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Bookbinding

I have some experience with book arts and box making, showcased below. I like the precision of cutting and folding signatures, and sewing a text block is almost meditative — as long as the thread doesn't tangle up.

Overview

I was taught bookbinding by Judy Sommerfeldt in 2019. The timing turned out to be perfect, because it's one of the activites that got me through Covid. There's a deep satisfaction in turning a pile of loose papers, some thread, and a bit of cloth into a book. There's a differnt kind of satisfaction in knowing that the techniques I'm using are the same ones used by book binders centuries ago.

Close-up angled view of five bound book spines lined up, in black cloth, brown cloth, teal with a gold scroll pattern, purple cloth with exposed hand-sewn pink thread, and black with a green marbled cover A stack of bound books viewed from the spine edge, topped with a green marbled cover and black cloth spine, above a purple book with exposed pink stitching, a brown cloth spine, a black spine, and a book covered in yellow floral patterned paper Two books lying flat side by side, both covered in matching cream and gold floral patterned paper, one fitted with a black cloth spine Two books with green and yellow marbled paper covers and black cloth spines, overlapping on top of a stack of green and gold patterned books A row of finished books standing upright, showing black cloth, a floral pattern bordered in black, brown cloth, and purple cloth with exposed pink hand-sewn stitching along the spine
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