The Mad Dash

Phew! Apologies for the blank photos, clearly I picked the wrong hosting program! They looked like this:


When they were neatly stacked and the library had finished trying to take over my life (it's not my fault, it's so full of lovely books) I started on the restocking for Wrest Park. It's been a brilliant week of waking up early, making books, working until bedtime and dreaming of books, waking up with my hands smelling of leather dye. Aces.


Although some of the books remain the colour of the leather when I buy it, the massive majority is hand dyed to the right shade.


Finishing area mid-work. It gets rather untidy....

And these are the glues I use. Archival quality PVA, Timebond contact adhesive (I used to use a big industrial one, but I think this one smells less. I think. It's hard to tell, but please take my word for it that it smells better than animal glue. *bleugh*) The next is a mixture of pva and paste which I use for attaching endpapers and most other paper to paper, and the last is traditional starch paste. In all honesty, I only really use the paste for repairs to old books, pva and the mixture are the just so much easier.


And this is the board that controls my life. It is my friend.

The books made for Wrest Park are looking lovely, I'll be taking some photos of them as I put them out. If anyone's thinking of Christmas orders (I know it's early!) then please, please try and get them to me by the middle of October. I'll have half term to focus on books, but otherwise wime will be limited. I'll squeeze in as many as I physically can!

Hopefully I'll see some of you over the next couple of days.

The Joys of Summer

Oh yikes. Everything has managed to come at once and attempt to cram itself into the summer holidays. I considered canceling my holiday, then figured that would rather defeat the object of the whole 'holidays' thing. I have had to cancel a few of the smaller local summer fairs though, apologies if you were hoping to see me there, I just don't have the time to make the stock necessary. At the moment I'm working full time all day, then cramming books into the evenings and weekends. The library is going well and I'm really enjoying being in charge of that many books, though there's a lot of work to be done there before the kiddies return.

Looking at final postage dates and work times for the new term, the deadline for custom Christmas orders will be WEDNESDAY 21st OCTOBER. I know this is horribly early, but the schools are open almost right up until the final posting day, so the massive majority of the work must be scheduled for the autumn half term. There will be stock books listed for sale for posting at a later date, but all custom orders must reach me by this date.

For now though, it's back to the workshop.


Blocks sewn, spines glued, linings and bands attached.


Marking out for the skiving. The flesh will be carefully removed from the shaded area, almost to the skin, then moulded around the bands.



Taaadaaa! One down, lots to go...

Mini-News

This mini-news bulletin comes in three parts.

Part 1
I will be demonstrating and selling at Wrest Park at the end of August. I'm really looking forward to this one: even if I sell nothing, it's such a beautiful place and such a well organised fair that I know I'll have a nice time.

Part 2
Juggling bookbinding, tutoring and my new job is proving rather more challenging than expected. But it's rather entertaining. There have been a few teapot in the fridge moments, but so far everything is well, and I'm loving that the new job requires lots of reading.

Part 3
The bits and pieces that I had on order are now HERE! So anyone with an order placed should be getting it in a few days. I'm also planning to list some more books on ebay and hopefully up-date the website proper, which I know I have been woefully neglecting (sorry) and will soon be mostly for custom orders only, while others are elsewhere.

That is all.

The Good News, The Bad News

Good News: Living Crafts went really well, lots of orders placed (they're on their way - the workshop's in full swing!) and many lovely people buying lots of books.

Bad News: I've had to take another job. Part time for a couple of months, then full time from September.

Good News: It's a brilliant job which should have space around the edges to continue the business and still attend craft fairs etc.

Bad News: If anyone is thinking about putting in orders for Christmas, please, please, please, do it sooner rather than later or I may have to decline your order. I'll be working right the way up until the last posting day, and there are limits to how many books I'll be able to work on at once.

Travel Journals

These have been quite popular, and though they take forever and a day to construct, I'm sure they'd be a great companion for anyone fond of hopping on planes and boats.

Living Crafts

Starts today at Hatfield House. Many new books, new designs and a chance to see a book made from start to finish. The range of crafts there is superb, with plenty for kids to do and far too much temptation to spend every penny you have!

If you're thinking of visiting, do come and say hello. If I'm not at my table, I may have slipped away to get coffee (mmm, coffee...) or play with the bees. Or spend all my money on Linden Lady chocolates. Yum. I recommend the bunnies.

It looks so innocent...

New red dye, looks quite nice doesn't it?



It even looked quite lovely turned into a book, albeit with a slightly pinky tinge.
Alas, this is the truth of it! Red... no. That's pink, isn't it? And as you see from my fingers, until it's waxed, it's not a very stable dye. Though I quite like the depth of colour on the finished side, the flesh side might be too high a price to pay! I'll see how it goes down at the fair, but I'm not sure I'll be using it again.
A red version of the Evil Plans book that has proved so popular in the past. There are a lot of people plotting evil deeds; slightly worrying really. With it a design that I've used for sketchbooks before and people seem to like, so we'll see, I've made a couple.

And an old favourite that some of you may recognise! I'm making a few of these and leaving the leather unfinished so that they can be personalised later. Loving my new bookblocks, it's taken weeks to get them done but they're a lovely thickness.