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A little more than a year ago, I got my first Midori Diary (MD) Goat Leather Notebook Cover I originally wrote about this in this blog post where you can see what it looked like right out of the box and a few weeks after. This is an update so you can see what it looks like now. I have traveled with this to Japan and various domestic destinations. I also use this as my everyday journal. I write my morning pages in it.
I suppose I am impatient and it was slowly aging but I knew it could be better. I then remembered a trick I learned in Greece 11 years ago! You can use baby oil or mineral oil (yes that same stuff you oil your cutting board with) to tan raw leather. I said a quick prayer and set to work. Here is what happened:
Comparison of right out of the box, a few months of sitting by the window and after being oiled.
This is what it looked like inside after a year.
Here it is now on top, compared to one out of the box, a display on in the shop.
It has weathered well and I used it daily. I am very glad I treated it.
I am in love all over again with this notebook and of course the exquisite paper inside. Since these super soft natural leather covers come in several sizes: A6, A5, etc. I am going to try the B6slim one next and try the blank and grid options of the matching MD Paper notebook line.
Midori suggests to leave it by a sunny window which I did and I did not baby it while I used it. I do think that is a fun thing to try, but I also love the way the leather absorbed the oil and how it feels now. Tell us what you try and how it worked for you!
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Devon
February 10, 2020
I’ve been waiting weeks with my GOATbook in a sunny window. It’s sill pretty light and pinky. I’d like it to darken up and am tired of waiting to use this beautiful thing. I’m going to try out baby oil as you did and see what happens. Seems like it might provide a little more protection as well. Thanks for bravely taking the first step!