A Community of Craft and Kindness
Let’s face it - sometimes our families don’t get us! Our love of all things paper, thread, paint and fabric can be confusing to them. But not to us - we get you!
Our #1 goal is to create a safe space and community for artists and crafters to share their creativity, inspire and encourage one another.
Hi! I’m Ali Manning
My bookmaking journey began when my daughter was born in 2000. As a new parent, I didn’t have the energy or time to make the beautiful scrapbook layouts I saw all over the internet. Instead I made a 2” x 2” accordion book with photos of our family - it was quick, easy and used very few supplies.
From then on I was hooked on books!
I took professional classes, researched in libraries and museums, and read as many bookbinding manuals as I could. I was able to find my creative voice with books but it wasn’t easy. The directions and diagrams were confusing; the tutorials used specialized tools and supplies; the projects were time consuming.
I made it my mission to bring the art of handmade books to a wider audience. To simplify the processes and use widely available materials so that more people can enjoy this ancient craft in today’s modern world.
I’ve been a working artist since 2007 blogging, teaching, selling work, running an online store and handmade paper subscription. In 2019 I combined all my business and creative experience to form The Handmade Book Club, an online bookbinding subscription site, with thousands of members worldwide and a wonderful team of 5 employees.
My work has been featured in Somerset Studio, Take Ten, Paper Crafts Magazine and Cloth, Paper, Scissors.
I grew up in England but moved to the USA in 1996. I live in a yellow Victorian house in Groton, Massachusetts with my husband of 28 years, Andy, our 24-year old daughter and our black mutt, Florence.
My favorite way to relax is in a comfortable armchair with an audiobook in my ears, embroidery and a cup of coffee in my hands.
vintage page designs support
Meet the Team
Andy Manning
Chief Financial Officer
Andy Manning
Chief Financial Officer
I’m Andy, originally from Swansea, Wales, but now living in Groton, MA with my beautiful wife, Ali, and spectacular daughter, Hannah. Oh, and a whole menagerie of animals and fish. I love running, visiting new places with Ali, and I’m a crossword addict.
Why Andy Likes Working at VPD: I do the financial tasks at VPD, so I typically take care of all the billing problems, payment changes, etc. I enjoy the job as it’s detail oriented, and the team that Ali has assembled at VPD is a group of talented, fun people to work with.
Favorite Creative Activity: I’m not artistic or crafty myself – I really leave that passion up to Ali. However, I do appreciate and collect art, mostly contemporary stuff like Banksy and Shep Fairey, and I also collect movie and concert posters.
Allie Stewart
Chief Operating Officer
Allie Stewart
Chief Operating Officer
I’m Allie, a puzzle junkie and taco connoisseur. I live in Oregon with my husband (Michael) and 5 year old daughter (Rey). When I’m not playing with my daughter or helping keep VPD’s operations on track, you might find me doing a puzzle, making something crafty, listening to a musical soundtrack, planning our next trip to Disneyland, or reading a good book in my hammock.
Why Allie Likes Working at VPD: I love that I get to be behind the scenes helping things run smoothly. Creativity is an integral part of my life and it means so much to me that my job helps other people bring creativity in their lives. But the best part of working at VPD are all the wonderful club members I get to interact with and the team that I am lucky enough to work with each day.
Favorite Creative Activity: Scrapbooking is my first love. I dabble in other mediums as well and am currently interested in mixed media and colored pencils.
Abby French
Customer Support Specialist
Abby French
Customer Support Specialist
Hi, I’m Abby. I live in Ohio with my firefighter husband, daughter (Ellie), two big dogs and a cat named Noodles. You can usually find me listening to podcasts (true crime or pop culture) and audiobooks (historical fiction/chic lit) on full blast. I also enjoy long romantic walks…to the beauty aisle, themed parties and sparkling fruity water drinks.
Why Abby Likes Working at VPD: My main role on the VPD team involves talking to people. I help our members and customers and if you know me you know I love to talk and I love to help! Getting to know members and helping solve problems and answer questions is such a fulfilling job and my favorite part of what I do. Not only do I get to communicate with our amazing members every single day, I also get to work with some pretty stellar coworkers daily.
Favorite Creative Activity: Creativity runs in my blood! As the daughter of a pretty amazing artist, I have always been surrounded by and loved art in every form. My favorites include coloring, makeup artistry (I absolutely count this as an art) and painting/mixed media collage even though I rarely make time for that last one.
Amber Weaver
Marketing
Manager
Amber Weaver
Marketing Manager
I'm Amber, aka "Babe" to my husband of 19 years (Jim), and "Mom" to my two boys, Lincoln (17) and Landen (15). We live in a rural part of Pennsylvania with our adorable dog, Dexter, and our lazy, but sometimes feisty, cat, Khyber. I enjoy spending time cheering on our beloved Philadelphia sports teams (Go Birds!) and traveling with my family. I love a good book, live music, a challenging puzzle, listening to podcasts, and my guilty pleasures - bread, cheese, and binge-watching reality TV.
Why Amber Likes Working at VPD: Writing and creativity have been lifelong passions of mine, and I love that I get to incorporate both into my role at VPD. I thoroughly enjoy brainstorming sessions with the team and helping to bring Ali's ideas to fruition. I feel incredibly blessed to work with the most amazing co-workers and community. The people are the highlight.
Favorite Creative Activity: Creating wire sculptures is my favorite creative endeavor. More recently, I've enjoyed playing around with gelli prints, cyanotypes, and collage
Mikki Soliday
Executive Support Specialist
Mikki Soliday
Executive Support Specialist
I grew up in Northern Virginia, moved to Boston to attended college and then stayed another 10 years. Next stop was California where I lived for more than 30 years, met and married my husband of 25 years and raised our beautiful twins, Matthew & Sophia. When our children graduated high school, we bought an RV, dropped them off at college(s) and set out to find our not-California home. The RV kept ending up in lower Alabama, where we now very unexpectedly and very happily reside in Fairhope.
Why Mikki Likes Working at VPD: I initially met Ali when I took a private bookmaking class with her in Lowell in Jan 2019. It was clearly a meeting meant-to-be and I joined the Handmade Book Club as the first team member in Sept. 2020. My roles in the Club have changed over the years but what has remained consistent is my joy in watching this incredible community grow, inspire and support each other on our creative journeys.
Favorite Creative Activity: I am a fan (or could be a fan) of just about anything mixed media. Apart from making books, my most favorites are collage and photography.
Let’s Make Books Together
Bookbinding Boot Camp
Learn the basics and create your first book
9 short, easy to watch videos
Suggestions for your first projects
Printable reference sheets
Monthly Q&A
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