Day 1/365
Wordless Wednesday 08.10.14
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Day 1/365
Category Archives: Book Binding
Weekend Fun!
Toronto is a great city, there’s always something going on. Usually there are several things going on, actually, and there’s something for everyone. For all you creative types, or those dancing around the edge of being a ‘creative type’, this saturday is my first book making workshop at Arts Market on College at Ossington. 
I’ll be teaching the basics of bookbinding, and then diving into a main project; a soft cover journal. It’s a hands-on class for all skill levels, so everyone will leave with a finished project!
I’ve taught similar workshops at other galleries in Toronto and beyond and I love it! I am by no means a master bookbinder or expert in the field, but the bindings I choose to teach are the ones I practice daily. After much trial and error with several book binding techniques, I’ve whittled it down to a select few. They are the most useful, durable and beautiful bindings that I’ve learned, and I’m so happy to share them in a workshop!
To learn more and register, click here.
A New Adventure
If you’ve been following my blog posts lately, you will already know that there has been some exciting news for Sprouts Press! Well, there’s more. That’s right, Sprouts Press has started a new adventure; we’ve joined the ranks of many other talented artists and artisans selling their work in the popular Toronto shop: Arts Market on College! Yay!! I couldn’t be happier with this decision and look forward to seeing what the future brings.
This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, but wasn’t able to until recently. If I’m going to be honest I must admit that doubt made an appearance once (or twice, maybe) when a little voice in my head asked ‘what on earth are you doing!?!’. But I got over that, put the first coat of paint on my space, measured out where my shelving would go (shelves that my dad made a long time ago, before I was born, that I re-finished) and really felt a sense of accomplishment. When it was all done and everything was in place and displayed just as I wanted, it was a truly great feeling!
If you’re in the area, stop by and check it out at 846 College Street, Toronto. There is probably something for everyone at the Arts Market; stationery, home decor, vintage, flora/plants, clothing, jewellery, you name it!
Even though all my pieces are there and up for sale, this is a soft opening. Stay tuned for the dates of the ‘official’ opening, coming soon.
ps. I tried something new and made a short video about setting up my space! I will upload it to social media and provide a link.
Some exciting news!
Remember a while ago when I said I had some fun and exciting projects in the works, but that I couldn’t share them just yet? Well, now I can!
So, here’s my first exciting news; I’ve been featured in this awesome (and gorgeous) just-published book! Titled “Little Book of Book Making”, by Charlotte Rivers. It’s packed with ideas and inspiration, full-page artist features, and a tutorials section at the back. And it showcases book artists from around the world, some really great bookbinding, I highly recommend checking it out! (Not that I’m biased or anything!)
Stay tuned for more exciting news to come . . . . very soon, I promise!
Your two cents
As you may already know, I’m taking some time to build the business side of Sprouts Press. I think it’s an important part of being sustainable and growing to meet my (many) book-tastic goals!
With that in mind, I’ve put together a little survey to gather some market research.
Yay for surveys!!
If you have a few spare minutes, I’d love to get your input. It’s a total of ten questions and shouldn’t take longer that 7 minutes or so.
Click here to see what it’s all about and give your two cents.
Thank you!
Summer Sunset Market
Some fun on a Thursday evening; I’ll be vending my hand bound journals, book themed jewellery and hand printed fabric items at the first Toronto Indie Arts Market ‘Summer Sunset Series’!! Come out after dinner for an evening stroll and stop by the Gladstone Hotel for a drink and to soak up the handmade wares in the Ballroom.
We’ll be there from 7pm till 11pm and admission is FREE!
Happy Holidays (in July)
Yes, that’s right – I’m having a summertime sale in my Etsy shop! It starts today and runs till July 20, 2014!
There are lots of ways to save: you can use coupon code ETSYCIJ14 at checkout to get 15% off orders $40 and over. Or you can head to my all new Sale Section to get a deal on a new journal (and no, this section isn’t just the leftovers of days gone by, there are new items in there that haven’t been listed online before – YA!)
Last but not least, I know there are some of you that really enjoy my Starburst Book Ornaments. Since this sale is coinciding with the Etsy-wide ‘Christmas in July’ sale I’ve decided to bring them back for a limited time. You’re welcome, (and Merry Christmas? Is that said in July?) and get them while they’re still available.
Thoughts while Taming the Mint
It’s officially summer and I’m working on new products and designs and a few special, secret projects. You may remember in my last post I mentioned some secretive, mystery projects and that I couldn’t spill the beans about just yet . . . well, I still cannot spill the beans! Sorry! (Happy belated Canada Day!)
Anyways, while getting out in the garden to tame the mint a bit and stake my tomatoes, I find myself thinking about what is next. This seems to be a good starting point for me, to get away from the studio and reminisce about my latest projects through the lens of intention rather than final product. It’s always interesting to go through the process of creating something, but it’s also interesting to step back and look at what happened after the fact. I like the idea of trying an idea a second or even third time to see what I’ll end up with and how different it’ll be from the first final product. I guess I’m really just stating the obvious, as this is usually intrinsic to creativity, but I think it’s worthy of mentioning anyways.
Here are some of my garden-induced thoughts: I’m working out some new re-designs for hardcover books, that incorporate a bit of leather and some fancy paper by yours truly. But I’m also contemplating my full leather journals and realizing that they’ve all been limp bindings/softcovers, no hardcover leather journals.
So, I put together a little collection of some of my favourite leather bindings, which I realize now really focus on the stitching along the spine. Some of the bindings are longstitch/linkstitch, some are variations of this and some are totally made up by myself. While it’s enjoyable and satisfying, it’s also a learning curve, and I do love a good challenge.
Brainstorms and Dreams
Earlier this year I found myself really enjoying the bustle of last year’s holiday show schedule. I loved the planning, the preparation, the craft and market shows – all of it. So, at the start of 2014 I decided that I wanted to go big or go home with this small business stuff. Time to get real. Time to dig my feet in and see where I could go if I gave it my all. Well, I’ve been working really hard on a few projects to make that happen, and now, well, I wait to see if everything will fall into place. And if not, don’t fret, I’ve got backup plans. And backup plans for the backup plans (perhaps this type of thing is why I started making my own journals in the first place? In my opinion, brainstorms and dreams are well-deserving things for handmade journals!) I cannot spill the beans just yet, but soon enough.
In the meantime, I’m going the share the evolution of my coptic stitched journals. I figure it’s only fair since I cannot share my own journey right now.
This group of four is a good representation of my earlier explorations with the coptic binding. I did things like folding washi paper on covers to create interesting effects with translucent layers, incorporating beading into the covers (who doesn’t love colourful shiny things?!). And ending with the start of my latest experiments with the coptic binding: using my rather large collection of fancy papers on the covers with little mini-endpapers inside.
This group represents my latest experiments; the fancy papers as mentioned above, but with spine protectors, reclaimed leather and vintage buttons to keep it all together. I love how beautiful and functional these are, and the tidiness of them.
Stay tuned!
In the Works
Hello everyone, just wanted to post a quick note to say Hello and let you know that I’m still around! My apologies for the radio silence lately, but there are a lot of exciting things in the works! I cannot spill the beans just yet, but soon!
In the meantime, a big Thank You is in order for everyone who has come out to support me at the various shows, workshops and fairs that I’ve been participating in lately. This weekend I was at the Small Press & Literary Festival by Toronto Indie Arts Market and the Annual Printmaking Fair at the Cambridge Galleries, where there were so many talented printmakers. When at shows, it’s always so nice to see a familiar face and meet someone in real life that I’ve been chatting with online! If you haven’t had a chance to check out one of the many artisan/maker/book arts fairs/craft shows I participate in, check out the Upcoming Shows section on my site. And keep your eyes peeled on the Workshops section for upcoming bookbinding classes that I will be teaching.
In the online world, I was a featured artisan earlier this month over at Small Batch Magazine! It’s a wonderful and eloquently written piece that really captures the drive and satisfaction of being a maker in the modern world. I’m proud to be featured on this all-Canadian website that profiles makers and artisans, something I’ve been looking forward to for a while. I encourage you to take a read and check out their website (it’ll be worth your time, I promise). Otherwise, if you’re interested in what I’m making in the studio, new items are being posted to my Etsy shop on a fairly regular basis these days.
Sprouts Press 