The Journal of Your Dreams

Jenni Bick Custom Journals is more than a stationery store. It's the place to design your bespoke writing experience.

- RICH LAPIN

Begin with the end in mind. That was one of the principles that the late Stephen Covey described in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. That's also a focus for Jenni Bick, owner of Jenni Bick Custom Journals in Washington D.C. An exquisite pen filled with colorful ink is incomplete without paper on which to write. Considered individually, these elements are important, but when all are present together, an ideal writing experience is possible.

A Fairfax, Virginia native, Jenni majored in graphic design and literature at American University in D.C., where she took a bookbinding course that introduced her to multiple binding types. The experience resonated so deeply with her that it became a signpost for what she wanted to do professionally. After college, she married her husband, Robby, and welcomed three children into their family.

As a stay-at-home mother, Jenni started a cottage business of creating custom journals and sold them to small retailers. She also sold them at art fairs and other venues up and down the East Coast. Her breakthrough came when she became an early adopter of the internet. She launched a business website in 1997 and added e-commerce capability in 1999. The business grew, and she and Robby opened a brick and mortar store on Connecticut Avenue at Washington D.C.’s Dupont Circle in 2017. Having gained a keen appreciation of the business side of things, she still retains the passion of an artisan.