Artist Book

Custom Leather Green Book

Custom Artist Book

About the Project

Working with an artist is always a treat! My client contacted me and wanted to commission a book where she can focus her artistic vision in one place – which is something I am acutely aware of. In my life, I’ve found that it’s hard for me to just have one journal for everything I think of or want to express. Thus, this client wanted a place where she can just draw, paint, write, etc. Anything that helps her grow as an artist. 

We started with that mission statement and evolved from there. Using the highest quality Morocco leather (emerald green) I decided that a cuir-ciselé approach would give us what she was looking for. Capturing of the fine details and giving an esoteric, tactile experience. For the spine I decided to try something new in a free-placement of stamps. Since the tower design emphasized “decay” (renewal), I found stamps that give a look of a flower wilting and the petals gathering at the bottom of the book.

The Process

Dragonriders of Pern

Dragonriders of Pern

Anne McCaffrey

About the Project

This is one of those special projects where I was given full latitude to express an ambitious design. 

The client found me a few months ago and we began discussing how we could transform his beloved book. As it happens, I was given a similar book by my Aunt when I was a child, so I was familiar with how unique and cherished this story is. My client gave me a clear directive – “I want you to go full-on; let’s art!”. So I began looking around for inspirations and artwork that I can translate onto leather.

The Process

While looking for nice artwork, we found two pieces by the same artist. Melissa Hudson (https://mhudson-illustration.com/) is a brilliant artist and we felt her depictions of Lessa and Ramoth were perfect for this project. I found both the original sketches and the finished works to be used as references for our translation onto leather.

We wanted the back cover design to feel like Lessa and Ramoth we climbing onto the book over the cover, so we had to flip the original artwork to make this happen. After centering the front cover design properly, I was then able to measure and size out the proportions for the back cover design. It all came together perfectly, fitting to the edges precisely.

I also decided to do something special for the book’s endbands. I normally work with a silk/cotton endband, sometimes sewing them myself for a little added security. However, I wanted this small detail to stand out, so I recalled a method my late bookbinding master taught me during my apprenticeship with him. I took a small strip of goatskin leather, skived it down to a paper-thin weight, and wrapped it around a small cord of bamboo. The result is a matching leather band that it truly unique to the book. No other endbands exist like this – because these are the only ones!

Norse Journal

Norse Journal

$275 USD

Before Taxes and Shipping

About the Project

A journal infused with tradition, intricacy and durability. 

How to Purchase

There a couple ways to purchase this book. You can send me an email by clicking this link or check my listings on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1485160396/norse-journal-green-morocco

Methods

One of my specialties of design is Cuir-ciselé and I wanted to work with some of the fine leather I have in my shop that I acquired from another well-respected bookbinder. Using Russell’s Oasis Goatskin as the base cover I recessed two panels for inlays of vegetable-tanned sheepskin with intertwined Norse dragons in the Urnes style of Viking art and design.

Gallery

The Book of the World

Book of the World

About the Project

Late in 2020 I enrolled in an online course offered by Atlas Obscura about Facts Based Worldbuilding and taught by Moiya McTier, an astrophysicist and folklorist. I was immediately enthralled by the content and loved being a part of building my own world. Since space and other planets are so varied, it was a lot of fun building something completely new and populating it with species specifically adapted the the harsh conditions being set by my fellow students. The challenge was both fun and creative.

At the beginning of the course, I was pretty confident that I’d want to make a special journal to take notes in and continue my own set of worldbuilding creations. I am an ardent fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and have loved his work since I was a small child. I knew when I was very young that I’d wanted to make my own world and write stories about it and this journal will probably be the place I centralize those ideas. 

Methods

I decided to keep the design and structure as simple as possible, all while using the extent of the skills I’ve learned over the years. Fine Morroco leather cases in this book, decorated with 24k gold leaf on the spine with decorative stamps and a fillet. A ‘forest green’ title panel was stamped with the book’s title and volume number (knowing that I will make more in the future). Since this book is meant to contain creative material, I felt it best to keep it simple so as to focus my creativity on the contents within, rather than the outside of the book. A silk blue ribbon, the signature color of Boston Harbor Bookbindery, is attached to the inner-spine to mark the pages of progress.

Inspiration

As I mentioned above, one of my main inspirations is Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, however, I’ve encountered many worlds over the years that have captured my attention and they all have inspired me in some way. The maps you see below are only the latest, of hundreds, I’ve drawn over my life and are the foundation of the world being built. The first map was made using Wonderdraft while the second map was drawn by hand. All the calligraphy in the second map was done by me, after taking a college course in calligraphy in 2017. I created it for my final project of the course.

Fantasy map of the Northern Realms

Gallery

The final result turned out spectacularly and I’m very happy with it. The thick paper is very comfortable to write on and I love having a single place to compile my ideas. I can often flip to a previous entry to ensure continuity, but I mostly use this as a place for notes and drawings. It’s starting to get full already and I suspect Vol.2 will be coming soon!

Going to Wings

Going to Wings

About the Project

This year kicked off with a fantastic project that was commissioned as a gift for the author! In early January, I received an email asking if I’d be willing/able to create a one-of-a-kind edition, designed specifically with the author in mind.

I am always thrilled to get work like this because I feel that this is one of the foundational motivators for me as a bookbinder. I work on countless books throughout my day, often for personal libraries of special collectors. While it does not happen very often, I personally love creating special books for the authors who wrote them. There is something hermetically balanced about doing this and I always derive great joy in the finished work.

Design

Geometric illusion for custom book cover.

Methods

To achieve this design, we rely on an old and seldom practiced technique in the worlds of both traditional & contemporary bookbinding: cuir-ciselé. Working with veg-tanned sheepskin, we’d carve the design on the front cover, then dye it Forest Green. The client also requested a decorated border to be stamped on both the front and back covers.

One of the main reasons cuir-ciselé is often avoided is simply due because of how time-consuming it is. While the design is relatively simple, drying and wetting the leather repeatedly takes a few days to fully work itself out.  The leather needs to be 100% dry before any coloring is applied.

 

Finished

The result was a book that was both elegant and tasteful, with a boldness that strikes character in any shelf it sits on. As a large-format book, approx 8.5″ x 11″, it sits well in the hand and feels lovely. This book was commissioned as a gift for the author’s personal library. We were honored to work with the raw manuscript that the author worked on herself. She’d already sent the manuscript to her publisher, however, this book was created as her own special edition.