Galen Leather, a Unique Collaboration with a One of a Kind Company

I’ve been so lucky this month to be approached by Galen Leather to do a product review for them. I was excited to receive my new journal cover and notebook, and they even added in a few treats as well. Customer service is very important in any situation where an order is being placed online, however the presentation of items also needs to be taken into account. When products are being posted from another country they need to be packaged in a way that minimises damage and ensures that the items arrive in tip top condition. These needs were definitely met with my order, and I was astounded by the level of detail and the lengths to which Galen Leather made my order personal and gracious.

When I opened up the package I did not just find the journal cover beautifully boxed and bound, but I had the notebook which was sealed and brand new. As well as a fabric pencil case filled with postcards, journal stickers, a tea bag and a refreshing lemon towel, and finally a stunning leather pen holder too. I was not expecting these little extras and the gesture of that is huge. Attention to detail is important but going the extra mile, knowing your customer would be using this notebook as a journal and taking the time to choose out and send her some stickers, is high up on my appreciation scale. I would give 5 for the delivery, customer service and the packaging.

Opening the items up properly for the first time and inspecting them thoroughly, I found their uniqueness and quality was excellent. I would go so far as to say it’s some of the best leather goods I have ever had the pleasure of owning. You can tell they are handmade and homemade, but the intricacy of the stitching and the beauty of the craftsmanship are wonderful. I was astounded by the quality of the packaging as well, due to the presentation of the box with its ink stamped exterior and every item being leather stamped as well. I would give 5 for the presentation and the quality of everything I received.

When I am reviewing a product I always take several days to use the item, to test it out, to photograph it and use it as I would do if I had purchased it for myself. I was lucky that Galen Leather asked me what sort of a product I wanted to test, and I told them I would love a journal cover.

Journaling has been a creative outlet that I have only dabbled in for the last few years, but I find I am calmer in my mind when expressing myself in an artistic way, I much prefer to use words and stickers rather than painting or drawing. I use my journal for positive thoughts, memories of good things that happen, and expressing my love and joy for things and people around me. When using the Galen Leather cover and journal notebook I found the items were helping to enhance my joy. I would give the quality and the functionality of the pieces from Galen Leather 5✩. I also think it’s nice to be able to personalise your piece with ease, I have used clips and a paper flower on mine.

Finally I would like to mention the choice and the design features. There was an immense amount of choice online, and I would urge anyone who is looking to start a journaling journey to look into the Galen Leather product range. Some items are of a natural leather look and others are dyed using natural materials to give them a different colour. Either way whatever you’re looking for they have something for everyone, notebook covers, journal covers, pen holders, pencil cases, tablet holders, bags, planner covers, pouches and even phone cases. Personalisation with stamped leather attachments and even brass ones can further increase the uniqueness of your chosen piece. Handmade with care by a family run business who strive for sending out quality leather goods across the world. I would give their choices and design features 5✩.

For the purpose of this product review I was gifted the Everyday Blank A5 Notebook with Tomoe River paper, it has 400 pages. And the Leather Slim A5 Notebook/Planner Cover – Crazy Horse Ochre Honey.

Did you know that Galen Leather uses traditional leather techniques and hand stitching on their items, as well as vegetable tanning to alter the colour of the leather? Fascinating!

The Galen Leather Co Story

Galen Leather Company was established in 2012, it is a family run business, based in Istanbul in Turkey. Founded by Fikret Zeynep and named after her favourite precious stone. Their motto reads “Established to supply all nations”.

Galen Leather was established after Zeynep was diagnosed with a rare form of neck and head cancer which meant she couldn’t speak for a year following her treatment. Unable to do her previous line of work she needed something she could do at home where the correspondence would all be done via email and the internet. This is when she began looking at local sources for leather items. As a small business on the rise she soon realised the demand for such unique handmade products and wondered about making them all with her own two hands to create a unique brand.

When her brother Yusuf graduated he decided to come along on the business venture and after several months business was flourishing for the two of them. During 2013 they both learnt how to do different kinds of leather crafting and have handmade all of their goods ever since. The company has been shipping out globally since 2015 and providing high quality leather and wooden products to customers all over the world.

Sadly Zeynep passed away in July 2019, leaving the business and the legacy of Galen Leather behind for her brother Yusuf, husband Yunus and son Cagan to keep running. The family have continued in her absence and the business has grown from strength to strength in recent years.

With thousands of followers across social media and their handmade products selling out very quickly, Galen Leather is a family business who should be very pleased with the beautiful products they create for people across all nations of Earth. They are a family devoted to one another and the memory of Zeynep who I’m sure would be proud of everything they have achieved since her passing. When a business is founded on love it shows, and Galen Leather put their heart and soul into every single item that they craft and sell. Their passion for wood, stationery and leather goods has created a thriving business which is run on their love for their craft. The team have joy in what they do and I think that’s obvious when looking at the beautiful craftsmanship of each piece.

Overall I would give the products I have received and the service 5.

Customer Service 5
Delivery 5
Packaging 5
Presentation 5
Functionality 5
Design 5
Quality 5
Choice 5

If you would like to visit the Galen Leather website I will leave the links below. Please note that stock is always being replenished and items have a turn around time of 1-2 weeks due to them being made by hand. The quality and uniqueness is worth the wait I promise you. Get inspired below.

Slim Notebook Leather Cover in Ochre Honey LINK
All Galen Leather Slim Covers LINK
Galen Leather Website Main Page LINK
Galen Leather Notebooks LINK

Thank you for reading this product review today, hopefully you’ve enjoyed hearing about these wonderful products. Don’t forget to check out the Galen Leather website now that you’ve finished reading.

I would like to thank Galen Leather once again for choosing me to collaborate with. I have loved every minute using and testing the products. They will be used for the foreseeable future too, so watch out for them on my social media pages as I share some journal entries.

You can follow me on Social Media by searching for #SevernWishesBlog or #SevernSabrina
Alternatively click here to follow me on Facebook / Instagram / YouTube

Wishing you a day filled with positivity and joy, I hope I see you again soon!

Sabrina

If you are looking for the ideal Stationery Gift this Season then why not check out the Gift Company Journal Sets

Hello and Welcome to another of my Product Review Collaborations! This month I am ecstatic to be working with Gift Company again, as I review their wonderful Journal Stationery Gift Sets.

I am thrilled to be bringing you this collaboration with Gift Company this November, I have been asked to review some of their incredible value Gift Sets! Each set of products has been sent to me in order for me to complete this honest testing and review. I wanted something versatile and unisex and this was what we decided upon.

On the Gift Company website there are four sets to choose from, they include a Robin, Cat, pair of Giraffes and a Bee. I chose the three sets that contained exactly the same items so that I could compare their design and quality. Overall I have been very impressed with them, so let’s take a look at what’s inside each of the decorative display boxes for this stationery set.

Here are some of my photographs to show the quality of the stationery up close.

The gift set is very well presented inside the box which is also decorated front and back with the design that you chose.

Each of the Journal Gift Sets contains:
1 x Journal (with blank date headers to fill in as you please)
A Selection of Cards and Envelopes both personalised with set picture

1 x Shopping List Notepad with a Magnetic Back
1 x Notebook on a Ring Bound Coil
1 x Decorative Bookmark with black tassel
1 x Black Ballpoint Pen


Cat Journal Gift Set LINK
Robin Journal Gift Set LINK
Giraffe Journal Gift Set LINK

Shopping List and Pen
Notebook

My Honest Opinion

Overall these Gift Sets are of extremely high quality, the way the set is designed means that you receive the decorative box as well as the six individual items inside it. A set has every product made to a high standard, be it the manufacturing and final finish of the product, as well as the paper within them, it’s a decent thickness of all the paper products. The image that you decide upon for your set is bright throughout the products and the font on the quotes is easy to read and is clearly defined.

You could choose to gift the set as is, or you could split the set up and divide it into smaller gifts, you can give the journal and pen to one person for example. While offering the cards and envelopes to another loved one. Perhaps you have a family member who always does the food shopping, this list would be perfect for them. Is there an avid reader in your family as well, because this decorative bookmark would be a great addition in their Christmas box.


Considering you get six high quality items and a decorative box for only £10, I think it is definitely great value for your money. If you are on a budget this year, I would consider purchasing two gift sets and dividing the items between four or more different people. You could even buy a gift set and a pack of pens and give every item to a loved one, along with a pen.

You wouldn’t have to gift this set for Christmas though, it’s a perfectly acceptable gift for a variety of occasions such as a Birthday or an Anniversary too.
Do you know someone who is going off to University? Or somebody who recently started a new job? A gift like this might be both useful and very well received by people who will need to use stationery items such as these.

I personally love being organised and using stationery definitely helps me to do just that. If you know of someone in your life that does the same thing, then this gift would be perfect for them. And finally as a parent, you can never have enough notebooks and a journal to keep your year ahead organised.

Cards and Envelopes
Shopping List

My Review Scores

Functionality 5✩

Product Design 5✩
Versatility 5✩
Product Quality
 5✩
Value for Money 5✩
Universal 5✩

Journal Cover
Journal Inside
Bookmark

Thank you to Gift Company for the chance to do this review, it’s great to be working with you again.

For anyone who isn’t aware of Gift Company, they are a long standing British based company with shops across the country, as well as their website which houses a wide range of Gifts and Furniture too.

If you would like to know more you can find Gift Company at the following links and on social media.

Gift Company Website
Gift Company Facebook
Gift Company Instagram


You can also watch my Review Video as I show the products off, and that can be
viewed on my Instagram channel by clicking the image below.

Thank you for visiting Severn Wishes Blog today and reading my collaboration review.

Have a wonderful final few days of November 2022!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Owl and Brolly Wall Stickers Let Imagination Run Free with their Incredible Quality, Unique Style and Beautiful Watercolour Designs

Owl and Brolly Stickers are Unique, Colourful and Imaginative

Hello Severn Wishes followers. Today I have the pleasure of bringing a special review to you all. Owl and Brolly is a company who specialise in Wall Stickers, mainly for children’s bedrooms and play rooms. I have known Sue at Owl and Brolly for several years now, we bonded through an Endometriosis group and found we had mutual things in common. When I found out she was an incredible artist and saw her beautiful work, I wanted to shout about her talent.


Sue knew that I had just moved house into a rental property, and I couldn’t take the chance of ruining the paintwork in my son’s bedroom. So the plan was to do some tester stickers, an hour, twenty four hours and finally seven days. And luckily for me there was nothing wrong with the paint and I tried the stickers on several walls just to make certain. I can guarantee that it is a good idea to do the Tester Sticker when you may not know the condition of the walls in your home.

Delightful Christmas Bear

This lovely Bear is for my son’s bedroom, he hasn’t given him a name just yet, ha, ha! But the quality of this sticker just amazed me. Not just the printing of the sticker itself but the design. Owl and Brolly stickers are all drawn and designed by hand. What a talented woman behind such a wonderful creative business.

What I love about the Owl and Brolly range is the creativity and the infinite imagination that stems from items like these stickers. Any child would be lucky to have some of them on their walls.

Here are some examples of the beautiful Wall Stickers Owl and Brolly currently offers. I will be providing links to social media and the website itself at the end of this article. Check out these incredible works of art!

I will now give you some background about the company and how it all came about. As a small British Business they are always looking for support from fellow UK citizens who appreciate all the talented people in this country, and especially now during the pandemic, it’s a great idea to think about purchasing locally for Christmas this year. Perhaps my blog post will inspire you to buy from Owl and Brolly.

Sue studied a HND in Natural History Illustration specialising in watercolour, she enjoyed a creative career until Endometriosis forced her to change her way of working. In order to move with the times she made the decision to become more of a digital based artist than making art with traditional paintings. Her drawings are incredibly detailed and she has a unique style.

It was after helping a start-up company with their designing that Sue went on to illustrate her own range of wall stickers for nursery walls and kids rooms. She began combining her own special watercolour techniques and using some digital media to create the sticker designs. It was a decision that brought out her artistic skills and she is doing what she loves every single day. It was at this time that she started her company, and Owl and Brolly was born.

The stickers are all printed on a high quality removable and reusable fabric wall sticker, rather than a single use PVC vinyl. This allows them to be used more than once and are easily removed (gently) and then repositioned. Sue has a passion for wanting to create illustrations that will help to inspire children’s imaginations. Her beautiful watercolour designs are not only highly detailed but they look unique. They are printed to such a high quality that they look good on any wall space and have already made so many children (and their parents) happy with the designs.

The Stickers are thin but excellent quality, printed onto removable and reusable fabric.


Please visit Sue over on Owl and Brolly to see all of the wonderful things that she has to offer. There are so many beautiful stickers on the website I couldn’t possibly show you all of them on here. You’ll have to pop over to the page or website and become even more inspired.

I highly recommend the customer service, the quality of the items and the overall finish of the products available. Sue will also work on special designs if you have something in mind, just send her a message on her social media and see if her commission’s books are currently open. She is working hard every day to accommodate people’s orders despite the pandemic and she is a very talented woman who deserves so much success.

You can find Owl and Brolly across these links below:

Owl and Brolly WEBSITE
Owl and Brolly FACEBOOK
Owl and Brolly INSTAGRAM


Thank you again to Sue for giving me the opportunity to review her wonderful products, I have thoroughly enjoyed this collaboration.

And thank you for visiting Severn Wishes today, I hope you have enjoyed this product review, thanks for reading.


✩ Sabrina ✩

Reviewing Abelini Jewellery for the #MyAbelini Campaign

Today I have the pleasure to bring you a collaboration with *Abelini Jewellery. Their new campaign #MyAbelini has been created to help customers to find their ideal piece of jewellery. Whether you like Gold, Platinum, White Gold or Rose Gold Jewellery, Abelini have something for everyone, to suit all styles and tastes.

A Sparkling Collaboration

I have been approached by the incredible London based brand Abelini, to be a part of their new campaign #MyAbelini and I’m so excited about it. This collaboration saw me browse their unique collection and choose a piece of jewellery that I felt fitted my personality. The #MyAbelini campaign wants people to choose their unique piece to suit their individual style. It’s a celebration of diamond jewellery and a persons unique tastes. Abelini want people to “Wear It! Click It! Share It!” And show off their #MyAbelini Jewellery choices.

Abelini are based in the Capital City of London situated in Hatton Garden area, where they specialise in exquisite designs of jewellery. Including Rings, Pendants and Earrings, as well as Bracelets. If you would like to discuss about a bespoke piece they can accommodate a design that is unique to you and create it for you. Abelini pride themselves on turning Jewellery Dreams into Jewellery Realities.

You can also make appointments to go in store and pick your own Diamond, for example for an engagement ring. The types and styles available at Abelini can be seen in the images below.

I personally like Silver, White Gold or Rose Gold Jewellery, so I knew that was how I would narrow down my decision. My second parameter was that I would prefer a Necklace or Pendant, mostly because I have multiple piercings on my ears and cannot currently wear any dangling ones because my young son would pull at them.

I found the Pendant I liked part way down the page and I instantly loved the shape of it. As my eyes traced the design I knew it would be perfect for me and for doing this review. The necklace has a circular design that adds elegance to whatever I decide to wear it with.

When choosing Jewellery for myself I often go for a Silver shade because of my skin tone. I also like Rose Gold but find that the metal is harder to match clothing with. So much can compliment silvers.

I find that choosing quality jewellery means you’re making an investment, rather than needing to replace cheap items whose metal goes bad due to wear. Jewellery isn’t meant to stay hidden away in a box forever, it is meant to be worn and enjoyed.

About The Piece I Chose

The necklace I chose is called a Round Diamond Solitaire Pendant. It features a beautiful multifaceted stone that sits perfectly inside the spherical design. From any angle it looks beautiful, catching the light and sparkling. It is a nice size so it looks delicate when worn and compliments many styles of outfit because of its shape.

Each piece of jewellery comes inside an Abelini box so you can keep it safe when it isn’t being worn.

The quality of the piece I have is excellent and I cannot believe how sparkly it is. I love how the diamond is set inside a thick circular rim of the pendant and the chain is also beautiful with delicate tiny ovals. It looks delicate yet sturdy, it’s made with quality metal and finished with such shine it reflects like a mirror.

As you can see in the images below the pendant is both delicate and a size that makes it stand out. On a sunny day it sparkles with beauty and the silver compliments many coloured clothes. The size of this necklace is perfect for me, I feel like I chose well.

#MyAbelini

In order to make my review a sparkling success I wanted to take my time and photograph the necklace from many angles. Something this pretty deserved to be accompanied by a range of things that showed it off. Because the Pendant is round it was easy to photograph.

The Pendant arrived inside its own branded box.

Here are some more of my images that I have purposefully created to show this necklace in it’s best light.

Sparkling in the afternoon light…

Abelini Jewellery Links

Abelini Jewellery Website
Abelini Jewellery Instagram
Abelini Jewellery Twitter
Abelini Jewellery Facebook
Abelini Jewellery Link To The Pendant I Have Reviewed

Thank you for stopping by Severn Wishes for this Collaboration Review today, I hope you have enjoyed it. And remember if you want to see more of the Abelini Jewellery please click on the links I have provided in the paragraph above.

You can see more of Abelini across social media where they often hold giveaways too! So what are you waiting for! Click on one of the links and find your perfect #MyAbelini piece.

I would love to know what you would pick if you had the chance, Necklace? Ring? Why not leave me a comment below.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Abelini Pendant with Gypsophila

Disclaimer: this piece of jewellery has been gifted to me for this collaboration with *Abelini. Any items that I am sent for the purpose of a collaborative review are written about honestly and all the opinions and photography are my own.

Abelini