The Tea House Diary. A notebook to inspire creativity.

Nothing spurs creativity on my day as the beauty of a well-designed notebook. Feeling the right paper stock and haptic. Hearing the sound of the right balance of structure and volume. Illustrated in just the right dose to be inspiring. I record my best thoughts in notebooks selected for their beauty, as well as functionality. Creativity deserves beautiful pages for those quiet moments with oneself. The “Tea House Diary” notebook is the answer to the question I get asked most frequently. Just where does all my creativity come from?

Filled with creative wisdom and beauty

The notebook’s discreet, warm grey, minimalist softcover belies the richness of content within. Inside are 75 blank sheets for your personal notes, and also a small collection of daily habits. These are the daily habits I maintain to keep my creativity thriving. To these simple habits I have added some prompt questions. The latter are meant to help you reflect on, or improve your own creativity.

The content is discreetly placed on the back of the four painting reproductions selected out of the “From Home” collection. You can choose to use it as a regular journal with some beautiful inspiring imagery for the season, or as a mini personal change guide. It is entirely up to you.

A handmade journal

This diary is an open edition. It will print on-demand in small volume batches by design. Each copy of the diary is hand-bound using traditional Japanese book binding technique. Folded or hand-cut paper plus a carefully knotted, deep-red thread make up the full structure.
The 75 non-lined pages for your daily reflections are in natural white 90gsm paper. The painting reproductions inside are digitally printed on 120gsm paper stock. This is the same pleasant haptic paper of “One Moment, One Drawing”, now in a lighter weight. This weight was selected for the higher flexibility required from daily usage, without compromising on the images’ beauty.

Another inspiring detail from Japanese culture

Why is it titled “Tea House Diary”? In this notebook I will walk you through the core elements of a Japanese tea house. Elaborate on how they provide the perfect metaphor and starting point for sustained creativity habits. As was the case with “One Moment, One Drawing” you can expect to find another concise glimpse into an inspiring detail of traditional Japanese culture. Because, from where I stand, creativity is a well-maintained tea house.

On great collaborations

This edition is another object of beauty in my collection thanks to the dedication and craftsmanship of Namban (Portugal). They were once more responsible for the design, printing and binding. 

I look forward to sharing my tea house with you.

All rights reserved. “Tea House Diary”™, “茶室記“™, “One Moment, One Drawing. Twelve ink drawings to chase the seasons”™, “一期一絵、水墨画で描く十二節気“™ are the intellectual property of its author Mafalda Tenente, 2018-23.