A colorful bouquet of birthday books

I recently received an interesting request from a customer that resulted in a trip to Franklin, TN with a collection of colorful books.  The customer from Georgia came across my website while searching for bookbinders in the Nashville area.  Her dear friend's birthday was approaching and she wanted to surprise her with a special delivery of little handmade books.  

We selected a cheerful assortment of little books that I bundled together with a bright orange bow and placed in a gift bag with a sweet handwritten note. Then I set off for historic downtown Franklin (just south of Nashville and home to lots of famous musicians and celebrities). The birthday girl was thrilled with her surprise delivery of miniature books, and she invited me into her beautiful home so I could tell her all about the different handmade creations. 

The birthday "bouquet" of books included four single-signature pamphlet books, one double-signature pamphlet, one softcover book sewn with the Japanese stab binding, an Italian longstitch journal with a red suede cover, a grey-and-orange hot air balloon book sewn onto cords, and a hardcover Coptic book with a Japanese waves paper used for the covers. I had such fun putting together this set of books, and it was a great excuse to make a trip to Franklin too. What a clever idea for a birthday gift!

Sharing bookbinding photos on Instagram

For the past few months, I've been using Instagram to capture sneak peeks into my studio, custom handmade books, sites around Nashville and beyond, and a few pictures of my bullmastiff and her infamous tongue.  I've included a few of my favorite photos in this post, as well as a slideshow where you can see some of my most recent pictures.

I've also been using Instagram to connect with other bookbinders and artists, and searching for inspiring photos by using some book-related tags: #bookarts #bookbinding #bookbinder #handmadebook.  

Here are a few bookbinders and paper artists I follow on Instagram that are worth checking out:

boundbyhand, press_and_bind, jazziees, leilalk, hss_pdx, jackelina00, aduhlene.  Oh, and be sure to check out this Instagram photo of a handbound book filled with Instagram photos.

If you're on Instagram too, please feel free to follow me.  My username is linenlaidfelt.  And please comment on this post to let me know what your usernames are, or if you have any suggestions for any artists, bookbinders, Etsy sellers, or other creative folks I should be following. 

Little books that fit in an envelope

As I was preparing for the current Bookbinding Etsy Street Team book swap, I realized that I never shared photos from the last swap, probably because it occurred just as I was getting ready to move to Nashville. Despite the delay, the book I received from Laura of PrariePeasent is just too beautiful not to share. 

The pages of this lotus fold book were made from an old illustrated children's book about a clever mother bird protecting her children. Laura used her own handmade paper, which includes little bits of daffodil petals, for the covers. I love the sweet illustrations of the little birds, and how the ribbon that wraps around the book is reminiscent of a bird's nest. 

Interestingly enough, the book that I sent off for the swap to Katie, a bookbinder and graphic designer from Indianapolis, was made using the same origami-like construction as the book I received from Laura. The theme for this swap was to send something that "fits in an envelope,"so perhaps we both thought that these little folded books would be a good option.

The little book I made for the swap was part of a series of books made from vintage maps.  About a year ago my husband picked up a 1966 Britannica Wold Atlas for free on a trip to Baltimore. There's a place called Book Thing of Baltimore that gives away used books. But there's one catch: you can only take 150,000 free books per day, per person.

The atlas was packed with outdated, quirky data colorfully displayed on dozens of political and topographical maps from around the world. I decided to repurpose the pages of the atlas into a series of sculptural books featuring the vibrant map imagery (find them in my shop here). The books unfold in a malleable array of pages to reveal a random assortment of maps and graphics. When closed, the folds return to an orderly stack. 

A photo book for a world-traveling photojournalist

When a book leaves my studio and is shipped to its new owner, I like to think that the book's journey has only just begun.  The pages are folded, the covers are glued and pressed, and the binding is stitched neatly into place, but the book is not yet complete.  Most of the books I make are meant to be filled.  Perhaps with congratulatory notes from wedding guests, or records of a baby's first steps and words, or photos of travels far and wide.  Once a book is filled, it takes on new meaning and importance, and it is transformed into something even more special than when it left my studio.

I wish I could check in with all of my handbound books months or even years later to see how they've come to life in their new homes, but I don't always get the chance to see my books when they've been put to use.  On the occasions that I do, however, it's always thrilling to me. 

This particular book was commissioned by Lianne Milton, a San Francisco-based photojournalist, to hold a special collection of her photographs. She requested a simple design for the book.  The pages were made from thick, textured watercolor paper.  For the covers, I made my own bookcloth using a soft grey linen fabric.  And I bound the book with the Coptic binding using navy waxed linen thread.

When the book left my studio, the pages were blank and I was curious to see how they would be filled.  Lianne was kind enough to photograph her book for me once she had added photos to the pages, and I'm excited to share her images of the book here.  

I highly recommend that you take some time to look through Lianne's online portfolio of her photographs.  She is a world-traveling photographer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and many other publications.  Her work mainly focuses on the effects of politics on people and their environments, and she travels around the globe to capture her stunning images. She also photographs a limited number of weddings each year, in a similar documentary style to her editorial work.  You can view her wedding portfolio here.  

The craftsmanship of the blank book is very important to me and I enjoy the detailed process of creating a handbound book completely from scratch.  But a book like this clearly takes on more meaning once it has completed its journey.

Photos courtesy of Lianne Milton.  

An elegant wedding book bound for Norway

I created this customized wedding guest book over the summer for a couple in Norway.  The bride, Nora, selected a teal paper with a tiny gold dot pattern for the covers of this book.  I had just one sheet of this beautiful chiyogami paper from Japan in my stash, and I'd been waiting for the perfect project to use it.  

I was excited with Nora picked this paper for her wedding book, and I loved the way this book turned out.  I paired the teal paper with a gold coated lokta paper for the endsheets (the paper on the inside of the covers) and the guards (which gives the spine of the book a shimmery touch of elegance). The book was sewn with white linen thread using the Coptic binding technique. 

Soon after making this book when I wanted to order more of this particular teal paper, I was disappointed to learn that it was no longer available.  I only had a partial sheet left, just enough to make one (or maybe two) more books.  But thankfully my luck changed a few months later.  In late December when I placed a large paper order from my favorite paper supplier, I was thrilled to discover that it was back in stock. I ordered several sheets of this design in teal, pink, and orange — all of which are now part of my 2012 paper collection for custom wedding books or baby books. 

Book arts classes at Watkins College

After the success of Handmade & Bound, the first book arts festival in Nashville, Watkins College of Art, Design & Film is expanding their book arts and printmaking classes in their community education program. I'll be teaching two of them in the next two months.

I think I've put together a pair of really creative classes, and you can get a sneak peek below. And if you're local to Nashville, you can sign up at the Watkins community website. Books are just one part of the course offerings; view the full course catalog here. 

Decorative and functional journals

When: 1 to 5 p.m., Saturdays, Feb. 18 – March 10 (4 weeks)

Where: Watkins College, 2298 Rosa Parks Blvd., Nashville

Cost: $100, plus $20 materials fee. 

Description: Learn to bind your own unique and functional books, perfect for journaling or sketching. Beginning with simple folded and sewn structures, the class will work toward more complex bindings with exposed stitching that is both decorative and functional. The class will explore traditional techniques with an emphasis on using quality papers with interesting patterns and textures. All materials and tools will be provided.

Keepsakes turned into sculptural books

When: 6 to 9 p.m., Thursdays, March 15 – 29 (3 weeks)

Where: Watkins College, 2298 Rosa Parks Blvd., Nashville

Cost: $100, plus $20 materials fee. 

Description: Maps, postcards, ticket stubs, letters, and vintage photographs become works of art in this sculptural bookmaking class. These books may look simple when closed, but they open to reveal surprising folded structures and intricate plays of light and shadow. Binding styles include double concertina, lotus fold and flag book. All materials and tools will be provided, but students are encouraged to bring personal paper items.

   Click the image above to view the full course catalog.

Chatty Crafty features independent artists in Chattanooga

Our first visit to Chattanooga took us downtown to Warehouse Row, a redeveloped series of buildings on the site of a former Civil War fort, and now home to boutique stores and a great event space. Chatty Crafty, typically an outdoor show, brought together more than 50 artists for holiday shopping and selling.

While wandering through the show, I especially liked the upcycling ideas by husband-and-wife duo Reuse First, including their use of alcohol bottles as succulent planters and re-purposed bingo cards and photo slides for blank books. And here's a neat connection: They grew up in a Chicago suburb not far from my hometown.

I also saw some familiar faces and friends, including fellow Nashville artist and Porter Flea founder Katie Lynne Vance. Her screen-printed T-shirt necklaces are great (I bought the polka dot necklace seen above.) I was also happy to see Liz from Liddabits (below). Liz and I are proud University of Georgia art school grads. She makes banners and notecards, but her biggest hit in Chattanooga may have been her photo booth mustache props.

This photo shows a button bouquet by The Button Florist, who we first met last spring at the Handmade Market in Raleigh.

Chatty Crafty allowed me to debut my handmade book ornaments. Because of their interesting structures, I gave many demonstrations over the weekend. To display them, we put to use an IKEA shelf from our dining room, which has perfect mesh shelves for hanging the ornaments.

Teaching bookbinding with The Skillery

The holiday season was filled with teaching classes, selling at shows in Tennessee and wrapping up special orders to be given as gifts across the country.

In early December, I taught a one-day bookmaking workshop through a partnership with The Skillery, the new Nashville company I've mentioned before that encourages locals to teach and to learn new skills. My class about books that can hang as tree ornaments was The Skillery's first event, and it sold out! (Oddly enough, a power outage almost thwarted the whole thing. You can read about that at The Skillery blog. The workshop photos shown here are by Matt Dudley, professional photographer and founder of The Skillery.)

The two-hour workshop sent each student home with two handmade books: a hardcover pamphlet stitch book and a folded paper star book. Like in other classes, I cut paper and bookboard to size in advance to give students a head start so we could jump right into the fun of making books. Unlike some of the other classes, Matt from The Skillery wisely thought to provide wine and snacks for all students, a nice touch for a cozy night class.

The books that students made will be long-lasting keepsakes, and because of their blank pages, they work well for writing messages to family members. When visiting my husband's family just before Christmas, we used one to write memories of the weekend together, then we found a home for it on the tree.

Holiday shopping at Porter Flea in Nashville

The photo above captures the brief calm at my book booth at Porter Flea Handmade Holiday Market in East Nashville, just before a large and lively crowd made for a busy day. With rock 'n' roll DJs keeping the beat, I met at least as many book-minded shoppers as at any other show. Great event planning and promotion by the Porter Flea folks — see their amazing screen-printed posters — have quickly made their shows a success. The holiday market was their second effort. You can look back at my write-up of their first show, and find them on Twitter and Facebook to learn of future events.

One of the unique things about this show was the diversity of handmade items on display, including a strong showing from male artists who brought their woodworking, leather, letterpress prints, poster art and T-shirts. I'm sure most shoppers found something of interest, which created a great buzz inside the East Park Community Center. You can see a full list of Porter Flea vendors online, and some crisp photos of the show by Nashville fashion blogger Under the Guise and by Sabrosa Vintage.

The Skillery launches, and I'm teaching book arts

I'm excited to announce my latest bookmaking class and the awesome organizing force behind it: The Skillery, a new project in Nashville promoting interesting classes and lectures. The Skillery community connects people looking to teach (all sorts of things) with neighbors interested in learning.

Launched on 11/11/11, The Skillery is busy promoting four classes, including mine about miniature books as holiday ornaments. And if you're reading this today, Saturday, Dec. 3, you can use a special discount code to save 20% off the workshop price (note it's only available today). Details below.

Connecting with Matt, who launched The Skillery, is just the latest great connection that has cropped up in East Nashville. He found my work online, we grabbed coffee together, and it's been an exciting time ever since, as this project gets started. I'm pretty sure that even my husband will soon be teaching classes: Most likely juggling!

Here are the details for my class, just four days away:

INTRO TO BOOK ARTS: HOLIDAY BOOK ORNAMENTS

Wednesday, Dec. 7, 7-9 p.m.

What If Studio, 69 Trimble Street, Nashville, TN 37210

Create eye-catching miniature book Christmas ornaments in this introductory bookbinding class. We’ll make sculptural books with surprising folded structures and functional journals that can be given as gifts to friends and family. This introductory class explains the fundamentals of bookbinding, including proper techniques for folding, stitching, and gluing, as well as varied binding styles using high-quality decorative materials and traditional binding tools. All materials will be provided. This class will give you the techniques, ideas and resources to continue making handbound books.

Admission: $28, and includes all materials and supplies

Tickets available here: http://www.theskillery.com/intro-to-book-arts/

One-day promo code: PORTERFLEA

The Skillery: website | twitter | facebook