160 pages of cream 81 lb / 120 gsm acid-free paper, lay-flat 13-stitch sewn binding, all-weather PU cover, accordion back pocket, elastic closure. Named for Homer's long journey home — the first book GJ and Teresa ever made. The book about half our customers come back for.
Acid-free, archival, lightly toothed. Built for fountain pen, pencil, ink wash. Tested independently by Parka Blogs, Liz Steel, and Roz Wound Up.
Most softcover sketchbooks use 2 or 3. Ours hold open across both pages and keep their backs through years of working over them.
PU faux-leather softcover. Accordion back pocket for ephemera. Elastic closure. Rounded corners. Scuffs the way good leather scuffs.
Macro paper texture, lay-flat behavior, scale in the hand. We'd rather show you than over-describe it.
Lay-flat across the spread
Scale in hand
Ink test · No bleed
Specs aren't a tab. We list them where you can compare without clicking.
| Paper weight | 120 gsm · 81 lb · acid-free |
| Paper finish | Cream tone · medium tooth · archival |
| Page count | 160 pages · 80 sheets |
| Binding | Sewn · 8 signatures · 13 stitches per signature |
| Cover | PU faux-leather softcover · debossed Leda swan |
| Closure | Elastic band · accordion back pocket |
| Dimensions (closed) | 7 × 10″ · 17.8 × 25.4 cm |
| Dimensions (open) | 14 × 10″ · 35.6 × 25.4 cm |
| Weight | 1.1 lb · 500 g |
| Designed in | Kirkland, Washington · USA |
| Archival | Acid-free · lignin-free · long-term stable |
| Named for | The Odyssey — Homer's long voyage home, and the first book Leda ever made (2015). The brand, Leda, is the swan of Greek myth — mother of Helen of Troy and the twin stars. |
An honest matrix. We'd rather lose a sale than fight a return.
| Graphite & pencil | ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ |
| Fountain pen | ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ |
| Ballpoint & gel | ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ |
| Brush pen & india ink | ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ |
| Light watercolor wash | ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ |
| Heavy watercolor & pour | use the watercolor pad → |
| Alcohol marker (Copic, etc.) | consider the mixed-media pad → |
| Colored pencil & pastel | ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ |
Reviews syndicated from Amazon and this site. Filter by medium, experience level, or purchase format.
I am in love with this sketchbook. The pages are buttery soft and lay perfectly flat — perfect for the urban sketcher.
The binding holds up better than the Moleskines I've gone through. After a year of daily use the spine is still cracking open at every page.
I tried the swatch first to test it against my Hahnemühle. The cream Leda stock held my fountain pen ink with no ghosting. Reordered the next day.
Honest note — the cream tone was warmer than I expected from the photos. I came around to it but wanted to flag for anyone expecting bright white.
Real answers, from us. Written by GJ and the Leda team within 48 hours.
A. The warm cream slightly mutes coolest blues and greens by design — most colored-pencil artists prefer it because it lets warm tones sing without needing a base layer. If you're working primarily in cool palettes, the watercolor pads (white) may be a better fit.
A. PU faux-leather. We made the call early — better all-weather behavior, better aging, and we don't want to be in the leather supply chain.
A. Better than most. The PU cover doesn't warp the way cloth-over-board does, and the cream stock has been tested in the Pacific Northwest and Southeast Asia by our ambassador network.
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