Jainabah Lumumba Phillips
BOOKBINDER • BOOK ARTIST • FOUNDER OF JOURNEYMADE JOURNALS
Books Made by Hand.
Stories Made to Survive.
Traditional bookbinding, heirloom journals and bookmaking experiences created to preserve the stories we leave behind.
MEET THE BOOKBINDER
Jainabah Lumumba Phillips
Bookbinder, book artist and founder of JourneyMade Journals.
Since 2016, Jainabah has developed a bookbinding practice rooted in traditional craftsmanship, material beauty and the preservation of personal history.
Not Handmade. JourneyMade.
Every JourneyMade book passes through human hands from folded sheet to finished binding. Built slowly, intentionally and with materials chosen to age beautifully, these are books designed not simply to be used, but kept.
THE BINDERY
Explore fine bindings, commissioned work and the craft behind each book.
THE BOOK BAR
A hands-on bookmaking experience bringing the bindery to markets, gatherings and private events.
JOURNEYMADE JOURNALS
Limited collections of hand-bound journals made for writing, reflection and memory.
From the Bindery.
Available bindings by Jainabah Lumumba Phillips.Made to collect miles, memories, and a little character along the way.
The Leather Traveler is our take-anywhere journal: a supple leather cover designed to grow more beautiful as it travels with you.
Unlike our traditional case-bound journals, its flexible construction makes it comfortable to carry in a tote, briefcase, or travel bag. The leather develops its own patina over time, recording the marks of everywhere you've taken it.
Use it for travel notes, sketches, field observations, daily writing, or as the one journal that follows you everywhere.
The everyday journal, dressed properly.
Our Clothbound Journal takes the familiar flatback notebook and gives it the permanence of a traditionally bound book.
Each one is covered by hand in carefully selected bookcloth or fabric, creating a warm, tactile surface that becomes even more personal with use. Built for writers, thinkers, planners, and collectors who want their everyday notebook to feel like something worth keeping.
Inside you'll find quality writing paper sewn and bound by hand in our Florida bindery.
A handmade journal for the everyday ritual.
Simple, handsome, and made entirely by hand, our Paper Flatback Journal is designed for the pages you actually intend to fill.
Each journal is constructed using traditional bookbinding techniques with a decorative paper covering, carefully selected to give each edition its own personality. Inside, smooth writing paper provides plenty of room for morning pages, notes, sketches, lists, and whatever else deserves to be put on paper.
Made in small batches in our Florida bindery.
Explore Fine Binding
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PULL UP A SEAT AT THE BOOK BAR
Part pop-up bindery, part creative experience. The Book Bar invites guests to choose, personalize and experience handmade books in a completely different way.
Crafted with study.
Made with purpose.
Guild of Book Workers Scholarship Recipient, 2023
Paper & Book Intensive Scholarship Recipient, 2024
Practicing bookbinder since 2016
FROM THE JOURNAL
FROM THE JOURNAL
If my writings taught you something, inspired your own practice, or simply made you appreciate the handmade book a little more, you can support my continued study and work in the bindery.
Letters from the Bindery
New work, studio notes, upcoming Book Bar dates and occasional lessons from behind the bench.
JAINABAH LUMUMBA PHILLIPS
BOOKBINDER & BOOK ARTIST
JourneyMade Journals
Lakeland, Florida
© 2026 JourneyMade Journals LLC
