Book Club Questions
The Handmade Book Club contains curated book arts instruction and inspiration delivered to your inbox each month. It’s a monthly subscription website with monthly bookmaking projects, live classes and community events.
Membership currently costs $20 per month.
Bookbinding Questions
When choosing paper for a handmade book, first consider what purpose the book will serve (photo album or guest book; journal or artist sketchbook).
Here’s a blog post that will help you choose the right paper for your book: https://vintagepagedesigns.com/picking-paper-for-your-handmade-books/
Look in your closet before you purchase any new tools because you probably have much of what you need already. Here’s a quick bookbinding start tool and supply guide:
Our blog and YouTube channel are good places to start.
You can also check out our page for beginner book tutorials: https://vintagepagedesigns.com/beginner-bookmaking-tutorials/
Taking part in our 5-day challenge, which we hold three times per year, is a great way to dive into handmade books. Sign up for our newsletter to get updates on the next challenge!
A lot of people want to create their own handmade journals so they can customize the size, paper and format. Some examples of their uses: diary/journal; art journal; sketchbook for pen and ink, watercolor or charcoal; scrapbook; photo album or recipe book.
Others create handmade books as art objects themselves.
According to the Smithsonian, “An artist book is a medium of artistic expression that uses the form or function of “book” as inspiration. It is the artistic initiative seen in the illustration, choice of materials, creation process, layout and design that makes it an art object.”
In this blog post, I dive into a few ways you can use your handmade books: https://vintagepagedesigns.com/5-ways-use-handmade-journal/
The two most common types of glue used in modern bookbinding are PVA and wheat paste. PVA dries quickly, is flexible and strong, and is easy to find. Wheat paste has a longer working time, is reversible and is made from powder.
Linen thread is the strongest thread for handmade books, but you can also use cotton.
Vintage Page Designs Questions
Vintage Page Designs is the name of the company—in fact, we’re now Vintage Page Designs, LLC. I established a blog back in 2007 called Vintage Page Designs and it has stuck.
Yes! You can find me here:
I love to see the community’s projects, so be sure to tag me with anything you’d like to share.
I do not repair old books. Here are two good books on the subject:
If you need a professional to assist you in repairing a book, I recommend my friend Todd Davis of Middlesex Bindery.
As of Fall 2021, I teach bookbinding through the Handmade Book Club website. Join our newsletter to be informed of returning in-person classes and retreats, plus any special online events.
I occasionally sell my handmade books and handmade paper, but not often. The best way to find out about these sales is to sign up for my newsletter.