review: galen leather notebook cover and the everyday book (plus a discount code!)

In the last ten years or so, the quality and variety of notebooks available for fountain pen users has increased vastly. There's also been a shift to higher quality materials from what I've seen online and in person. One such company which marries the two very well is the family-run Galen Leather Co. who are based in Turkey. The pandemic caused a shift in my purchasing habits and anything family-run and not owned by a mega corp have instantly caught my attention and my support. I suppose it's seeing the demise of the traditional high street which has altered my mentality and there is now a conscious effort to try and source things as locally as possible. 

Anyway! Galen Leather Co was started by Zeynep and is now run by her brother and husband. Her story can be found here and I have to warn you, have some tissues at bay. She sounds like an amazing and inspirational lady who saw the best in everything - a quality we can all learn to have. 

I hope I can do her and Galen Leather justice with this review as I have to warn you, it is overwhelmingly positive. Just look at the contents below: it's the little touches that count and the pouch containing some samples of Turkish coffee and teas with a little tag about Galen themselves is truly heartwarming. 

Onto two Galen products. The first one is the Leather Slim A5 Notebook Cover. At the time of writing, they are priced at an extremely reasonable £33 and they come in a neat little box. 

Within the box, there is the cover itself, a card detailing the colour and who made the cover, along with care instructions. There's also a postcard with a handwritten message on the reverse. 

The cover smells delightful and is buttery soft. I can imagine it ageing extremely well and becoming even softer and more characterful with time and use. The quality is divine and feels like it would hold up well to daily use. 

On the inside, there is a card slot on both sides of the cover and also a pen loop. 

And at the reverse, we see the Galen Leather Co stamp in case anyone asks you where it's from so they can get one of their own. It comes in a whole host of classy colours including navy, 'crazy horse' navy blue /brown/forest green/tan/grey as well as in the sizes A5, B6 or A6. 

The Everyday Book in A5 fits perfectly in the A5 leather cover shown above. It comes in a box with a magnetic closure which makes ideal as place to file away documents/papers/anything else you wanted. At £23 for 400 pages of 52gsm Tomoe River Paper, it represents pretty good value. 

And just look at the paper in all its glory. It comes with writing guides as well so no excuses for wonky note taking! 

We all know that the usual reason for buying Tomoe River Paper is for the fountain pen benefits and it doesn't disappoint here... Of course there's significant show through with the permanent fineliner but otherwise, it performs as expected. 

Overall, Galen Leather Co is a family-run company who produce leather and notebook products of the highest quality. If you're after something a bit different or a gift for a stationery-lover, you won't be disappointed. 

If you're tempted, Galen are currently offering a 5% discount using the code WELCOME5.

Disclaimer: The products reviewed are complimentary direct from Galen Leather Co in exchange for a review. However, the review is an honest one and written as if I had bought the products personally.