Pages and Ink, a local, handmade brand owned by Madison Evans, hosted a Travel Journal Workshop in Demure Coffee on March 14.
The event was a tight knit, crafty take on the famous Parisian brand, Louise Carmen, that specializes in fillable leather notebooks that you can personalize. This experience can cost you upwards of $200 on one journal, depending on the size.
“I wanted to do a more budget friendly [take],” Evans said, “[even though] it is still nice … this is genuine buffalo leather.”
There was a vast array of notebooks, charms, buttons and pens that the attendees were meant to choose from.
Charms ranging from letters, animals, flowers and various other symbols were there to choose from, allowing everyone to select the ones that were perfectly crafted to the vibe of a journal that they were going for.
Attendee Angelina Osburn said, “I think I’m going for a devotional sort of thing … I’m really happy about it.”
With four women attending, the vibe of the evening was very close and friendly, with everyone sipping on Demure Coffee drinks with pop songs like Olivia Dean’s “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” playing softly from the speakers.
Evans said, “it means a lot [to hold events like this] for community sake … once you’re out of college, it’s hard to connect.”
She went on to highlight the importance of the events that she hosts, and how it’s better to have an activity to do while making new connections.
“[Doing a craft], you have an icebreaker … something tangible in your hands that you can talk about, and you also gain friendships you can take away,” she said.
The crafting began with the process of puncturing holes in the leather, giving it a place to hold the string that keeps the journal together.
Evans was the demonstrator, showing all the other women the correct way to get the best placement.
Owner of Demure Coffee, Christa Clifford, was in attendance as well.
Clifford emphasized how much it means that Evans hosts her events at Demure, saying, “I think it’s a blessing that people feel comfortable enough to share the love of their craft and want to do it in our shop.”
All the women stood around, either picking out their charms or lacing the string through their notebooks, while chatting closely with each other.
This event was a great opportunity to do a more unknown craft, something you wouldn’t do every day.
Osburn said, “I like exploring the options of crafts. It’s good to be able to jump out of my comfort zone and learn something new.”
Clifford also touched on past events that Evans has hosted at Demure. She has held many, such as a scrapbook cover event and a sewing event.
She said, “[In these events], anybody can show up and you would fit right in. [There are] different backgrounds and situations … people are living in, but people can all come together and just enjoy.”
Evans’ business, Pages and Ink, is soon to become Arkansas’s first romance bookstore right in downtown Conway, hopefully to be opened in April.