The little things, kept.
About InkSmudge Journals
There are things we keep long after their useful days are over. A brooch with a missing stone. A purse softened by hands we will never know. A scrap of paper that feels too lovely to throw away.
A house for looking a little closer
I’m Gemma, and InkSmudge Journals is where I bring together old objects, paper and imagined lives. The website is a house to explore, with small discoveries tucked into its rooms. You can choose the spoken welcome, listen to the music, or look around quietly.
Real objects. Imagined lives.
The purses and brooches are real pieces, with real wear. The women and lives in their accompanying stories are imagined. Those stories are not provenance, and I do not want to blur the difference. Condition matters here: missing stones, broken fastenings and other damage belong in the description, not out of sight.
Something to make, too
Up in the attic is Ageing Elegantly, my online workshop in giving new paper and little keepsakes the gentle traces of a life. There are thirteen short video lessons and a reference bookshelf. Watch, pause and return when you have time.