Paperblanks Stories

Learn the stories behind our designs and get all the latest updates from Paperblanks.

As 2022 draws to a close, we are delighted to have had such a memorable 30th Anniversary Year! And as we look to a brand new year at Paperblanks, we’ve rounded up a few top moments from our #Paperblanks30...
Our Enigma design is inspired by a cover said to have been designed by Le Gascon, a legendary but unidentified 17th-century bookbinder. Originally released as a red and gold hardcover journal under the name Mystique, this black Enigma version...
Gaze into the cosmos with this astral-inspired pattern. Like an exploding supernova, the gold tooling and embellishments burst off the surface of our Midnight Star design. A brilliant 16th-century Cairo workshop is responsible for this 12-pointed star design. Though...
The art of still life painting is a celebrated part of Dutch culture, but this time-honoured artistic style didn’t emerge fully formed. Before these artists came to be so celebrated, there were illustrators who delicately illuminated handwritten manuscripts to...
Over the last 30 years, our Embellished Manuscripts Collection in particular has revealed the beautiful evolution of our journals. One of our first Paperblanks series featured the handwritten manuscripts of American writers Emily Dickinson, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude...
Ashta is the latest design in our Sacred Tibetan Textile series. Artistic, religious and cultural traditions unite in the handwoven fabric depicted on our new softcover Flexi notebook. For centuries, Muslim families in Varanasi, India, have practiced the art of...
Gibran Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese American writer, poet and artist. Though many consider him a philosopher, Gibran himself rejected that label. He is most widely recognized as the author...
This intricate and delicate foliage pattern seen on our Wildwood journal evokes a walk in a sun-dappled woodland. The original work was crafted for a 17th-century binding of the Passion Series, created in 1521 by the great Renaissance engraver...
This is a very special year for us here at Paperblanks. 2022 marks our 30th anniversary, which means we've been inspiring creativity, empowering individuality and celebrating special moments for three decades! And what a perfect opportunity it is to look...
Harmonious flowers, balanced colours and highly precise details create the eye-catching, high-impact effect of this Japanese kimono design. Originally designed as a costume for the theatrical style known as Noh, our Kara-ori pattern leaves little doubt why Noh is derived...