Stacy's Space

Watching the chic Frenchwoman guiding her client through the customisations available to her for the stunning notebook she was about to purchase, I was transfixed. The effortless ‘ping’ of the elastic and the juxtaposition of shiny faux gold against the natural, vegetable-tanned leather, personalised with the client’s name and favourite quote sealed the deal-I wanted a Louise Carmen notebook from Paris.

I was not new to leather-bound notebooks. I have been a devotee of notebooks and stationery in general since I can remember, hoarding planners, stickers, notebooks and the like and carrying them around like security blankets. But I had never had a notebook like this. Or had I? In hindsight, I had been buying notebooks similar to this for a very long time, albeit not real leather, not personalised, and not marketed as something you can keep forever as it ages alongside you.

For quite a while, other interests and responsibilities had taken the focus away from my stationery fixation, and I had not been investing in the good quality items that I loved, making do with the basics for the most part, alongside a ‘Happy Planner’ or five! I was content enough with that for a time, but eventually, I discovered a love for Hobonichi, my fountain pen love was re-ignited and suddenly, I had a YouTube channel that had evolved from study inspiration from a mature student to planner, stationery and journaling content!

If you are reading this, I am sure you are familiar with the ease at which one can fall down a stationery rabbit hole on social media. You only have to ‘like’ one post from someone showing off their beautiful, lived-in, chonky notebook and suddenly your feed is inundated with similar posts. Well, I think that is how it happened. I saw an advertising post from a company called ‘Creator’s Friend’ from Australia and it reminded me how much I like that leather-bound style of notebook, (their covers are vegan leather though) and boom, I was on leather-bound notebook Instagram! That is when I learned about Paper Republic and purchased one almost immediately.

The speed of the delivery was incredible. Two business days later, (even with me changing my mind on the colour of the leather and sending a desperate email late on a Sunday evening!) I was unboxing the incredible-smelling journal out of the wooden box, and changing the elastics to give me the perfect, personalised aesthetic I wanted. It was simply stunning and I could already tell that the patina would be everything I was hoping it would be. I ordered some charms and added one to the front and got to writing. It felt so romantic, intentional and classic. I was hooked. The more I used it, the more it became a part of my personality. When reflecting on the whole experience, it was everything I wanted and expected-for most part probably because I didn’t know what to expect. The service and communication was exceptional, I was extremely happy with the products and if anything, I felt like Paper Republic under-promised and over-delivered. It felt exactly like what I feel ‘quiet luxury’ should be.

While doomscrolling on TikTok one day, I came across a creator called @theoldpinkhouse who had made her own Louise Carmen-inspired trifold leather journal cover and immediately jumped onto Amazon to purchase what I needed in order to make my own. I chose natural, undyed leather, beige cord and a selection of grommets, and off I went making my very own. I loved it! I made a pocket-size one for myself and the same as a gift for Harrison’s favourite teacher, and they came out perfectly. I was shocked. It was much more affordable than I expected and once you have purchased the tools, it’s even cheaper next time. In fact, I have plenty of grommets and elastic left too so all I would need to repurchase right now is the leather. I even managed to fit my Galen Leather wallet insert into mine and it is the perfect colour match, which was an unexpected win and it mimics the Louise Carmen portfolio perfectly, as well as a Travellers Notebook plastic card insert for photo storage. I absolutely love it and it is the perfect addition to my handbag for notes, thoughts, reminders and collecting ephemera, when I am out and about. I would absolutely recommend making your own if you are even a little bit crafty as a much more affordable and personalised version of the popular brands.

Months later, I was browsing the Eurostar website and realised that the tickets to Paris were very affordable around the time of my next birthday, so I decided I would ask for that as a birthday gift-a day trip to Paris. I wanted to take Harrison to Paris because he had never been, however I mostly wanted to go in person to Louise Carmen and have the experience I had been watching online for over a year now. I had come so close to just ordering one online so many times, but if I could go in person and personalise it in person, surely that would make the cost more worthwhile, right?

So, on the blissfully sunny and warm spring day of 4th March 2025, we made our way to Paris, and stopping off at some of the sights and soaking in the atmosphere, I allowed Paris to remind me why I have always loved visiting and I shared it with my most favourite person in the whole world. It was perfect. Making our way to Les Passages du Grand Cerf, I felt the excitement bubbling in my stomach, growing even louder when I realised there was no queue. The shop was full, having just opened about forty minutes prior, but I was next, so we waited patiently, taking some pictures and chatting excitedly with the American woman behind me who was just as giddy.

Then it was my turn. We entered the tiny, crowded shop and squeezed between the other patrons, placing our heavy bags at our feet. The staff member asked in perfect English if I knew what I was looking for, and the consultation began. It was at that point that I realised that it was not going to be the experience I had expected. It was loud and cramped and Harrison was immediately overwhelmed. I found out that all three of the colours I had in mind were not in stock for the Roadbook, which was an immediate disappointment. I had already put so much thought into what I wanted that I knew I wouldn’t be happy with a different notebook, not that I was told which notebooks were actually available in those colours anyway. I ummed and aaahed about going for a neutral to match my Paper Republic, but in all honesty, I had specifically wanted the two notebooks to be different. I hesitated, realising I would be leaving empty-handed because I just didn’t want to spend almost £300 on a notebook that I didn’t LOVE.

The staff member must have realised she had lost me because she offered to go downstairs to check if the colour I wanted was there-of course I agreed. She came back quickly with two of the blue Roadbook covers, one having a scratch on the back that was very noticeable which I immediately rejected and one with a barely noticeable darker mark on the back that was clearly just a pattern of the leather where the dye had taken slightly more. I was so relieved and agreed to it, continuing on with my consultation. Choosing the ‘gris-gris’ was next and I was again disappointed that many of the designs I had seen online were not available in store because they were sold out. I spent a while looking through them all, but eventually ended up with just one evil-eye charm for the front, deciding that I would collect them as I go instead.

When everything was chosen and written down, I was asked for my phone number so they could WhatsApp me when my order was ready and off we went to the street they recommended to while away some time and rest our sore feet while watching the world go by from a cafe in the dappled sunshine. The street was very close and was very non-touristy so it was perfect. We waited over an hour (which is an incredibly long time when you are only in Paris for the day), before deciding to just go and check in the shop if it was ready because the staff member had told us it would only be about 30 mins. Greeted by a different member of staff, they checked and brought me my completed notebook and off we went to see the rest of the sights of beautiful Paris.

Now, I want to prepare you for the next things I am going to say because I am fully aware that they are ‘First World Problems’ and in the grand scheme of things, completely unimportant. However, while these are not deal-breakers for me, I wish I had read something like this before my purchase, because I probably would have been happier having had lower expectations. I watched so many videos and read so many reviews before I went to Paris and nobody said this and I honestly feel that some of these people are sugar-coating their own experiences in order to justify their purchase, which is absolutely fine, but I would have appreciated more info, so here we are!

I think Louise Carmen is a victim of their own popularity right now. There, I said it. I think the price is fair if they are giving you the service you see online, but that is not what I received. It sounds silly, but I felt rushed, it was definitely too crowded and myself and the other patrons were literally climbing over each other in order to view the gris gris, there were not enough samples, so I had to view some of the items from afar that other people were viewing, my bag was a plain, black bag with no logo, no embossed sticker, nothing. It is clear from my experience that they are struggling to meet the demands of their customers and are running out of items that are what make the experience worth the investment. For me, I got over the bag thing quickly, however, as someone who has run my own small business, I wouldn’t have been happy to send my items out the way my crumpled bag was handed to me. I also think that it is important to do what you say you will do and call or message a customer if that’s what you say you will do. I also think they have to work out their stock issues if they hope to continue growing so quickly, because I was not the only person in the shop struggling to get the notebook I wanted. Lastly, I paid full-price for my notebook despite their identification of a ‘defect’, and while I didn’t mind with the one I chose because I would have said so otherwise, I checked if that would be the same price for the damaged one (curiosity got the better of me) and it was. That’s not ok. It was a clear defect, very noticeable, and frankly, for the price people are paying, they should expect as close to perfect as possible. I don’t mean natural defects from leather like the one I chose-this was a clear scratch in the leather that went almost all the way through.

In conclusion, I just want to say that I love my Louise Carmen journal, it is beautiful and I am so glad I have it, I don’t regret my purchase at all. Would I buy one again? Maybe. Would I go in person? Probably not. Would I buy another Paper Republic Journal? Absolutely. I am currently dreaming up my next purchase and choosing between a standard portfolio and an Atelier product. In fact, to be totally frank, the only product I would 100% purchase again from Louise Carmen is their portfolios. My portfolio is the most beautiful, soft, buttery, stunning addition to my journal. It also fits in my Paper Republic, so that is probably what I would buy it for, however, with the portfolios from Paper Republic, I am actually not sure you need one. Realistically though, I think my next leather journal will be one I make myself. It is the ultimate personalised notebook cover and I love to craft and experiment, so keep your eyes peeled for that! I hope you take this article in the way it was intended. I am in no way denigrating or advertising any company, simply sharing my experiences so that if you are intending to invest (because they are absolutely an investment item) in a leather journal cover or system, you do so knowing that it may not look exactly how you expected the experience to be based on social media.