Making a handmade journal out of recycled or repurposed paper ephemera, old letters, book pages, invoices, photographs and everyday junk mail bound together into a personal book. The finished journal can stand as an artistic object in its own right or serve as an ordinary daily or weekly writing journal; hobbyists value the practice for its low cost, since it reuses materials that would otherwise be discarded, and for the relaxing, unstructured nature of the making process itself, which has driven a fast-growing community on social platforms.
Facts
OriginModern junk journaling developed as a subgenre of scrapbooking and collage, with roots in 1940s wartime material scarcity and a modern touchstone in Keri Smith's 2007 book Wreck This Journal, which encouraged users to fill and deface its pages. 1 Partially Attested
Established When (Circa)Source gives historical roots across two eras, 1940s wartime material scarcity and a 2007 touchstone book, rather than one single founding year for the modern hobby. Connections
Associated With
Junk journaling commonly incorporates hand lettering and calligraphy on its pages.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Junk journal - Wikipedia
Lead paragraph, first sentence
A junk journal is a handmade journal, of any size, composed of recycled or upcycled papers.
History section, paragraph on 1940s material scarcity
during this period of material scarcity, 'people took to making journals using whatever they could get their hands on at the time,'
History section, paragraph on Keri Smith's Wreck this Journal
traces the form to interactive books such as Keri Smith's 2007 publication Wreck this Journal, which encouraged users to unleash their creativity by filling and defacing its pages
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.