Junk journaling comes to Vallejo

VALLEJO – Fast food wrappers, museum receipts, movie tickets, travel brochures, and coffee sleeves: what some might consider trash is finding new life in Vallejo thanks to two new clubs that center on a popular hobby called junk journaling.

Both Vallejo clubs are very new. The first group, 707 Journal Club, had its first event in March at The Exchange, and in April hosted a more casual hangout at Mare Island Brewery, where attendees brought their own projects to work on while chatting over drinks. John F. Kennedy library staff and volunteers then debuted their own JFK Junk Journal Club on April 13.

Just as its name suggests, junk journaling is art created by filling a notebook with everyday items that most people would discard. It has similarities with scrapbooking, but instead of emphasizing glossy photos and straight lines, junk journaling is more freeform, encouraging creators to rip paper, scavenge for memorabilia, and find the beauty in the mundane. A tea bag wrapper becomes a way to remember a favorite vacation; a wristband, a memorable concert.

“It’s really just a way to create a keepsake, a memory on paper,” said Margaret Pail, the founder of 707 Journal Club. “It’s finding a way to reuse little moments of an experience that others might see as junk, but for you, it’s a way to commemorate a day and relive the memory of that.” 

Some crafters disagree about what counts as “junk” — some will only use recycled and found items, while others will add in pre-made materials like stickers and washi tape. But ultimately it’s whatever speaks to the individual, which is what makes the art form so fun, said East Bay resident Genesis Camacho. 

“There’s no rules, you’re just expressing yourself,” Camacho said at 707 Journal Club’s Mare Island Brewery event. “It’s like a form of collaging and scrapbooking, but freestyle.”

These groups debuting at the same time is a reflection of how viral the hobby is, especially among Gen Z and millennials. In an age of smartphones, social media, and digital fatigue, it’s part of a trend to “go analogue,” explained Angelina Gomez, a children’s librarian associate at JFK who helped organize the library club. Like a digital detox, going analogue means “getting offline and going ‘old school’ by reading physical books, journaling, listening to cassette tapes and records, and just being outdoors,” said Gomez.

The hobby’s popularity is what led Pail to create 707 Journal Club. She got into journaling last year while living in Alameda, and she was interested in attending an event to meet like-minded people. There are several journaling clubs in the East Bay, San Francisco, and Sonoma County, but the meet-ups would always fill up before Pail could grab a ticket. So when she moved to Vallejo last year, she decided to create her own.

“When I journaled with just my friends, I had so much fun with it. So I was like, ‘You know what? I’m just gonna start a club here, as opposed to waiting for a spot to open at one of these other clubs,’” Pail said. “I still wanted that community, and to journal with others.” 

Pail has a background in marketing, but she had never hosted anything on her own before. So she reached out to those same clubs and asked about how to run a successful group. “They were all very kind about it, just like an open book,” Pail said. 

In February, Pail posted a TikTok asking if anyone would be interested in a journaling club in Vallejo. “As soon as five people said yes, I made the website the same day,” Pail said.

Today, her Tik Tok video has 347 comments and nearly 3,000 likes. Pail sold out the first event, with 62 people packed into The Exchange, bonding over stationary and sipping matcha lattes. Her next event took place on April 18 and also sold out early, despite her increasing the spots to 72. 

The overwhelming response seems to speak to people “craving connection and community,” said Pail. The club is open to all ages — with kids under 18 just needing a guardian present to attend — but Pail noticed that a good portion of the attendees are in their early 20s. 

“The feedback I’ve gotten is that a lot of these people are working for the first time, and they’re realizing it’s hard to get to know others and find people with the same hobbies as them as an adult,” said Pail. “They’re realizing it can be a little bit lonely.” 

“In general, making friends doesn’t feel easy as an adult,” agreed Vallejo resident Skye Javier, who attended the Mare Island Brewery event. “So having someone who’s willing to host an event and have people hang out is really nice.”

Pail’s goal is to host two events a month: one that’s ticketed and themed, and one that’s more casual and free. The ticketed events, which have ranged from $18 to $27, are more curated: Pail books a local venue and partners with a small business or artist on the theme. Mira Coffee from American Canyon made drinks for the March event, while two local artists designed the Sanrio-themed journaling packets for the April event. Pail said that she initially got into junk journaling because her friend gave her all the supplies to get started, so her goal is to always offer a starter kit so anybody can try it for the first time.

She also hopes to hold similar events in other cities in Solano County. She added that arts and crafts people “are some of the most kind and generous people that I’ve ever met,” and noted that many people have donated extra stickers, sheets, stamps, and tapes for other attendees. These supplies have especially come in handy during the “scrap and yap” events — free hangouts in public spaces where people can share materials, work on their art, and just yap, aka chat.

Library volunteer Chereece Jenkins was also looking to foster friendships and share her craft when she started brainstorming the idea to hold a junk journal event at JFK library, after attending one in Oakland.

“I’m an immigrant from South Africa, and I’d always been looking for a creative community,” said Jenkins, who moved to Vallejo about four years ago. “I have all these journaling supplies, and I wanted to share them with others.” 

Jenkins asked librarian Gomez about starting a group in January. Gomez, having seen how popular the hobby was, immediately agreed.

They held their first JFK Junk Journal Club event on April 13. As an avid collector, Jenkins provided most of the paper, stickers, pens, and supplies; she even shopped for vintage postage stamps in San Francisco beforehand. Gomez brought in scissors, glue sticks, old magazines, and discarded or torn books, along with fabric scraps from the library’s monthly sewing classes. 

As an introvert, Jenkins admitted she was initially nervous to host anything. But 10 people showed up at the library, nearly filling up the small room. “I’m glad it turned out the way it did, and I just hope it becomes bigger and I get to donate and share my supplies with more people,” she said. 

She said the library event would always be free, and that adults of all ages were welcome to attend. 

“I hope that people get joy and community from this,” she added. “I hope it unleashes something new in their brains, and they feel welcomed and loved.” 

The JFK Junk Journal Club at JFK library meets on the 2nd Monday of every month from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

People interested in 707 Journal Club’s May events can join the club and sign up for updates here. If you’re unable to attend a future event, Pail also created a zine for a self-guided cafe crawl through Solano County, which can be downloaded here.