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.

. . .

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.

. . .

Little Spoon Bindery.

. . .

. . .

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.

. . .

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.

Handmade means many things and means different things to each person.

One of the things I struggle most with the handmade community is quality.  I’ve had a lot of people say to me that they don’t like handmade goods.  They find that they fall apart or don’t function well.  Just like with manufactured goods, you have to be a discerning buyer.  The world of handmade goods has a huge spectrum of quality levels as well.

Handmade only has one regulation, which is that it is created by a person and not a machine.  That regulation can be interpreted in many ways.  Some handmade goods are produced by hand from start to finish.  Some handmade goods are simply a collection of mass produced goods that have been assembled by hand.

. . .

. . .

For me, handmade is synonymous with well made.  I believe that if you are taking the time to make something with your hands, you should be making it well.  It’s not about making it faster or cheaper.  It’s about quality.  If I didn’t believe that what I was making was of the highest quality, I wouldn’t be making it.

It’s also not just about a product.  Handmade also means that there’s a direct connection to the creator.  It’s amazing to be able to go to a craft show and talk to the person that made what you’ve just purchased or chat with them to discuss different options.  There are few other situations between buyers and sellers in which this is possible.  It’s exciting and makes that object have so much more importance.

. . .

Whatever  your definition of handmade may be, I hope that if nothing else, it makes you think about where your objects are coming from.  What journey did they take before they got to you?

Now, I throw the question to you: What does handmade mean to you?

but I wanted to share it here because it seems so fitting for my aesthetic.

. . .

. . .

. . .

Oh the beauty of computers and books becoming one.

. . .

If only they had it in a 12″ version for my adorable computer.

Or maybe I’ll make my own.

hehe.

. . .

as my blog just over a year ago,

there have been few changes

to the appearance.

. . .

Over the last week,

Mark and I

have been working on launching

ToBoldlyFold 2.0.

. . .

We’ve cleaned things up

and

made it more user friendly.

. . .

This new incarnation of my site

is now mainly focused

on To Boldly Fold

as my business.

. . .

Here we go!

on a couple of blogs lately.

. . .

Alexander’s Designs

. . .

Etsy Top 10

on

Timothy Adam Designs

. .

Also, planning on doing

some craft shows in December.

. . .

I’ll keep you posted.

. . . . .

. . .

This year has been a bit different

from most.

Instead of long walk in the leaves,

I’ve been spending many hours

with buttons.

. . .

But I don’t mind.

The books are coming along,

and I couldn’t be happier.

. . .

Thought I’d share some buttons with you.

. . .

. . .

Since I’ve been spending

so much time

with them myself.

. . .

Happy fall!

. . .

my Etsy shop is open!

. . .

Thanks to lovely Mark

and all his hard work.

. . .

Enjoy!

. . .

of buying supplies

and getting my studio all set up.

. . .

- nipping press -

- flat file -

- a couple thousand sheets of paper -

. . .

and today

two cow skins came in the mail.

. . .

. . .

Also, I built a book cradle over the weekend.

. . .

. . .

Things are coming along quite well.

. . .

. . . . .

. . .

Also,

I have two amazing ladies to thank

for their constant support and inspiration.

. . .

The great

Casey Berry

&

Bobbi Pinkston

. . .

You two have made this insane dream

so much easier to achieve.

. . .

Missing you both so much.

. . .

. . .

This week: $100 flat file with 5 drawers.

. . .

Studio is complete!

. . .

. . .

I should make a job out of finding great deals on craigslist.

. . . . .

. . .

. . . . .

Also, books are coming along quite well.

I should have some photos of them in a couple weeks.

Soft leather covers, beautiful paper, and buttons.

. . .

Let me know if you’d like one.

. . .

Recent activity:

200 sheets of paper.

14 new rolls of linen thread.

. . .

Get Ready.

. . .

Also,

take a glimpse of new things:

. . .

. . .

Happy summer.