Growing up in suburban Australia in the 80s and 90s, sisters Chelsea and Jerilee, have fond memories of taking a very prized possession in their backpacks to school each day: a Dinky Diary.
“I loved mine – I had two and wanted a third, but mum wouldn’t let me,” Chelsea, 39, tells Kidspot exclusively.
“I used to take it everywhere I went. I would write friends’ birthdays and write them notes. It really started my habit of being organised and carrying a planner wherever I go.”
“I used to love the stickers,” Jerilee, 36, adds.
Like many of their generation, the iconic children’s diary and organiser has remained a nostalgic memory for the Perth duo for decades since it was sold between 1988 and 1992 by diary and stationery supplier, Collins Debden.
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The Dinky Diary is coming back!
Excitingly, for the sisters and every other retro fan, the chance to own a brand new Dinky Diary once again has now become possible.
Last year, Chelsea and Jerilee, who own stationery business, Hope Lane Designs, wanted to add a children’s planner to their range after receiving so many requests at their market stall.
“It started off as a bit of a giggle, saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have the Dinky Diaries back?’” Chelsea says.
“The conversation ignited a spark for us, and we started to look for how to get the trademark.”
After months of research, they found the trademark was owned by an Australian woman on the east coast who hadn’t done anything with it.
“She was so kind,” Chelsea says.
“We ended up working together and she transferred it over to us.”
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An investment totally worth it
The trademark cost them $5,000, and even though they’d only been in the stationery business for a year, the sisters had no hesitation that the investment would pay off.
“In our hearts, we knew how much we loved it as kids and that our kids loved our planners, so we could see it had a lot of potential,” Chelsea says.
The biggest hurdle in bringing the Dinky Diary back to life, however, was actually finding an original one to base the new versions from.
“Our mum had chucked out a lot of our things, so we didn’t have one and no one we knew did,” Chelsea explains.
“I spent months searching op shops, book stores, websites, Facebook groups and Marketplace.”
In July, Chelsea hit the jackpot when she found a Queensland woman who offered to loan her original to them while they produced their own version.
“It was pure excitement,” Chelsea remembers fondly.
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Five new designs for kids
Chelsea and Jerilee have created five new versions of the Dinky Diary, which vary from being almost identical (with the iconic blue cover) to modern takes with a similar design and theme.
“They all have the same three-fold structure and magnetic clip and we have added in things like books to read, Christmas and wish lists and updated all the stickers to be a bit more modern for this generation but keeping the much loved ‘top secret’ one,” Chelsea explains.
“The notes, homework and diary pads are the same and we’ve made it a six-month undated planner with stickers, so you can start using it anytime. And we have the original twisting pen, that was very important. One of the versions is a wellness one for adults, so they can have matching ones with their kids.”
As the first kids to see the new designs, Chelsea and Jerilee’s children, Eliza and Milla, 8, Frankie, 6, and Deegan, 5, have given their objective tick of approval.
“The kids have seen the new samples and compared them to the original one, and they actually love the new one more because paper quality has come a long way and ours are so bright,” Chelsea says.
“It’s so exciting that they love it as much as us. We haven’t let them use them yet though, we have to wait for the stock to come in first!”
The Dinky Diary, priced at $34.95, is available now by pre-order from Hope Lane Designs with pre-Christmas delivery guaranteed.
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