I think this year is the 20th year I’ve been actively binding books. After some earlier random craft projects I taught myself to make proper books around 2002, but 2003 was the year I started selling them. In just a few years (in 2026) I’ll be celebrating my 20th years as a master bookbinder! The time has truly flown by.
Linen has been at the top of my list of cover materials right from the start! First it was simply more accessible to me than actual book cloth, but I quickly started to prefer it as it has so much more character and it significantly nicer to touch. In 20 years one also accumulates quite a collection of fabric and paper: picking just the right colours and endpapers to go with them is both slightly tedious and great fun. (Scroll down for evidence.) The majority of this stack can now be found in the Paperiaarre shop.
This time I wanted to create a lot of books that highlight a variety of patterned endpapers. The pages are size A6 and each book measures 11,1x15,4x1,4cm / 4.4"x6"x0.6". There are 96 pages of smooth white 140gsm drawing paper suitable for writing and sketching in any dry media. The top edge of each page has been torn with a paper knife resulting in a lovely rough finish.
A little spy of a friend caught my linen sorting mess! I have hardly any photos of myself at work, so it’s fun to share this little peek with you all.
