About The Bindery
Hi! My name is Jeff and I am passionate about creativity and bookbinding. I truly believe in the transformative power of design binding and the ability to encapsulate the relationships we develop with our books. Through my work, my goal is to make design binding accessible to any collector and inspire those wishing to create something new. Good design and good relationships come from collaboration. I’m excited to start a new project, learn about you, and make something beautiful together.
Boston Harbor Bookbindery is located in the Southern bay of the Salish Sea, nestled on one of the many North-facing peninsulas wrapped with evergreens. Only a few miles north of Olympia, WA (Schictwoot), our site is a major crossroad and historically home to the southern Coast Salish peoples, Squaxin Island, Cowlitz, and the Nisqually Indian Tribe.
I am a proud descendant of Pima/Akimel O’odham ancestry, with roots in the once lush fields of the Gila River valley. Now an arid desert, my people settled in the central valley of California for many generations.
With each book, we pay homage to our ancestors and to the Native First Nations, whose lands we use to our benefit.
If you’d like to learn more about your specific area and the history of the neighboring Tribes, check out this online resource:
Bookbinding became a passion of mine after I completed my 8-year enlistment with the United States Air Force. As a Special Operations Tactical Air Control Party – Joint Terminal Attack Controller I spent many years in conflict zones, supporting Special Forces teams during combat operations and directing airstrikes.
Working with Jeff and his team on my project was awesome. They listened to exactly what I needed, and made it happen. Their creative input was invaluable, and they worked with me to make a quick turnaround time happen. They were flexible and really created a beautiful piece that I'm proud to give as a gift. I can't recommend them more highly, and would work with them again if I needed to do another project.
Tom Miller
We are thrilled with the quality of Jeff's work. The leather is incredibly supple, soft to the touch, and just the right color for the books we had bound. The gold lettering was perfect for the look of the book as well. The books turned out so well for two reasons: Jeff took the time to sit down with us to make sure that he knew what we wanted, and he also is a truly skilled book binder and artisan who cares about his work. We're planning to have him work on more of our books!
Ellen E. Moore
Early in 2019, I decided to get one leatherbound copy of the book I had published the previous year. Choosing a quality bookbinder is not something one does every day and checking online I could see there were several websites which offered a wide array of prices, experience, and vision. I sent out five identical emails to five different companies to get an idea of what I was facing. Within 10 minutes, I received a personal response from Jeff Salazar of Sound Leather Books. That set the tone for the remainder of the process. (The other four companies replied six hours to two days later with fairly generic "canned" responses). From the start, Jeff took a personal interest in the project - I knew I wasn't just another number or job. Jeff kept in constant contact with me and his e-mails were timely, detailed and included many photos to make sure I understood my available options. He provided guidance to make sure the book was done right, and yet, he listened to and incorporated my input. It was truly a collaborative process. Oh, by the way, his prices were among the more reasonable of the five companies I contacted. In the end, Jeff created a beautiful leatherbound book - something that will be handed done to my grandchildren and their children. Conducting business transactions with unknown individuals on the internet can be a risky ordeal as you just never know with whom you are dealing or the quality of their workmanship. In retrospect, I cannot think of anyone I would rather have worked on my book and I highly recommend Jeff if you need quality bookbinding that is genuine a work of art.
Bob Blecksmith
Making a book together is both fun and simple. Just follow these steps and contact us with your ideas. We can take it from there!
Inspirations
Gather together the ideas or images you'd like your book to look like. Whether it is a special edition you once saw in a collection, or simply a group of pictures that capture your idea. Colors are very important and we suggest have two primary colors in-mind for your project.
Collaborate
Send us your ideas and a general breakdown of what you'd like to have created. We will then work together every step of the way to bring your ideas to life.
Create
We develop a plan with you and determine how long the project will take, outlining the steps and materials necessary to accomplish our goals together. Then we make your book and keep you informed at every stage of the process.