About Us

Zairela is a name I made up, but every letter in it belongs to someone.

The Z is the N of Nieuwenhuis, our family name, turned on its side. The A is for Arjan, my husband. The I is for me, Ina. The R is for our oldest son, the E is simply "and", and the LA are the first two letters of our youngest son's name. Our whole family, written into one word.

Why journals

I have always liked writing. Stories, diaries, notes to myself — to understand something, to remember it, or just because it was fun to put down on paper. Then, for a long stretch of years, I stopped.

What brought me back was working on my own mindset. Writing turned out to be the thing that helped most: a page to think on, a way to look at something from a different angle, a place to notice what I actually felt about it.

And I have always had a weakness for beautiful journals and notebooks. Somewhere between those two things, Zairela Studio started. If I was going to write every day, I wanted to write in something I loved the look of — so I began designing them myself.

What we make

Journals and notebooks, designed by me and printed to order. Most can be personalized with a name, initials or a message, so the one you get is made for one person and no one else.

Some are made for travel, some for reflection, some simply because the cover makes you smile. They are meant to be used, not kept on a shelf.

Who we are

Zairela Studio is a small, independent studio based in Rijssen, the Netherlands, registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK 42034428). Our journals are printed and shipped by our production partners in the United States.

Questions, or an idea for a design you'd like to see? Get in touch — you'll hear back from me personally.

Ina