I was instantly smitten when I saw these beautiful hand-made books from BOUND. They combine contemporary design and colour with the traditional art and craft of bookbinding to stunning effect. Regular readers will know my ongoing obsession with decorative papers and bookbinding, but I think after having discovered BOUND I may well have a new love as well – gorgeous, colourful, soft leathers.
These beautiful books are the work of Dorset-based Susan Green, who has been bookbinding since 2008, and launched BOUND in 2012. An associate member of Designer Bookbinders, Susan makes a range of fine leather Wedding Guest Books, Memory Books, Journals and Artist’s Sketchbooks in both traditional and contemporary binding styles.
Elegant and luxurious, these hand-bound books have a deceptive simplicity that belies the care, precision and attention to detail that has gone into creating them. I made a similar style book to the one above during a beginners bookbinding course earlier in the year. It was one of my favourite projects, and made me appreciate the skill and knowledge needed to create a top quality product. Taken from Susan’s website, here she talks us through the process of creating one of her leather-bound books:
I employ the Longstitch with Linkstitch style to bind these books, a 15th century Medieval German style originally used for council documents where durability and longevity were important. The style is perfect today for people who need a practical yet beautiful book.
I use top quality leather from a British tannery with an excellent reputation. Goatskins are tanned only with natural materials, hand polished and finished to reveal the beauty of their natural gain. Calfskins offer the opportunity for extra large size books. Because no grain correction by machine-embossing is made, the skins retain their natural beauty and are superior to grain-corrected leathers. The leathers are extremely tactile, smooth and warm to the touch, subtly glossy and they have that lovely leather smell.
I start with large sheets of paper, fold and tear them to size with a natural bonefolder to create the distinctive deckle edge, the hallmark of a hand bound book. Then I collect a number of sheets into sections, fold each of them and mark and pierce them for sewing. Next I take the leather and cut it to size, carefully selecting a piece with an attractive raw edge if that is to be used. With a collection of tools for precise work, I mark up each sewing station and punch with a Japanese screw punch, creating a perfect circle just a few millimetres diameter. This is preferable to piercing which you often see on hand made books, which creates uneven, unattractive holes. Then each section of pages is sewn through the leather cover with Irish linen thread, in a continuous movement from the front to the back of the book. It takes practice to create the perfect thread tension which keeps the book securely bound without wrinkling the leather. Finally I sew in the leather thong to keep the book closed when not in use.
I can really relate to what Susan says about the practice and experience needed to get the tension just right. The book I made has rather loose sewing and wobbly pages as a result … definitely a case of practice makes perfect.
This style of binding also provides the option of having the pages replaced once full. Susan offers a refill service, and you can choose a different coloured thread and different type of paper if you want to ring the changes.
Above: Travel Journals
Below: Artists Sketchbook in Mustard and Grey
Susan also offers a bespoke service, enabling you to choose your own combination of leather and thread colour, type of paper and size and format of book. You can also have custom text printed on the first page too. These books are perfect for occasions such as weddings, christenings and anniversaries, or as a very special and unique gift.
As well as these leather-bound books, Susan also makes a lovely range of hard-backed journals and paperback notebooks, some of which use decorative chiyogami papers.
Do visit Susan’s website – it’s as beautiful as her books – and see all the wonderful craftsmanship she has on offer. Also, if you’re still on the hunt for Christmas gifts, you can order right up until December 22nd for UK delivery for most items, but do check the details if you’re thinking of ordering.
Images: BOUND
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