy Horse leather very well. I’ve been using it for the past 6 months and I’ve spent most of that time out of the house, past weeks actively travelling and walking around. There is not a single stitch out of place. The leather patinas beautifully and the green is a lovely darker colour.

The folio has housed a bunch of different A5-ish sized notebooks so far. The hardcover A5 notebooks are the best fitting, the website also says that these are for Leuchttrum 1917 notebooks. But of course I put others in it. With the softcover ones the thick elastic band that holds the notebook in place makes it uncomfortable to write on the last couple pages on the right hand side of the notebook. Right now I have a smaller, thinner notebook in there that doesn’t fit the elastic at all. I use it to keep the notebook protected in my bag and take it out of the folio to write in it. It works for me. Unfortunately I do not keep stickers or loose papers to fully utilise the pockets of the folio except for some notes and a wooden bookmark that reminds me of one of my favourite books.

The pen loop is okay, but I don’t use it often. I take a whole pen roll with me instead of just a pen. Why take one pen when you can take six?

I am a big a big fan of leather products, they’re a bit like fountain pens. If you take care about them, they will serve you for life. I don’t have a “collection” of leather jackets or boots, but the ones I wear everyday are holding up better than ever. A bit of cleaning and oiling goes a long way. It’s not a complex process, but it takes practice to get it done nicely. I’ve been oiling my own jackets and shoes since I was 7 -my father had taught me how to do it when I got my first real leather boots.

Before this, I wasn’t a notebook cover type of person, which generally resulted in my notebooks getting destroyed in my backpack. It doesn’t anymore. The cute little notebook I have in it has terrible paper that almost all of my fountain pens bleed on it. So much that I almost stopped journalling completely. From this onwards I’m going to become only fountain pen friendly paper type of person. Otherwise I get sad because my pretty inks don’t look good and feather horribly -looking at you Vinta Sea Kelp Leyte.

Thank you for reading! I had to go for a photography trip yesterday for school for a couple of hours and I cannot believe that I got sunburnt. Don’t be deceived by the slightly cool, sunny weather, sunburns still happen…

Spotify link for a song.