Custom Poetry Book

Custom Poetry Book

About the Project

Time was of the essence for this project. My client contacted me in late February to commission a custom poetry book for an upcoming trip to Venice she and her fiance planned – which was happening in less than a month. Normally, I don’t take on new projects with a timeline so abbreviated, however, something spoke to me on this one and I felt like I needed to do anything I could to help her. I am, admittedly, a romantic at heart and a story like this just felt magical and I was honestly happy to help. 

She and her fiance had written poetry during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which served as a connective and strengthening exercise for them both. As they were joining each other in marriage, she wanted to capture those moments with each other into a single volume that will last for the rest of their lives together. 

This project was a full “ground-up” endeavor, taking it from an abstract idea into the physical world. She sent me the raw text on .doc files and I set to work designing and typesetting the book. We worked quickly and we were in constant communication. Thankfully, the book was finished and cured on time and delivered a few days before they departed. From beginning to delivery it took about 3-weeks.

The result was exactly what she’d imagined.

The Proposal

After my client returned home she sent me an update on their trip and included some amazing photos! The photography was done by Luisa Basson and they are excellent. Her website is https://www.luisabassowedding.com/ and more of her stunning work can be found there.

I am so touched that she included me in this important moment for them and I don’t often get to see the books I make in their new life. Seeing what we made together, in context and in action, was a surreal experience. 

As a bookbinder, I operate mostly in the background – making books that people enjoy and that look nice within a collection. But knowing that something I made played a small part in such a big moment for them will always be special to me.

Two people holding a blue leather book
Photography by Luisa Basso (https://www.luisabassowedding.com/)
Photography by Luisa Basso (https://www.luisabassowedding.com/)
Photography by Luisa Basso (https://www.luisabassowedding.com/)
Photography by Luisa Basso (https://www.luisabassowedding.com/)

The Process

Since this was a time sensitive project, I decided to do this work in the cuir-ciselé technique. While I have been perfecting my skills in freehand gold/silver tooling, I wanted to get this done with confidence and havana set-backs at all. I began with veg-tanned sheepskin and carved the Rialto bridge design first. Once the leather was colored and finished I moved on to the stamping for both the front and back covers. Since we had a relatively large canvas to play with, I felt a 36pt type would be perfect for the title and it really captures the gold in a lovely way. I also decided not to stamp the spine, since vertical stamping can be quite time consuming to get it to align just right on such a thin spine.

Brothers Journals

Brothers' Journals

About the Project

A client contacted me to commission two journals for her grandsons. She said that she wanted to give them something that will help encourage their art and writing, both of them being young and developing as artists. So we set out to create these journals with the mission of making them both durable and aesthetically pleasing – a classic design for the spines and high-quality paper that will work for drawing and writing.

With a few of her grandson’s preferences in mind for colors, I began drafting the idea and put together journals for them that will last a lifetime. It was a fairly straightforward approach, using hand tools that I’d had made for me many years ago from Kevin Noaks with Bookbindesigns. We decided to work with silver, rather than gold, for a look that stands out and holds space on the shelf.

We were able to finish the project before Christmas and they were delivered on time for Christmas morning. This was an incredibly satisfying project to work on and I am thankful to have helped bring her vision to life.

The Process

My client asked me to take as many pictures as possible during the binding process, so I have a lot to share with you all! She wanted to include them when they received their books. She also sent me a note to include with the packaging when I sent them out, which was very sweet.

Polar Latitudes

Polar Latitudes

Explorers Experience Log

About the Project

In early June I began working with a client who contacted me to create a custom logbook for their expeditions to Antarctica. They represented Polar Latitudes, a group dedicated to introducing people to the wonders of Antarctica. With regular trips to our Southern Continent, they help reveal the beauty and majesty of a vast landscape, full of awe-inspiring locations seemingly untouched by time.

As we set forth to bring this idea to life, I dedicated myself to creating the book this group deserves. The results of our work together will hopefully be something their travelers will enjoy, allowing them to record their experiences on their journeys.

The Process

The client was clear in their vision, which always helps. I could tell immediately that they knew what they wanted and it was up to me to bring it to life. They came armed with drafts of potential results, giving me options to work with. Additionally, we knew the size of the book would be quite large – 12”h x 15”w. The surface area alone presented the challenge of sourcing enough leather to cover the required space. Using a quarter-bound approach, where the spine and part of the covers are bound with one hide of leather and the remaining space of both front/back covers are encased in another. For the spine, we chose a fine morocco (goatskin) with a “garganey” color. For the covers, we decided to work with veg-tanned sheepskin to accomplish the design. Since the background compass rose was so large, rather than commissioning a custom stamp to be engraved (which would have been costly and unwieldy), I suggested we employ cuir-ciselé to carve it out. Since that technique is my specialty, I knew it wouldn’t take much work to make something nice that would complement the overall feel of the finished product. The center logo was created with custom-engraved stamps, breaking it into two elements – the Antarctica “P” and the nautical star. We did this to allow the aqua-blue metallic stamping for the star, leaving the Antarctica “P” as a dark depression.

Another fun aspect was the bookmark. I usually include a satin/silk ribbon with all my bindings, but the client had someone in mind to create a custom knot-work cord for the marker. It arrived shortly after I began work and I included it into the binding. Since it was made of cord I was able to actually sew it into the spine, securing it to the book itself.

The Endleaves

I don’t normally write much about the endleaves, but in this case, it’s a bit different. I personally like working with marbled paper from Hollander’s, however, my client had particular images they wanted to use for this book. Welcoming their future travelers into the logbook, the images they provided helped bring out the full breadth of the book’s mission.

Front Endleaf

Back Endleaf

Thorson Journal

Thorson
Custom Norse
Journal

About the Project

This book was created for a close friend as a gift for his wife. He and I have been working together for a long time and I am happy to see it all come together exactly as he envisioned it. It started with a simple conversation about influences and design motifs and evolved into a sweeping design for both the front and back covers. A key aspect of this design was the inclusion of the Berkano Rune, which has special significance for him and his family.

I was deeply honored to make this and bring it all together as a wonderful gift for his wife. I’ve admired his work for quite a long time and I feel thankful to have some of my work featured in his collection.

The result gave us exactly what we were looking for. After finishing the carving I applied an “evening blue” leather dye and a Japanese antique gel to really make the design pop and give it an overall aged look. While making the book I also thought it would be a good idea to have nine spine fillets (raised bands), instead of the tradition five or seven. Nine is a particularly important number in Norse cosmology and I wanted to bring as much as I could to this project. On a personal level, I and the client have a deep connection to the Norse belief structure, so these small touches help connect this book with our wider world.

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Methods

Cuir-ciselé is my favorite approach to decorating books in which the client has a desire to make something completely customized. While tooling or hot-stamping could have achieved this, as is often practiced in today’s world of bookbinding, I find an immense joy in working with this style. It’s how I got my start in bookbinding and I love coming back to it. 

We started with a very basic Norse design and I expanded it from there. Using this file a baseline I then connected the flowing lines naturally to make the piece fill out the cover. I’ve been studying Norse design elements for many years and this project allowed me to stretch that knowledge I’ve been practicing. Thankfully, I’ve been working with “The Anatomy of Viking Art” by Jonas Lau Markussen, a wonderful book made by a modern master. His studies of the subject are quite unparalleled and I’ve really enjoyed his work.

After we make the decisions needed to compile a picture of the final product, I always prefer making a second-phase mock-up of the design. This helps me determine how much time it will take, what techniques I need to employ, etc. First drawing it out with pencil directly on the leather, I then use my swivel knife to carve out the major features of the image. After wetting it, generously, I take my hammer and chisel’s to work out the details.  

Design

Musashi

Musashi

About the Project

Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa is a seminal Japanese epic that has influenced countless pieces of cultural significance. 

This epic tale stands at nearly 900-pages and follows the adventures of Shinmen Takezō, later known as Miyamoto Musashi, following the Battle of Sekigahara. Musashi journeys throughout feudal Japan training pupils, fighting in duels and challenging conventional figures of authority with his virtue and unparalleled skill as a swordsman. Originally published in 1935, and later translated to English in 1981, it comprises seven books detailing Musashi’s exploits leading up to his climactic duel with Sasaki Kojiro on Ganryujima.

Miyamoto Musashi is an infamous figure in Japanese culture even to this day. He is the author of The Book of Five Rings and is considered a  Kensei, a sword-saint of Japan.

Methods

Blue is a significant color among Japanese swordsmanship and I found a lovely dark leather from J. Hewit & Sons. The rough pours of the hide give the covers a unique look, almost that of living skin, and the leather has a wonderful texture. However, I would still like to perfect my tooling practices, as I found this leather to be a bit difficult to work on when applying heated tools. When deciding the design of the decorations, silver stood out to me and I chose to run with it. I’m happy I did and the effect turned out beautiful. Lastly, I applied the silver leaf to the top and bottom of the spine with five strokes bordering the endbands. I learned this technique from All About Bookbinding and have fallen in love with the look.

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