Medievals

These are probably my favorite three books I've made so far. I think they represents a step forward in my bookbinding practice - they are books with memories, that tell stories even before being written.  

I found this wonderful quote while writing on the endpages of a book:

"The labour of the writer is the refreshment of the reader. The one depletes the body, the other advances the mind. Whoever you are, therefore, do not scorn but rather be mindful of the work of the one labouring to bring you profit... If you do not know how to write you will consider it no hardship, but if you want a detailed account of it let me tell you that the work is heavy: it makes the eyes misty, bows the back, crushes the ribs and belly, brings pain to the kidneys and makes the body ache all over. Therefore, O reader, turn the leaves gently and keep your fingers away from the letters, for as the hailstorm ruins the harvest of the land so does the unserviceable reader destroy the book and the writing. As the sailor finds welcome the final harbour, so does the scribe the final line. Deo gratias semper." 

Colophon, from the "Silos Beatus" (12th century).

   The endpages
  

The Teeny-Tiny Library

Lately I've been working on large books, on a larger scale. Tonight I've just finished ten books which are going to London. I'm pretty tired and look forward to my holiday which luckily starts early this year, on 4th of December. I'll close my shop for a while and focus on new (book) projects and designs.

But for a change, here is my teeny-tiny library. I've been working on it in between the large book orders. I still have a lot to fill :)

To My Bookbinding Friends

I just stumbled upon this video and I loved it, so I thought you might like to see it too. I couldn't embed it but there's a link to it at youtube. Oh, how nice is the art of bookbinding!

 

Just Work

I haven't been up to much lately besides books. Big books, little books, and even teeny-tiny books. Christmas is coming and it's really the best time of the year on Etsy! I just love it!!

 

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.