Book Making

How I Found My Way

I have always been a Thing Maker and I’ve always used or filled the Things I’ve made. I have a hard time giving myself another title for I am interested in and do a lot of things, though I have made t h o u s a n d s of books in my life and I’ll likely not stop. I began making books because I had thoughts and wanderings and I needed a place to put them. So I started life as a Bookfiller before Bookbinder which I feel obligated to report though it complicates the telling. If I start by calling myself a bookbinder, I may only get to be that forever, and for some reason this frightens me.

Here are some books that I’ve made and filled, chronologically:

Circis Acters. To: Mommy

I was an unremarkable little artist, but persistent.

And here, the only other book that I have from my childhood, though I made many! This one from the Young Author’s Club in second grade which I suspect had a big impact on me. I was 7 or 8 years old.

I used simple store bought black sketchbooks when in high school

Small Black Sketchbooks

And then I went to Italy and bought a book that would change my life. The paper was thin and yukky and the book fell apart but it was a gorgeous object so I rudimentarily repaired it. When I got to the last page it was positively bursting and I decided to learn how to make my own books!

My first leather-bound journal from Venice, Italy

I made my first with leather scraps and my favourite drawing paper. It was a beast of a book and it got a lot of attention. I began filling the pages with writing and drawings, and one day, when I walked out of The Strand in NYC, Hunter S. Thompson invited me and my journal into his limo parked out front. He scribbled something in it and I was on my way. Shortly after I travelled to Amsterdam where the book was promptly stolen along with the rest of my bag’s contents. The journal thief would mark the next big change in my life.

I began searching all over Amsterdam for a Book Bindery I’d learned existed as a result of the theft. After a day of searching, I found the shop and my world turned over. Tools and linens and book making magic filled the underground shop. Though they had hides hanging from the walls, I wasn’t interested in the new stuff so they directed me to an upholsterer on the same street. There, after crawling around on the floor and under tables of old leather and scrap, I bought pieces of leather removed from one-hundred-year-old chairs that had been forgotten. Thus began my adventure into book making with antique outsides and lovely quality insides.

I transformed a variety of leather bits for my journals — from old jackets and wallets to camera cases and abandoned military bags. Sometimes I added other old things like tin types and escutcheons and dress bits found in abandoned houses to the covers. My journals were a time soup which we all added to in the filling.

Early Books made with reclaimed leather and other bits

More early books made with reclaimed objects, leather, and quilt blocks!

My current books are a lot simpler and smaller. I use vintage fabrics still, but they’ve evolved.

Smudge, Left-Handed Journals and our Anselm Bookbinding Kit

And now here I am, though a seller of handmade books, I’d love to share how we make them! I do not know what shape this section will take, but I do love a good adventure.

My current project — poems paired with drawings — are tucked away inside these very littles!

Me and my simplest books!

Above photograph

Deborah J. Stein

Join me and Beth from Introvert Drawing Club for a bookmaking adventure here on Substack on August 22nd. Sign up and find more details here!

ps: This is a new Section here on my Substack. It won’t be regular like my poetry project. Our workshop prompted the telling of my journey. I would love to hear from you if you are interested in making and or filling books. What makes a good blank book for you? What makes a good page? What compels you to make marks?