I've been growing a creative community since the internet dark ages of 2007 when I started my first blog. I now run an online bookbinding community called the Handmade Book Club. It's a subscription site that provides monthly education and connection. As of the end of of 2023, my list is 23k. I'd love to collaborate with other artists and creators.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal
Hi Reader, Do you remember the book or perhaps the movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? I remember loving the idea of a traveling pair of pants that magically fit a group of friends and had been lovingly worn by all of them. That book inspired the name of an exciting new collaboration between me and three of my creative sisters: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal. Andrea Chebeleu, Minette Riordan, Roben-Marie Smith and I have been friends and business besties across time and space for several years, connected by our passion for making art and our commitment to growing our creative businesses. Our common values of connection, community, creativity and collaboration brought us together and keep us together. We came up with this concept of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal(s) and we are excited to share this project with you, along with fun ideas of how you too can create a Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal. What makes this project unique is that we've each added an element of our own creativity to create 4 individual journals that will come back to us at the end. Here’s how it worked:
We want to encourage you to create a similar traveling journal project with your creative friends or family. Want to see what we created and create your own Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal?
We will show you how we did it in four videos and how beautifully the journals turned out! In the spirit of giving thanks and giving generously to our communities, we are offering this project for free. You can go here now to and sign up to get access to all the creative goodness we co-created and some specific ideas for how you to can do this project. Creatively yours, Ali |
145 Main Street, Suite 208, Groton, MA 01450 |
Handmade Journals with Ali Manning
I've been growing a creative community since the internet dark ages of 2007 when I started my first blog. I now run an online bookbinding community called the Handmade Book Club. It's a subscription site that provides monthly education and connection. As of the end of of 2023, my list is 23k. I'd love to collaborate with other artists and creators.
Hi Reader, I meant to send a reminder this morning about today’s Facebook Live—and then the morning got away from me. But… we did go live, and it turned into such a thoughtful, honest conversation that I didn’t want you to miss it. I was joined by Dr. Minette Riordan, Andrea Chebeleu, and Roben-Marie Smith, and we talked about our experiences with the 100 Day Project—what’s working, what’s been challenging, and how our projects have shifted along the way. It wasn’t about doing it perfectly.It...
Prefer to listen? (Click here to have this email read aloud.) Hi Reader, This is just a short and sweet email this week as I sit sweating in my studio - the heat in the North East has been unbearable. Here's a quick story I wanted to share: I was waiting to board my flight home from London to Boston, feeling heavy-hearted after saying goodbye to my family. Then music began to drift through the terminal. A young man sat down at a public piano and started playing Perfect Symphony. He stumbled a...
Happy February, Reader, While I’m an introvert and rather solitary soul, moments of connection and collaboration are vital to my well-being and help refuel my creativity. I adore connecting online, but nothing beats a hug and being able to look at others' books in person. That’s why I was thrilled to join the Massachusetts chapter of the Handmade Book Club at Indigo Whimsy in Tewkesbury last week. We worked on a collaborative canvas, chatted, hugged, and shared books. A big shout-out to...