Daycraft Sneak Peek: Reviews and Giveaways!

Daycraft is the #1 diary and notebook brand in Hong Kong, and now I know why: their books are beautiful, and great quality. They were very generous and sent me eight of their diaries and notebooks to review here on Plannerisms. I will be giving away 3 of them to some very lucky Plannerisms readers!! The blue diary (top left), the pink diary with the blue ornament on the cover, and the strawberry notebook will all be given away to readers. More on that below.

First, a little more about Daycraft: Their logo says, "Daycraft, We make your day." Receiving a box full of these beautiful little books definitely made my day! The catalogue (so generously supplied, full of fantastic photos of their entire product range) says, "Our diaries, notebooks and planners are made to endure for decades as a treasured archive of your thoughts and ideas." Each of these books is special in its own way, and they are definitely meant to be treasured.

Daycraft products are currently available in Hong Kong, China, Korea and Taiwan but at this time they are looking for distributors in the US and Europe. Personally I hope they find distributors for this part of the world very soon, because I fell in love with these little books immediately.

The first thing I noticed was how well-made they are. Everything about them is quality. The paper, the bindings, the covers--all excellent. And, the aesthetics are wonderful. As we all know, I'm a very tactile person, and these little books are so nice to hold and use. Even the best photos don't do these books justice. Holding them in your hands is an experience.

Not only that, but each book has its own personality. These are only a sample of the wide range of styles available from Daycraft. They have sophisticated, they have quirky, they have funky, they have cute. And all of them are very cool.

I will be doing a thorough review of each book in its own separate post complete with interior photos. Below is a quick description of each book (with more details to come in its own review later). Also below I'll point out which of these books will be given away to Plannerisms readers!

The blue diary (below) is from the Executive diary range. It is very classy and sophisticated, and would be great for any busy person who needs to look professional wherever they go but still wants a touch of style. This book measures approx. 6 1/2 inches tall and 3 1/2 inches wide and has a week to view. The Executive range of diaries has a variety of sizes with weekly or daily views. They come in blue (shown here), pink, brown and black. I will do a very thorough review of this diary with lots of photos because it has so many fantastic features. I will be giving this diary away (as I wipe away my tears. It's beautiful.)

The small pink book is a Vogue diary, for the fashionista. The ornament held on the cover by the ribbon adds to the style of this pocket-sized weekly diary. This range also has a variety of sizes and colors with weekly or daily views. This particular book is tiny (approx 4 3/4 inches by 3 1/4), and would fit into any clutch or evening bag so that you can make plans wherever you go and still look fabulous. I will also be giving this book away!

The last book on the bottom right is the Strawberry notebook from the very cute and clever Juicy notebook series. Inside the pages are lined, with a ribbon place marker and also a green felt bookmark. It's very portable at approx. 5 3/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches.

This cute little book has a great feeling, soft cover. I'll be giving this away to a lucky reader!

So here is how the giveaways will work: Unfortunately due to mailing restrictions where I live, I can only send to people in the US, via USPS (which means no P.O. boxes). I'm very sorry to all of you outside-the-US people. I would send to you if I could. When I post the review for each giveaway book, if you want to be entered in the giveaway contest, post a comment. I will give a few days for people to post comments, and then I will choose the winner by random number generation. You can enter only once per book, but you can enter the giveaway for each book if you want.

Below are the books that I won't be giving away, but I will still do separate reviews for each to show the quality and range of style of the other Daycraft books.

The white book is a lined notebook, with the person heading for the exit on the front and on the back in green is printed "Let your creativity escape here." It is part of the cleverly tongue-in-cheek D-sign series of notebooks. At 6 inches tall by 4 1/4 inches wide it is small enough to go everywhere, and has a ribbon page marker. My sister and I are currently fighting over this one! Sorry, this one will not be part of the giveaway, but I will still do a thorough, separate review of it.

The last book in the top row is the Cantoon notebook, a play on words of Cantonese and cartoon. The cover has "a Cantonese mnemonic for learning English" which makes me wish I knew Cantonese!This notebook has a cool, old-school look and is quad-ruled on the inside. It is 7 inches tall by 4 inches wide. Sorry, my sister and I are fighting over this one too, but it will still get its own separate review.

Left side bottom row: the Make My Day diary. I am keeping this one because I absolutely love it and it does, in fact, make my day. The hard cover has black fabric that feels nice to touch.It's a very portable size (6 1/4 inches tall by 5 1/4 inches wide), but the almost-square shape means the weekly spread (with the days as columns) has plenty of room to write. I will do a thorough review of this one, it has tons of great features.

The next book on the bottom is the green Chromatic Days diary (which also comes in several other colors). It has a very nice, soft cover and a week per page. It is very portable at 5 3/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches, and very slim. My sister is getting this one (if she's lucky, because I really want to keep it!) but I will still give it a thorough review. It is an excellent diary with the weekly and also monthly views.

Next on the bottom row is the pink Signature sketchbook. It. Is. Beautiful. The cover is soft to touch and flexible, the pages are cream and blank, the page edges are black, and it has a ribbon page marker. I'm keeping it, because I love it and I absolutely cannot bear to part with it. I will have to think of a noble purpose for this one because it is really special. It is 5 3/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches, so it will fit in any small bag. The Signature line also includes notebooks and diaries in a variety of sizes and colors, weekly or daily format. This is a gorgeous book.

These are just a few of the styles of diaries and notebooks available from Daycraft. Also check out their super-cool Decoder sketchbooks, Laptop notebooks, Feminique notebooks (oh how I want the lavender one!!), and tons of other diaries and notebooks.

More info to come in the reviews! Stay tuned!