Recommendation #1

"...since 2001 jill has been selling her work directly to fans online or via indie boutiques around the world, along the way becoming an indie-business icon. transcending studio art, graphic design or craft culture, her name has become a lo-fi lifestyle brand - a grass-roots counterpart to martha stewart or ralph lauren."

— martin wong, giant robot magazine

#1. Jill Bliss Journals

I believe that my love for writing came into being upon the arrival of my eleventh Christmas. I received a dandy little spiraled notebook in my stocking. At first, the drudgery of this gift discouraged me. For writing was nothing more than a school-assigned sadness at the time. However, the cover, with it's cute button latch and victorian monologued paper proved to be enough of a convincer(never say you can't choose a book by it's cover.) I consented to it's blue lined pages and resolved not to be intimidated at the numbers on the bottom right hand corners. I would write and I would like it, otherwise it would quite the waste. Obviously enough I caught the bug and have been writing ever since. Which leads me to the point of this posting and my very first recommendation. Jill Bliss and her lovely, lovely journals.

I do love to write and have trialed many a writing book: round rung, "sketch", leather, suede and even toilet paper recyclables and I have found, that the best journal out there for the lady sort, specifically, are those that Jill so deftly puts together. A friend of mine introduced me to them three years ago and I have been hooked ever since.

For those less exposed to the journal world you may be asking yourself, " Well, what makes a journal great?" I would say this.

One that inspires and invites your thoughts. Not only do Jill's designs incite the imagination, the pages seem to tease your thoughts onto the paper with depiction's of rosy flowers and swirling leaves but these pages also vary in mode. One page may be a solid creme open for transcriptions whilst the other be covered in graph. To write in these journals is to go on an adventure and I'm absolutely in love!

Here is her website if you're interested in purchasing one for yourself: Jill's Land of Wonderment