Monday, February 18, 2019

Owl & Hedgie Etsy Shop Now Open!

Hello friends!
Today I am thrilled to invite you to a brand new Etsy store!

OwlandHedgie is run by two very enterprising teenagers Emily (my daughter!!) and her friend Sophie. They are selling handmade traveler's notebooks.

You might have seen traveler's notebooks in craft stores (like Michaels) and on amazon. Originally created by the company Midori which was later known as The Traveler's Company, these notebooks stand out in their simplicity and versatility of use. They are a little bigger than a passport and are essentially a cover enclosing a variety of inserts which can be switched in and out to suit your needs. The inserts are held in place by a simple elastic spine,

and the entire notebook is fastened shut over its contents with an elastic loop.

You can read about their origin here.

Emily and Sophie fell in love the with the concept and began making these notebooks for themselves and as gifts for friends about a year ago. The girls have used them for taking lesson notes in school, sermon notes in church, making lists, scrapbooking, travel journaling, scheduling, and more.

They found them so enjoyable to use that they decided to start selling them. They experimented with different materials for the covers and creating different inserts. 

The covers are made of vinyl and lined with fabric.

These covers come with or without a pen-holder loop.

Because there are many ways to customize your notebook, I'm going to give you a quick tour.

The basic notebook costs $20 and includes a cover and two base inserts. 

These base inserts have kraft paper covers and plain sheets.

Additional plain-sheet inserts with colorful covers are also available to purchase. These come in pairs and cost $7.

You can also buy a calendar planner as a printable for $2. 

The girls have made a video tutorial here on how to put that together. 

It looks super fun even for a teen or tween to assemble on their own. 

I'm so proud of the girls. Getting an Etsy store off the ground is no small feat, and took more time than they initially imagined, especially while balancing school work and other life stuff. It's been exciting watching them pool resources, brainstorm ideas, and figure out marketing, advertising, branding and so many other aspects of selling something handmade. And then there's the making itself - everything from drafting to sewing, from fabrics and interfacing to papercraft and hand lettering. Even photography and photoediting (there were days when I couldn't find our camera because Emily was using it in some obscure corner of the house!) I applaud them for taking this leap and allowing themselves such a rich learning experience.

And now, let me invite you to visit OwlandHedgie on Etsy - I hope you'll find something there that you'll love. Thank you for supporting Emily and Sophie!


  1. How enterprising of them! That's very impressive.

  2. Congratulations to the young women.

  3. Looks like you girls have been working hard! Your notebooks are lovely. I wish you all the best with your new shop! 💕

  4. Wow, they are both very talented! Also, this is perfect timing because my Emma turns 13 on Friday and is planning to open an Etsy shop. She was very impressed by their hand lettering skills!

    1. Hi MaryAnne: happy birthday to Emma! I feel like you and I have watched each other's kids grow up in blogland. All the best to Emma and her Etsy shop! Send us the link (or blog about it and I'll read about it in my feed) so we can come visit.

  5. Looks wonderful! Any interest in expanding to a sewing pattern and selling supply kits, too? Congratulations to the girls!

    1. J: I will ask the girls. That's such a good idea!

    2. I'd love that! And would buy it for sure

