Review: Kiki James Leather Jotter

I forget how I first heard about Kiki James, a British company that makes high-end leather goods. They were kind enough to offer me a sample of their pocket jotters, and though it is very different from the kind of notebooks I usually review, I was excited to take a look!
The first thing I have to comment on is the elegant packaging. My jotter arrived in a lovely gift box, and was carefully wrapped in tissue within.

KikiJames1

KikiJames2

Once you open the package, you immediately notice the smell of fine leather. When you pick up the jotter, you’ll enjoy the feel of it too– the leather is smooth and substantial, with a nice weight and buttery texture. It’s such a thrill to fondle gorgeous leather like this after using non-leather or fake-leather covered notebooks all the time– if I could get a regular Moleskine, Piccadilly or HandBook notebook with this leather on the cover, I’d probably go nuts and buy a hundred of them. (They do also make some leather journals, but only in larger sizes.) According to the Kiki James website, their leather is sourced from small tanneries in England.

KikiJames4

KikiJames5

KikiJames10

The stitching is tight and even– you can just tell the whole thing was crafted with attention to detail. Even the top of the notepad within is covered with a strip of leather– other similar jotters would probably just leave the tape and staples showing.

KikiJames7

But despite my overall admiration for the quality, I did notice that one corner of my jotter had a slight gap where the leather didn’t meet properly and you can see a speck of the cardboard underneath. It’s a very tiny flaw, and if I darkened the spot with a black marker you’d never notice it, but still, it’s not as perfect as it should be.

KikiJames9

The note paper itself is nothing special, nor is the pen included with it, which is an unremarkable blue ballpoint. I would prefer that they’d paid more attention to the actual experience of writing in this jotter, not just the external feel and appearance. I thought you might be able to replace the 2 11/16 x 4 1/4″ pad inside with a small Rhodia pad, but their #10 seems a bit too small and the #11 is a bit too big.

KikiJames6

The outside measurements of the jotter are approximately 3 1/2″ wide by 4 7/8″ high by 5/8″ thick so it’s definitely pocketable though it would be more comfortable in a jacket pocket than in the back pocket of jeans, unless you wear your pants a lot baggier than I do!

Bottom line: this would make a very nice gift for the person who has everything, as long as they’re not too much of a paper/pen snob! At £25, it’s not a cheap gift, but you do get a high-quality product. You can order online at the Kiki James website, though I did notice that the Bloomsbury Pocket Jotter they are currently offering looks like it may have a different leather texture. (My sample was sent almost a year ago, so it may not be their current model.)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.