Our story
Made to carry your story
Our story
Atelier Dillon began at the intersection of two parts of my life that have always existed side by side: engineering and travelling.
By profession, I’m an engineer. I love the complexity of math and science, and the psychology behind transportation engineering. I’m drawn to thoughtful design, innovation, and the joy of figuring out a problem and making it work. But I’ve always had a creative side: I grew up crafting, painting, drawing, creating, and most recently putting pen to paper. The mind-body connection when writing is fascinating to me and has helped me immensely in my own personal healing journey.
Made to travel
Travel has also been a constant source of inspiration. When I took my first solo trip, I had my mom write me letters and a birthday card I could open on my 25th birthday so I wouldn’t feel so alone. I created a journal ecosystem before knowing what that meant: different journals for different outlets and even phases of my life. I still have the first journal entry of my first ever trip on a plane. Over the years, journals have come with me across cities, mountains and trails, becoming places to record not only where I went, but what I noticed, learned, imagined and became along the way.
Atelier Dillon grew from wanting to create something worthy of holding those stories.
Each piece is designed in Ottawa, Canada, with the same balance of structure and creativity that inspired the brand itself. Each piece is made with intention.
Because a journal shouldn’t simply hold paper. It should become an object that travels with you, changes with you, and carries the evidence of a life being lived. We are all unique with our own stories and scars, and that’s the legacy of an Atelier Dillon. It starts with us but is shaped by you.
Craftsmanship
Made with intention
Each Atelier Dillon piece is handmade in Canada with intention.
Craftsmanship is more than the materials we choose or the precision of each detail; it is also the care brought to the making itself. Each piece is created slowly and thoughtfully, in an environment that reflects what we hope it will hold: curiosity, reflection, growth and possibility.
We believe the things that accompany our stories should begin their own with care. From the first cut of leather to the final finishing touches, your journal is treated as something meaningful, because we know what you choose to fill it with will be uniquely yours.
Leather and materials
From Italy, made in Canada
Atelier Dillon uses the finest materials where possible. The leather is sourced from Italy, from a tannery that uses raw hides from what is left from the human meat consumption. Leather has natural variations and no two hides are the same. The leather uses vegetable tanning, which develops a patina with use. This means the leather may darken and no two journals start the same and will be unique to each person and how they use it.
We do include a dust bag with every purchase and you’re welcome to carry your journals in it or use it for another purpose.
We aim to be sustainable and are constantly innovating new ideas to use from any scrap leather that comes from our process.
