As you know, we released the Premium Leather Journals back in April and they've been a big hit. I wanted to elaborate a little more the aging process of the natural raw leather, and show you an actual example of what it looks like.
The vegetable tanned leather has been treated with natural tannins and starts out as a light creme color as seen in the product shots. The more the leather is exposed to direct sunlight the darker it gets, similar to human skin. It will also absorb the oils from your hands and slowly darken with use. So essentially the more journal is used and handled, the better it will look. This relationship between the materials and the owner is what makes the aging process of the raw leather so unique. It's neat to see how the journal evolves and conforms to the user.
Additionally, the leather can be treated with other natural oils like mink oil, which will soften it and speed up the darkening process.
The photos below show a comparison of a new unused journal and the journal I've been using for the past couple months which has been set out in the sun for a while. You can see how the leather on my journal has already evolved to a rich honey brown color and will continue to darken the more I use it. If you already have an Ugmonk journal, feel free to send us photos of how your journal is aging and how you're using it.
My journal after months of use and sunlight (left) / New unused journal (right)
