Why are women making journals out of junk?

Kia Hunt and Selam Haile say they love channelling their creative energy into journals

Have you ever thought about collecting coffee shop loyalty cards or paper bags?

Thousands of people are doing that or something similar around the world, using materials others could consider junk to create personal books full of memories and inspiration.

Known as Junk Journals, there are more than 400,000 posts of people's creations on TikTok as they document their artistic journeys online.

Kia Hunt makes her own and shares her bookcase of more than 20 journals with thousands of followers on Instagram as she says she wants to inspire others.

Her passion for writing started as child and, as she grew older, she created journals filled with items like tickets, barcodes and sheet music to spark memories.

"You're recycling, you're keeping all these things that could go in the bin but are going into a form of art," she said.

Ms Hunt went through her recycling bin and cut out barcodes for her journal

Ms Hunt, from Stafford, said making journals helped her remember activities and focus on her aspirations like collecting stationery and stamps in Japan.

When out and about she is "in the zone", searching for potential materials for her journal - from finding out if a restaurant has a paper menu to collecting packaging.

"There's nothing else I'd rather be doing, the journalling community is a really nice place to be," she said.

Ms Haile says she creates junk journals to get away from screens and be creative

Selam Haile started making her own junk journals in 2017 after being introduced to the hobby during university.

From using stamps and snippets of books to handmade paper and receipts, she spends up to a year creating each one.

The 28-year-old, from Wolverhampton, said she loved the activity because she could take a break from screens and spend time creating a visual record of her day.

"It's a childlike creativity that you used to do when you were younger with stickers and doodling," she said.

Meg Frances has been making journals for about a decade and has turned her hobby into a side hustle

Meg Frances, who lives in Lancashire, has turned her passion for journals into a side hustle, working with small businesses and sponsorships to create content online.

She said junk journals have evolved from scrapbooks and provided an accessible cheap hobby for all.

Describing herself as a "magpie", she loves collecting old items including three typewriters which she uses to create positive affirmations in her journal.

"I've turned my spare room into a craft room; it's nice to have a space to get lost in journalling and reading as a form of escapism," she said.

Journal Fest expects more than 1,000 enthusiasts to attend this summer

An annual event which celebrates everything around journals has been set up, called JournalFest, with speakers and workshops aimed at bringing together journal lovers.

Bex Cross, a university lecturer by day and self-confessed journal addict by night, founded the event in 2023 after she said she felt a large scale meet up to appreciate making journals was missing from the UK's social calendar.

Held in July in Wigan, more than 1,000 enthusiasts are expected to attend to share their passions of using pen and paper to be creative.