I Wish I Were An Alien – A Very Biased and Unbalanced View of Overdue Industries

I like the whole idea of re-using and recycling. All across America people far more clever than I am take the things we discard without a second thought to create something new and exciting. From bottle caps to beer cans our crap becomes someone else treasures. Go to one of your more legitimate craft shows and see what is being produced these days. It really is quite amazing.

Overdue Industries is no exception to that do-it-yourself mentality still going strong even in the ever-growing big box store homogenized world we live in. The company started by collecting the old books libraries normally throw out and turning them into journals. What a simple idea for reusing the books no one wants to read anymore. I do have to admit though I am a little biased towards this company as one of the owners, Matt, is a good friend from high school.

I’m a journal geek. I love to look at the many different types of notebooks out there to try to find the perfect one that will suit my needs. I have three criteria:

  1. Durability. I am a bit of a clod so anything I own needs to be able to withstand the daily beatings I give the things I own.
  2. Portability. While Overdue’s journal’s won’t fit in a shirt pocket they do fit nicely in my ever ubiquitous bag. Because of all the different sizes and shapes of books it is easy to find one that will suit your needs.
  3. Price. While I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for I refuse to spend more than $20 dollars on a journal. After a quick survey at the local book-o-matic I have seen them as expensive as $80! Thankfully Overdue Industries are priced about $15.

For the money I have found them to be one of the better values out there. I have tried many other different journals, but find them wanting for either being too expensive or too cheaply made. Moleskine are way overpriced and they do not live up to the mythology their hype-masters would have you believe. Plus the bindings tend to break. I can go on the cheap with a composition notebook, but they get beat up too easily. Sticking with Overdue Industries has been a very safe bet. Each one is hand made with acid free paper and recycled wire binding. They throw in some original pages of the book, which leads to some interesting surprises. In recent months they have expanded to night lights and jewelry. In fact we recently saw some of their earrings on a contestant for America’s Next Top Chef.

While you can find their products in some local Mom and Pop stores the best way to get their gear is by going to the many craft shows. I tend to stock up at The Punk Rock Flea Market. I gladly hand over my hard earned money whenever I see them around to keep my journal fix met. I hope that in spite of my obvious bias you come to appreciate this product as much as I do. I want to get the word out because their success is well earned. They work hard to ensure highest quality. It is well worth the time and effort to seek them out. If you are like me and enjoy distinctive gift ideas then I think you will be very pleased with what they have to offer. Next time you see them at a craft fair tell them I sent you. It won’t get you anything, but it doesn’t hurt either.

Author:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *