You have to really love making books to make books! You have to love the process more than you love the finished product - otherwise you wouldn’t do it!

A few years ago I taught myself how to make handmade books. I studied youtube videos, I googled booking sites and bought actual paper books to learn how.

I quickly learned that making books was probably - out of all the art I make - the most difficult, time consuming, frustrating, difficult, impossible - of any kind of art I had ever tried to make. But you know what - it was/is also the art I love most, and the art that I have made that I am most proud of.

When I made my first lot of handmade books in 2019 - (see sample below) - to my surprise - they all sold out. Not in a crazy frenetic 15 minute period - sold out - but over several months they all sold out.

I have not gone back to making handmade books since that time but not for lack of will, mostly just for lack of time.

But what inspired me to get going at this again was these beautiful digital prints I had been saving and photos I had taken while in Barcelona and in Italy.

I had been saving these files in a folder called “TO PRINT” for probably over a year.

It was only when I was cleaning up my computer files that I came across these files again and thought - wow - these would make beautiful journal covers.

The books I have created this time around are different than the ones created in 2019.

They kind of stand on their own I think, just because of these beautiful prints.

There are more pages of the insides as well on my shop page here so do go and have a look. I am still working on a few more but do go have a look at these and let me know if you have any questions.