A flexible leather binding I made a while ago. This is sewn with linen thread and covered with rusty brown leather that has been embossed with a strangely pleasant reptile print (…). The two handdyed and waxed cardstock pad decorations on the back are also sewn through (NOT glued on) and thus quite sturdy. Cover flap closes with a hand braided cord.
This journal is still available, see my Etsy bookshop for details!
Here’s a pocket-sized goatskin journal that I made recently. It features burnt edges and two pared and tooled leather onlays on the back. The cord is hand braided of waxed linen thread. I was first going to make this a bit more intricate but decided to leave it quite blank because it started to look so nice that way. I intend to make something along these lines for sale, too, in the next few months.
Also, hello to all new followers - If you have any comments or questions you can always send them in using my askbox that can be found on top of the page. Thanks for checking my work out!
Let there be leatherbound longstitch books and some plant dyed wool yarn. Autumn has come finally and I am somewhat busy working on the demonstrations for my degree. When I’m not piecing them together I am enjoying and observing the changing season. The weather’s now turned from warm sunshine and golden fields into gray mornings and rainy nights, so boiling plant dyes in the yard may be over for this year.
The book is something I recently made as a commission, and there will be something similar in my shop later this autumn. I used to think that longstitch bindings are boring and all over the place, but luckily I had the chance to update my view on them and so began to discover all the possibilities of this structure. I have always seen the handbound book as a luxury item of sorts, which means that even when I am making books for daily use I always wish them to be a little bit more - a little more intricate or personal than just a plain book covered with unpleasant, evenly coloured leather. I am currently on this path, searching for the perfect combination of all the various elements that I want to put in a book form. So let me play for a while and be prepared for myriads of absurdly detailed, unique books suitable for all sorts of special occasions (including those delicate, solitary rainy days of drinking tea and peering out from your window).
D e l i c a c i e s
is a small, numbered edition of artist books that are made of gray-brown recycled paper and sturdy handmade or handdyed paper covers. Each book is unique even though they share the same form, which is a historical longstitch binding with leather and cord details. Each detail from tassels to cord is handmade by me. While Delicacies are not meant for everyday use they are still highly useable and make great gifts or collectables for book aficionados.
This book is n:o 1 of 10 and it’s currently for sale in my Etsy shop.
The birth process of a small palm leaf binding, July 2012.
The palm leaf structure has been a common binding format in Buddhist sutras, in which the content was written on palm leaves and covered with two boards. Because of the large size of these books they were covered with wood, or sometimes metal. The oldest South Asian manuscripts in palm leaf format date back to the 15th century BCE.
My book was made as a reference and a note to self out of materials I had with me, which means the ink and pencil illustrations were made on dyed cardstock while the covers are of thick Cave paper. In the modern times this format is especially suitable for scrapbooks and albums because it is possible to add and remove content without damaging the structure of the book; I also think it is great for creating a short narrative in book form.
