how it started

Journals from my first pop-up event at Good Postage in Charlotte, NC. August 2025.

Quixotically did not begin as a business idea. It began as a need for honesty, for reflection, for something to hold onto during a season of change.

 

I never set out to build a business. I was laid off, adrift, and unsure what came next. I turned back to journaling, not as a habit, but as a way to carry the grief I was navigating. 

 

As a teenager, I'd journaled online and found a community of girls who loved the same shows and actors I did. Many are still my friends today. I've traveled across the world to meet some of them. Then life got louder, and the journaling stopped.

 

This time, I discovered leather journal covers. I loved their permanence, the way they aged into themselves. The ones I wanted were far outside my budget, so I taught myself to make them. First for myself. Then for the people I loved.

 

Journaling led me back to community too, this time at Good Postage, a stationery store in Charlotte, where I fell into journal systems and stationery supplies the way I'd once fallen into fandoms at sixteen. The people there were just as swept up as I was, and that warmth was something I hadn't realized I'd missed. It was their encouragement, their insistence that what I was making deserved to exist beyond my own shelf, that gave me the courage to start Quixotically.

 

My background is in nonprofit work, where fairness and kindness aren't sentiments, they're practices. So I wanted to build something different: a business where quality and affordability aren't in conflict. Where good, well-made things aren't reserved for people who can already afford them. If I could give these journals away, I would. Since I can't, this is the next best thing: work made with care, priced so it's actually within reach.

 

Quixotically grew from all of it: the making, the healing, the finding each other. The name has always felt right: quixotic, the instinct to believe in something more, even when it feels impractical.

 

For the dreamers, the writers, the overthinkers, the quiet rebels. For anyone learning to hold onto hope, even when it feels impractical.
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Why Quixotically Exists

Accessibility Over Exclusivity

We reject the idea that quality should be reserved for a few. Luxury and heirloom-level craftsmanship belong in everyone’s hands; objects meant to be used, cherished, and lived with.

Honest Pricing

No inflated markups. No gatekeeping disguised as prestige. Just materials, care, and intention; priced fairly, because quality shouldn’t come with a barrier.

Designed For Your Life, Not Ours

We don’t believe in locking you into a system. Your journal should adapt to you; your routines, your preferences, your evolution. That’s why we design with widely used sizes in mind, and offer the freedom to build something that works with what you already love. Use the paper you prefer. The planner that works. The notebook that feels right in your hands. Our journals are made to hold your choices, not replace them; because self-expression shouldn’t come with limitations.

No Scarcity, No Pressure

We don’t subscribe to limited releases or the illusion of exclusivity. Color is not a privilege to be unlocked or a moment to be chased; it’s an expression to be chosen freely. As long as we can source it responsibly, it remains: available without urgency, without pressure, and without the need to “get it before it’s gone.”

Sustainability Matters

Every choice we make honors the planet. Thoughtfully sourced vegetable-tanned and vegan leather along with durable materials that age with character; each journal reflects our commitment to sustainability, without compromise.

 

But sustainability isn’t just about what we use, it’s about how we use it. We work to minimize waste at every stage of the process; repurposing leather scraps into smaller pieces, and finding purpose in what others might discard. If a journal doesn’t meet our standards, we don’t throw it away. We offer it as worth keeping at a lower price, giving it the chance to be used, carried, and appreciated.

 

Because to us, sustainability means respect: for materials, for craft, and for the life of every piece we create.

Quality Without Compromise

These are journals built to last: to travel with you, to bear your words, sketches, and dreams; objects made to endure. Every piece of leather is carefully worked by hand, treated with intention, and crafted with attention to detail, so you’re holding something made with care, thought, and pride.

Inclusivity At The Core

Rooted in a multicultural upbringing, shaped by a clear understanding of what it means to navigate spaces not built with you in mind; Quixotically exists to create belonging, rewrite expectations, and ensure that excellence and care are never reserved for a select few.

Always Learning, Always Evolving

This craft is not static, and neither are we. Learning is a lifelong process; one shaped not only by practice, but by listening. Every journal we make is part of that evolution, informed by the people who use them and the lives they’re meant to support.

 

We believe the best work comes through collaboration; through understanding what you need, what you imagine, and what would make something truly yours. Whether it’s refining a detail or exploring something entirely new, your ideas matter here. If you can envision it, we want to help bring it into being.

Built In Community

We believe in shared creativity: that making is richer when it’s collaborative, and that success isn’t meaningful unless it spreads. By providing space, support, and a platform for others, we help bring their vision into the world. Because no one creates alone, and the best work comes when we lift each other up.
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Meet the Maker

Lizzie is a leatherworker and artist based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Originally from Southern California, she has been making and exploring craft since 2007.


She holds a BA in Stage Management from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, and spent her twenties working in theatre, including years as a personal assistant to actors and a director, work that taught her to anticipate needs, care for people well, and get every detail right. Her background also includes nonprofit work in crisis assistance, housing, and food security, as well as a nonprofit theatre arts organization supporting students and emerging artists.


She lives with her partner, John, and two dogs, Maggie & Millie (who are excellent studio companions and terrible quality control). When she is not working, she is usually hiking or biking near Asheville, traveling west to see family, or visiting a national park with a camera.
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With Gratitude

Nothing is ever done alone.

 

This business exists because of the people who believed in it before it was anything at all — the ones who planted the seed with a single suggestion, who saw something in me before I saw it in myself, and who kept showing up with encouragement when the path forward wasn't clear.

 

To Jane — for the push and for giving this the opportunity to become something. You hosted my first pop-up, opened your space for workshops, and welcomed my journals onto your shelves before I had any proof this would work. Quixotically wouldn't exist without you.

 

To Amy, Britt, Laura, Kat, and Avery for their encouragement, support and positivity.

 

To Nico — for the creative energy, the belief that never wavered and for being both a friend and a sounding board every step of the way.

 

To John and my mom, Maria — for holding me up in every way a person can be held up: emotionally, physically, and financially. Quixotically wouldn't be here without you two.

 

And to the patrons, friends, and family whose names may not appear here but whose kind words and support carried me more than they probably realize — thank you.

Brand design by the immensely talented Adam Dixon.
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