Gold and Silver Touches

Two books I recently finished. I indulge myself from time to time in the use of metal fittings. What a delight... a touch of old, a touch of silver or of gold.

Book Clasps: getting better

Encouraged by the results of my first experiments with brass and by your wonderful excitement and feedback, I went on with the idea of making my own book clasps. If to the first ones I had to apply some patina as I found the color of new brass too shiny for my vintage leather books, this time I used some pieces of old brass recovered from a broken coffee grinder. I bought it long time ago at a street fair, unfortunately crushed and incomplete, hoping that one day it will be possible to recover or reuse it. I don't want to sell these clasps as they are among my firsts and I don't have much antique brass left to make many more. Honestly, I also fell in love with the book that's wearing them so I decided I'll keep this one to my (selfish) self. 

 

        

   

Great Presents from Great Friends

Here’s what I recently received from two of my friends :) Could any surprise be better for me than vintage leather? I don’t think so! 

The piece of leather is coming from a vintage chair and was offered to me by José, my leather mentor :) It is recovered from an old family chair which he upholstered. It’s a big piece but I’ll use it for only one book, a really special one.

The book cover below is almost 150 years old. I got it from a very good friend of mine who was my colleague in high school. He recently visited me and liked my books so much that offered me this cover. The story behind it is quite interesting, as he got it from an orthodox priest who commissioned him to paint some icons for his church. At the end he offered this cover to my friend, which he kept but never knew what to do with it until he saw my books. I, on the contrary, knew what I want to make with it from the first moment I saw it. I’ll restore it and use it with my first real art book. I’m dreaming and designing this book in my head since more than one year.

Thank you to my great friends for these inspired presents and their support! It means so much to me! I'll be back with photos of the work in progress.