How Was Bassy & Co Born?

Planners, paper, pens, stationary, and notebooks have always been an obsession of mine. From the time I was a little girl, I have always been drawn to the section of the store with school supplies. I even went so far as to buy a receipt book when I was very little because I loved the smell and feel of it. As I grew up my “likes” matured and I began to try and figure out what it was about these things that I was so enamored with. I also tried to figure out which items worked best for me in my private and work life. Planners became my main passion and other items like stationary fell to the wayside.

Over the years I tried various planners, notebooks, pads of paper, you name it. Nothing ever really seemed to fit my needs in the right way. Some things worked for a short period of time or I tweaked a notebook or planner quite a bit to adapt it to what I wanted or needed to use it for. But… nothing really fit quite right.

A couple of years ago Roy and I decided to take our children on a journey across the country in our family minivan. My children were all teenagers at the time and I got the bright idea to make this trip epic. Up until this point in our lives, we had travelled the North American continent quite a bit and as a family we had been keeping a book of post cards and stamps from every place, monument, or attraction we had visited. Now, I realized was the time for them to begin their own books with memories from their travels and this was the perfect trip to begin that endeavor.

My brain was in knots trying to figure out what would be best for them to use for their travel journal. At some point I had heard about something called the traveler’s notebook. I decided to give it a look-see and boy was that beginning of a crazy, life-changing adventure. I never knew such a fabulous thing existed! With the journey into TNs came my introduction to bullet journaling and that was even more fantastic! Not only did I find the exact thing I wanted to gift to my children for our trip, but I also finally found a system that would work for me in my everyday planning and notetaking life.

While we were on our trip I experimented with ideas on how to best use my new traveler’s notebook (you know I had to have one too for the trip!!!). I think I watched every video on YouTube about bullet journaling and traveler’s notebooks I could find as we ticked off the miles driving across the good old USA, an addiction was born.

After months, I began to make my own notebook covers. Roy and I bought leather from a not so local supplier and we were off. Every time we made a cover we thought of ways to improve our design and building methods. People started asking how they could buy one from us and shazam! We were in business. We truly love and enjoy making them and there isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t see a few that still make us stop and wish we could have it for our personal collection.

My children loved their notebooks by the way. We gave each one a notebook that seemed best for him or her and a brand new “grown up” suitcase to begin their life travels with…”Oh! The places you will go!"