Book of the Week: Custom Shakespeare Journal

 So I need to talk about this book, if only because it's taken me a month and a half to make. Oh My Bookbinding God.

I don't know if anyone's familiar with The Bookbinding Guy videos (more info here) but I checked them out at the library, and apart from having terribly loud and upsetting music, the instructions really are helpful and clear. They differ slightly from most of the instructions in books I've found, but actually seeing people do things like sewing headbands was AWESOME. (And yes I just yelled that.)

In the middle of June, I had a custom order for a Shakespeare inspired journal for a future English professor from his wife. (What would become this book). She was actually my first ever buyer, and she's the best customer I've had. We talked it over, and she gave me a lot of room to do whatever I wanted. My immediate thought: I WANT TO DO A QUARTER LEATHER! Hence the Bookbinding Guy's video.

Anyway, this was my first quarter leather, for all intents and purposes, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I sewed the bookblock on large cords, and the effect was pretty exaggerated. If you're wondering, I used antique leather, that was already weathered and worn, because Shakespeare should never look brand new. The marbled paper was from MyMarbledPapers on Etsy. This particular paper was based on Coriolanus.

I even sewed headbands! And then I sewed more headbands. It's addicting.

In fact, I don't know why more people don't sew them instead of gluing pre-made ones on. Honestly, sewing them is a lot more fun than holding them on for half and hour hoping they doesn't fall off after you let go.

Goodness, this book took so long to make, if only because I was trying really hard not to screw it up. I got feedback yesterday, and a really nice message from the buyer about how much her husband liked it. He said it was very "scholarly". And he's going to use it to take notes for his forthcoming book. Good luck to him!

Marbled Paper Porn

I ordered some beautiful hand-marbled paper from a fellow Etsian a little while ago, for this gigantic monstrosity of a Shakespeare-inspired custom journal I've been working on for ages. Which leads me to the point: I LOVE PACKAGES!

If you look closely to the left, you'll notice the gnaw marks I made on the wrapping. For some reason, I can never delay gratification enough to get a package from the mailbox to my apartment, despite the trivial two minute walk, so I often find myself knee deep in brown paper and shreds of cardboard just as the resident cute boy comes to check his mail.


Oh but just look at this paper! I'm still in awe that someone actually made this! There were no computers involved--no printing, no graphic design--just someone huddled over a big tub of liquid, manipulating the dyes into this perfect pattern.

Hand marbled paper has been a tradition within the bookbinding world for what might as well be forever. But I'm not a marbler, so I'll direct you to these awesome articles.