Ink Stained Book Arts

Studios Magazine Profile: Charlene Matthews

Ever wonder what a professional bookbinder's studio looks like? Pick up a copy of the Summer 2013 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Studios magazine and read my profile of Charlene Matthews, a Los Angeles-based bookbinder, book artist and book restorer.

I loved Charlene's bindery the minute I stepped foot in it. The space is unlike any I've ever seen, populated with serious equipment like a 19th century board shear and a 20th century guillotine (for cutting paper, not heads), along with amazing books and other works of art.

Not many people in the U.S. make their living creating custom handmade books and doing book restoration, so this is a rare view into the inner works of a bindery. Charlene also talks about why she decided to move from a private space into a public one, and how the studio influences her work.

 

Here are a few more photos I took when I stopped by her bindery the other day. She was in the process of working on this 17th century leather Bible for a client, creating new clasps for it:

Here's a close-up of the brass on one of the corners. Beautiful, no? The detail is incredible.

I noticed that part of the first page (shown below) had been cut out. I asked Charlene about it, and she said that people would often remove images if they thought them too salacious. Apparently this drawing of Adam and Eve was a bit too much for the owner.

When books are taken apart for repair, Charlene often finds surprises inside and tacks them on her wall. Here's some writing discovered inside a cover of an antique leather-covered book:

And here's a great view of her John Jacques & Son board shear, which she fondly refers to as "Jacques." I covet this piece of equipment, and hope to have my own Jacques one day.

I'm a huge fan of Charlene's own books, and this is a particular favorite. It's made with a Panavision fish-eye lens embedded in the cover and lives in a custom clamshell box:

There are more photos of Charlene's bindery in the magazine, taken by the very talented Marissa Roth. Other terrific studios are featured in the magazine as well, so pick up a copy! More info on Charlene, her work and her bindery can be found here.

Bookbinding Classes in Los Angeles

I'm teaching again! Yay! I'm excited to let you know that I'll be teaching Bookbinding 101: Sewn Books at The Word Is Art Gallery in Culver City on Saturday, June 15th from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Here's the description for the class:

"Get started in bookbinding by making three easy sewn books. We’ll begin by sewing single sheets with a Japanese stab binding, using handmade paper for the covers. Then we’ll make a chunky book using a long stitch, and incorporate vintage ephemera into the pages. The last book will be a hard-bound, single-signature book covered in gorgeous bookcloth. You’ll learn helpful techniques and tips as well as information on basic bookbinding materials and tools."

This is a great class for those who have been wanting to learn bookbinding basics, and for those who need a little refresher. All tools and materials will be provided, but you're welcome to bring your own tools if you're more comfortable with them. Only the usual suspects are needed: a bone folder, awl, cutting mat, pencil, eraser and scissors. The cost for the class is $55, and you can sign up online via the link above.

Reserve some time to look around the gallery, too. Owner Renee Troy has created a wonderful space filled with amazing art.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments, or send me an email. Hope to see you there! Stay tuned for information on more upcoming classes!

File Folder Book Tutorial

Last month I taught this file folder book as part of an Etsy Meet & Make event at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles. Now you can make one too!

Head on over to Craftside, where the instructions are posted. And here's an extra added bonus tip: Instead of making one or both pockets, sew more pages into the fold(s) on the side, using the same 5-hole pamphlet stitch that you used for the pages in the center.

If you make one of these books, please let me know! I'd love to see what you come up with!

Mom & Pop Up Shop at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles

I'll be selling my books at the Mom & Pop Up Shop at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles on Saturday, April 27th. The SoCal Etsy Guild has teamed up with Crafted to do this one-day outdoor show.

If you've never been to Crafted, you should really check it out. There are some incredibly talented artists and crafters who have booths inside the enormous refurbished warehouse. And there's food, too!

I'll shut down my Etsy shop for the weekend, but I'll also be bringing some new books. Here's a sneak peek at something I'm working on now. I actually meant to do a completely different binding, but without thinking I punched holes for kettle stitches, so had to change direction. I actually like this one better. It had been a while since I'd done the French stitch, and I had forgotten how pretty it is. I also love showing the linen tapes.

I hope you can stop by! If you want to make a day of it, there's plenty to do nearby, such as touring the USS Iowa, the Banning Museum, and the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum. See you on Saturday!

A Great Night at the Craft and Folk Art Museum

What a fantastic evening at the Craft and Folk Art Museum's Etsy Meet & Make! We had a packed house on the patio, where heat lamps warmed up the brisk air while we made books.

After a couple of quick demos everyone was off and running on the two projects. I brought a selection of stamps, some scrap decorative paper and punches to decorate the books, and I was blown away by the designs people were coming up with.

Books were covered with collages, stamped patterns and drawings that were just gorgeous. Above is a file folder book by Michelle Yashar. I think it was brilliant that she used parts of the kit bags to decorate the front. 

Above, Scottie Bowden holds up a book he made, which he covered with patterned paper. Fantastic.

We couldn't have had a nicer crowd. Everyone was in a good mood, and why not? Where else can you get together with fellow creative types, have some drinks and snacks and make cool projects for a mere $7? Kudos to CAFAM for hosting these monthly Etsy nights. 

Thanks to CAFAM, their staff and volunteers for all the help that night. I truly couldn't have done it without them. Thanks also to Stefanie Girard of Craftside, who did a giveaway of journals and wrapping paper, and to my friend Debra Disman. If you want to attend the next one, they're held on the first Thursday of each month. Don't miss it!

Etsy Meet & Make at the Craft and Folk Art Museum

I'm thrilled to be teaching at Etsy Meet & Make at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles on Thursday, April 4th! If you've never been to one of the museum's Etsy craft events, you have to go.

We'll be making two easy sewn books: one is made from a file folder and has pockets, and the other (above) is a little folded booklet with a fold-out map in the back (below). No previous experience is necessary, so come on down! Doors open at 6:45 p.m., and I'll be demo-ing the projects at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. There will be people around to offer help on the projects if needed.

CAFAM hosts these Etsy craft nights each month on the first Thursday. For a mere $7 (free for musem members) you can hang out with your friends (and make new ones), craft to your heart's content and have some snacks. You can also check out the amazing galleries. All the materials are supplied, so you just have to bring your lovely self. 

Check out these photos from the last time I hosted an Etsy night with Craftside. Everyone had a blast. Gift toppers and ornaments were on the menu, and felt and paper were flying like nobody's business. People were making some incredible projects.

So don't miss this event! Make sure to RSVP here, and I will see you next week!

Product Review: We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

I'm not in the habit of posting product reviews, but because I am a tool girl I like letting my fellow book artists and crafters know about items that could be beneficial. I love so many of my tools. They complete me.

I learned of the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board just before the winter 2013 CHA show kicked off last January. And before I get into this, I need to say that I have no affiliation whatsoever with this company, and I am not being paid or prompted or nudged to write a review.

I have other envelope templates and they all have their own own pluses and minuses. The Envelope Punch Board looked like it had many pluses, so I ordered one as soon as it became available.

You can see what it looks like above. The board is lightweight and has a relatively small footprint: 10 1/2 inches wide by 7 1/4 inches high. Measurements are printed on the base for card sizes as well as paper sizes for the envelopes to fit those cards (there is one mistake on it, so if you bought an early version the company is offering a new sticker with the correct dimensions). There's a sticker overlay in metrics, too.

The board comes with a plastic bone folder for scoring and a slot to hold it, but I hate plastic bone folders, so I used a Teflon one that worked quite well--after I smashed the paper with the plastic one. Above, I'm starting to create an envelope. You can see the score line on the right--just follow that groove with your bone folder. The blue button at top punches out a little rounded triangle on four sides, shown below.

The punch eliminates having to manually cut out those triangles, makes the envelope easier to fold and making the finished product look more polished. See that white-ish score at bottom left of the square? That's from the plastic bone folder. Maybe plastic bone folders don't hurt paper. Maybe people with plastic bone folders hurt paper.

Now, here's the rub: When you're working with a larger piece of paper, that score line disappears completely, as you can see above. So you have to kind of feel around for the groove, or pick up the paper and look for it. Also, you won't be able to complete the score line on the board--it falls a little short. After making a couple of envelopes this became a minor irritation but wasn't enough to make me unhappy.

In addition to sending cards and letters in handmade envelopes, I also like incorporating them into books. Custom envelopes can be tipped onto pages or sewn into signatures (folded sheets nested together). Above, you can see how I'm sewing an unglued envelope into the middle of a signature. Also, note that if you're working with patterned paper, images will be on the diagonal. Not a deal-breaker for me.

And here it is all done, above. Sewn-in envelopes are great to use in travel journals, recipe books--just about anything. You can see a video about the board on the We R Memory Keepers site. I should also note that the envelope punch board won an honorable mention in the Innovative Product Award category at the Craft and Hobby Association show.

If you have one of these, let me know what you think. And if you have other cool new tools you'd like to shout about, please share!

My Etsy Shop is Open!

Drumroll, please.....My Etsy shop is open for business! I can hardly believe it myself! Ink Stained Book Arts features my handmade books, journals, sketchbooks and photo albums. 

I'm going to add more listings in the near future, but there are several books right now for you to peruse, like the one above.

Let me know what you think, and by that I mean I'm only taking compliments. Just kidding. No I'm not. 

I love making custom books and photo albums for people, so if you're in the market for something like a baby shower sign-in book, a travel journal or a recipe book, send me a convo, as they say in Etsy Land.

The book at top is made from saddle leather and is embellished with a tin type. The paper is nice, heavy Fabriano watercolor paper with a mould-made deckle. Great for watercolor, drawing, writing, etc. It's bound with a coptic stitch and opens flat.

Many of the materials I use are authentic vintage, such as old photographs, pocket watch faces and antique lace. I love that items like these have a history.

Above is a photo album adorned with a beautiful map of Paris. It's filled with smooth ivory pages and has a criss-cross binding done in double-face satin ivory ribbon. An Hermes ribbon decorates the cover.

Thanks for looking, and I'll be updating the shop soon!  

Sewn Paper Gift Pouch

A friend's birthday was coming up, a friend who happens to love jewelry. I found her a fantastic pair of dangly earrings at Forever 21 and wanted to wrap them up (by the way, if you love chic but inexpensive jewelry, Forever 21 is a gold mine).

Because a simple box just won't do, I thought it would be a fun idea to sew a paper gift pouch and slip the earrings inside. It'll just take a few minutes to make it, I told myself. Just a few minutes.

Why I believed that is beyond me, because whenever I start a project thinking it'll take a few minutes, it always ends up taking a few hours. Always.

I started with some map paper and cut it to the size I wanted. I soon realized that the paper was too thin and would probably tear the minute I tried to slip something inside. To shore it up I'd need to line it with more paper. I knew I had some vintage sheet music somewhere, and thought that would be a nice complement to the map.

First I had to find the vintage sheet music paper. Then I had to cut it. Then I had to glue it. Then I had to wait for it to dry.

OK, so far we're not that bad time-wise, about 15 minutes behind schedule.

Now it was time to sew the thing. I hauled out my 190-pound Bernina and found a bobbin already wound with bright red thread.

Then I promptly lost the bobbin. You're probably thinking, eh, not a big deal. Well, it is a big deal when you have two cats. Because cats love sewing thread. But sewing thread doesn't love cats. It can kill them if they eat it. So cue the big anxiety attack trying to find the damn thing.

Husband comes upstairs, helps me look. We can't find it anywhere. Now I'm late starting dinner. I look for about 20 minutes more, then have to start cooking. The cats are locked out of the room. They don't know why. They're angry.

While I'm cooking husband finds the bobbin. Crisis averted!

After dinner I go back to sewing. That part goes pretty smoothly. I decide to make a closure with two buttons and some waxed linen thread. I sew on one button with regular sewing thread, but the thread keeps knotting up. The button finally pops off after I yank the thread trying to unknot it. Two big gaping holes are left in the paper.

By the way, by this time it's about 9:30 at night and fatigue is setting in. Somehow it never occurs to me, as it might to a sane person, to chuck the whole thing and just put the earrings in a box. Must not abandon the mission. Must not abandon the mission!

After realizing the sewing thread isn't going to work, I sew the buttons on using waxed linen thread. This goes much more smoothly. I manage to attach both buttons and the tie without anything coming off.

But I notice that the paper has already ripped a bit due to my handling. I hope my friend won't see it.

Exahusted, I finally finish. I give it to her the next day at dinner with some friends at a dimly lit restaurant. So dimly lit, in fact, that no one can really see what the pouch looks like.

At least I remembered to photograph it before I gave it away. That'll just take a few minutes, I told myself.

I'm in the Spring Issue of Studios Magazine!

I feel very fortunate to have an article in the Spring 2013 of Cloth Paper Scissors Studios magazine. This fantastic quarterly features artists' studios and offers tons of creative ideas for your studio space, whatever size or shape it is.

The article I wrote is about shopping at flea markets for great finds for your studio. As popular as flea market shopping has become, there are still a lot of people who haven't discovered how much fun it is. If you're a flea market novice, after reading this you'll feel like a pro.

I talk about what to look for, how to negotiate for the best price, and give tips on how and where to shop. I'm lucky to live in an area where there is a fantastic flea market every Sunday, and that's usually where you'll find my husband and me.

I love the thrill of the hunt and never knowing what I might stumble upon. Most of what I get becomes incorporated into books, like the ones below. I used a vintage baseball and a vintage baseball card for the blue book, cartes de visites and cabinet cards for the book in the middle and the one at right, and a record album for the one below.

 At flea markets I also look for vintage and antique tools and items that can be used for storage. Although I don't have a studio yet, my work space feels more comfortable and more "me" when I'm surrounded by things I love.

Also featured in the story are wet plate photographs by my husband, Mark Elson. I thought that using this 19th century photography process would be a great way to feature some of the items I've collected. Here are two more photos:

I hope you enjoy the article and the issue, which is on newsstands now. If you're a flea market fanatic like me, let me know what favorite items you've found!