For three months, I studied art, bound books, and wrote poetry.  It wasn’t until at least half way through my three month stay that I discovered two of my two very best friends.  All three of us fell in love with Italy.  The place, the people, and the food all found their way into our hearts.  By the end of the trip, we were binding books together, making paper, and hoping by some miracle to never leave.  In truth, in our hearts, we never did leave.  Our dreams of opening our own bookbinderies stayed in our thoughts, constantly creeping in every time we walked into a paper store or had a cup of cappuccino.

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Now, two years later, we still itch to go back to the place that helped us dream and believe that the impossible could be possible.  I opened To Boldly Fold in September of last year, and now I want to share something that is very near and dear to my heart.

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Little Spoon Bindery.

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My best friends, Miss Bobbi Pinkston and Miss Casey Berry are two exceptionally talented individuals.  One with a love of literature and another with a knack for art history, they traveled to Italy not knowing what to expect.  When the left, they were expert bookbinders, and never looked back.

Their wit and excitement culminate into this amazing energy that could keep even the most exhausted fingers binding books for hours.

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Living in three different time zones, we manage to video chat on a constant basis.  I miss them daily, but am so proud to see how far they’ve come.

…And don’t worry, we plan to return to Italy very soon, but more on that later!

*All images property of Little Spoon Bindery.

“This is just too beautiful to use!  My words aren’t important enough for these books.”

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At an early age we are often told that we are or are not something.  Children are encouraged to be creative, but somehow during the transition to adulthood this encouragement changes.  Freedom of expression is often seen as immature or not serious.

Why do adults feel that their words aren’t important?  That their story isn’t meant to be written?  Just because you write something down doesn’t mean that you must be the next Mark Twain or John Steinbeck.  Your words matter.  You story matters.

Furthermore, just because you are not a trained artist does not mean that you cannot draw or paint or create.  Most trained artists don’t go on to become famous or well known or even make a career out of it.  Creativity is in all of us, and more often then not we just need to let ourselves be creative.

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When I first began making books, it was purely for myself.  As an artist I couldn’t find a sketchbook with quality artist paper and a binding that could hold up to strenuous daily use.  As my interest in bookbinding grew, I began to realize that it wasn’t just about the physical book.  I want people to have a place to write down their thoughts, jot down their dreams, and scribble down some sketches.  I want creativity to be a constant in everyone’s life, not just for an artist or a writer.

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I think I need to think of some good responses to these comments about my work being too good to use.  I usually just smile and say, “Oh no, of course you should use it!” but I think I’ve come up with something better.  I think I’m going to say, “If a cake was made too beautifully, would you not eat it?  Would you let it sit there and turn to mush just so you could stare at it?”

Too harsh?  What would you say?

I’ve got a million projects going on with the business,

and then there’s life – a hundred places to be at once, a billion things to get done.

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Some days I wonder when time will slow down again.  When will I have time to play and go on adventures again?

Maybe this business and this life will be my great adventure.

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For now, I leave you with this lovely blog I came across today.

I wish my life were as calm and clear as these images seem to be.

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Congratulations Luke!

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Hope everyone is having a lovely Friday.

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It seems like spring can be an awfully stressful time

even when everything outside is so beautiful.

I worked on a couple projects for myself today to counter the stress.

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Also, some talented friends

should be receiving some artsy packages today.

Sometimes you just need to send some presents out in the mail.

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Trying to figure out my show schedule has been tiring.

It’s difficult to plan an entire year and spend so much money on shows all at one time.

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After feeling pretty gloomy all morning, I remembered something that makes me very happy.

I thought I’d share it with you too.

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A cup of tea,

my sketchbook,

and

Uppercase Magazine.

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Mark got me a subscrption for my birthday this year,

and my first copy came in the mail the other day.

This magazine is by far the best magazine I have ever read,

and I’m barely halfway through.

It also feels nice in your hands.  No cheap magazine paper here.

Only lovely thick pages.

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“a magazine for the creative and curious” is what is says on the front.

It’s chock full of articles about type, artist residencies, books, fabric, and so much more.

Check it out.  It’s amazing.

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For a long time, I’ve been thinking about how personal or private I want this blog to be.  I always want it to be relevant to my work and to my business, but I also want people to understand why I make my books.  Since my work is such a huge part of my life, I do want to explain.

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Somethings about me:  I’ve always been an all or nothing type of person.  Either you care, or you don’t.  Either yes or no.  I’ve always believed in putting in effort, first and foremost.  This has put me in some difficult places from time to time, but I’ve always stood by my decisions and beliefs.  This trait has applied greatly to my work ethic.  For me, when I’m at work, I’m working.  I’ve had numerous jobs, from making coffee at Starbucks to curating at my favorite museum.  I don’t think I’ve ever been satisfied working for someone else though.  As great as it feels to have a steady paycheck, I always felt something was missing.

When I decided to start my own business, I knew it wouldn’t be easy.  I guess the business part was what scared me the most.  I knew I could make my books.  That wasn’t a problem.  It was the part of the business where I had to sell and promote my work that has been the hardest.  I’m not a salesperson, and honestly, I hate pushy sellers.  Perhaps this will lose me a sale here and there, but I’d rather let people enjoy my work.  I’d rather that people find something special in my books, and not something forced upon them.  That being said, it’s been quite a ride learning how to talk about my work without forcing it upon a potential customer.

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So, why do I make these books?

I make them in the hope of spreading creativity.  I want people to have something that allows them an outlet for thoughts.  I also could never find something mass produced that was beautiful and had the type of paper that could hold up to the artists’ many different mediums and constant use.

A sketchbook can be whatever you need it to be.  For an artist, it’s a way to let ideas develop, change, and expand.  It’s an outlet for the hundreds of thoughts floating around inside your head.  Personally, I find it helpful to jot down notes, lists, ideas, sketches, and anything else I might be thinking of.  There’s nothing better than looking through a sketchbook weeks or years later, to find a great idea that you completely forgot about.

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One of the most rewarding aspects of this businesses has been discovering what has been drawn or written in my books.  It’s so nice to see what I’ve helped be a part of.  I’m loving where To Boldly Fold is going and where it may go in the future.

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I can definitely admit to being antsy for spring.

This has been my first New England winter in a few years,

and it was tough getting used to the cold.

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Today I worked on some more books for the Juniper Collection.

(Some seriously bright thread colors in anticipation of spring!)

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Also, this last weekend Mark and I FINALLY did some more framing.

Our diplomas are up!

So is the rubbing Bobbi and I made

from the plaque in front of The Tree that Own Itself.

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I’m finally back home and back to work

after three weeks in Taiwan and San Francisco visiting family.

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It was a lovely trip involving lots of food and warm weather.

Here’s some images I took to help your think of spring!

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Happy day to me.

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