An Old Favourite

Posted on October 11, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 4/365

This is one of my most favourite projects to date. It’s something I thought about for a long time before making it, mulling over it’s possibilities and the best way to craft it that accurately captured what I had in mind.

It’s a lovely Florentine cover watercolour journal, complete with leather implements holder. I love that the leather wrap around is a layered, pieced-together band, reminiscent of a quilt. You can even see the button holes from the reclaimed leather’s previous life as a garment.

This was a unique, one of a kind project and it sold a long time ago, but I think of it often.

Introducing

Posted on October 9, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 2/365

You maybe wondering what that photo was all about yesterday. Why did I decide to post the photo that is also my site’s banner? How does this make any sense!? Well, because it’s time for a change and that photo was a farewell to my current banner. Over the next couple of weeks you’ll be treated to some exciting changes from Sprouts Press and it’s all going to start right here! OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

So, without further ado, I formally introduce you to the Sprouts Press 365 blogging project!! I promise to post something every day for 365 days. There will be photos, words, stories and more, so stay tuned!!

Wordless Wednesday 08.10.14

Posted on October 8, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 1/365

Weekend Fun!

Posted on October 6, 2014 by sproutspress

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

Posted on September 3, 2014 by sproutspress

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!

Posted on August 19, 2014 by sproutspress

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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

Posted on August 9, 2014 by sproutspress

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!

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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!

Thoughts while Taming the Mint

Posted on July 2, 2014 by sproutspress

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.

In the Works

Posted on May 26, 2014 by sproutspress

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.