Paris - The Bookbinder's Tour

These are the bookbinding highlights of my three day trip to Paris in April.  Yes, I did the usual things and saw the sights you have to see when in Paris but I also had a chance to enjoy the bookbinding side of the city.  First stop, The Louvre with their exhibit, open through June 11th, Livre/Louvre.  An interesting and interactive look at how reading stimulates the mind.

Next stop, Musée de Cluny, the museum of Medieval Paris.  The highlight of the museum are the Unicorn Tapestries.  However, for a bookbinder, this hand painted fencing book  is a work of art.

On the last day in the city my husband Eric and I visited Relma, the family-owned bookbinding supply company.  They have a huge selection of papers, leathers and tools.  I was thrilled to discover that they employ a Scottish manager, Alison (on the right), saving me the embarrassment of attempting to order supplies in French. Plus I lived in Scotland many years ago and have a special place in my heart for all things Scottish!

My favorite purchase is this double pass, hand marbled paper.  It was marbled with one pattern, dried and then marbled on top of the first pattern with a second pattern.   I can't wait to make extra special books with this paper.

Tomorrow's Show is......

T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. This is my most local of shows at our high school. It is organized by the super talented engineering students and is also a fundraiser for kids in Kenya and Tanzania. What's not to like. Stop by and see me tomorrow, Saturday November 19th, from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M.

Handmade Arcade

I am thrilled to be a first time vendor at Handmade Arcade. This Pittsburgh based show is amazing and I have always wanted to be a vendor.

I have some fun new products for the show including these bug books that incorporate vintage bug prints into the covers of these blank journals.

Haiti

As many of you know, my day job is book conservator for The Smithsonian Institution Libraries. I recently travelled to Haiti for two weeks to work with the Smithsonian sponsored Haitian Cultural Recovery Center in Port-au-Prince. I spoke at length with Tina Seamonster of Hello Craft about my experience. You can listen to the podcast here.

The experience was amazing and overwhelming. Haiti is struggling to recover from the earthquake that hit in January f 2010. Rubble litters the streets and an estimated 700,000 people still live in tent cities without basic sanitation or access to clean water.

I won't win any awards for photo journalism - the majority of the photos I was able to take were out of a moving car. This photo shows the National Palace with it's toppled domes visible above the tent city that sprang up after the earthquake.

The highlight of my experience was working with the wonderful staff at the National Library of Haiti. They were professional, hardworking and determined to build a better Haiti. The project we worked on involved taking books damaged when the stacks of the library toppled in the earthquake. We cleaned, boxed and sorted the books. In the process, books that needed further repair or had mold damaged were flagged for future treatment.

This is the team of eight we worked with to treat the earthquake damaged books. The photo was taken outside of the National Library.

Last Coptic Class

I tried something new for me this Winter and taught a five week Coptic Bookbinding class. What is coptic binding you might ask? It is an ancient bookbinding technique that was developed in Egypt in the 4th century. The cover is sewn directly onto the signatures of the book and the spine is exposed. The thread becomes a design element in the binding.

Ten students came to class every week for 2 1/2 hours. I was impressed with how quickly they picked up this tricky bookbinding form. Everyone finished at least one book with one student completing six!

This one has covers made from wood veneer with an old book cover printed on the cover.

I like the complimentary bindings in this colorful paper.

All metallics! This dynamic duo took the class as a date night - great idea.

Great colors!

I like the design of the covers on these.

Snowed In

It has been far too long since my last blog post. A lot of changes have happened since Crafty Bastards. Moonlight Bindery has taken a backseat to my new full time job as a rare book conservator. I love the new job and the amazing material I have the opportunity to work on every day.

While no longer my full-time job, I still have time to make items for the Etsy shop and even participate in a craft fair or two. I'm very excited to be participating in the upcoming Temporium pop-up shop in Mt. Pleasant where my Build Your Own Cover and Chalkboard journals will be showcased.

Crafty Bastards Wrap Up

It was a beautiful day at Crafty Bastards - the weather was perfect and the crowds were huge. The show is so well organized from the volunteers who help you unload your car to the boxed lunch delivered to your booth. Amazing!

For the first time I planned and executed some serious shopping before the show opened. I have been eyeing this necklace in Dandelion Blu for ages. The organic shape is eye catching and it is reversible. So I have a blue and a red necklace. I also purchased a great piece from her booth mate The Broken Plate but it is a gift and Top Secret!

My booth mate was Souldier who makes cool guitar straps, camera straps, belts headbands, and cuff bracelets. Since I don't play the guitar, I bought an array of belts, cuffs and headbands made out of vintage 1970's material. We had a great time sharing a booth and I hope to see her again soon on the craft scene. I may need another belt....

My sister is having a baby any day now. It's a girl! So I had to go shopping for the soon to be newest member of the family. I found this upcycled Chicago t-shirt handmade by Sweet Pepita. I wish it came in my size - it is so soft! The gorgeous booties are from Wooly Baby. I think my niece is going to look great in these finds.

This poster from Rar Rar Press is the perfect wall art for my bike commuter husband.

Herban Lifestyle makes a line of fuzzy soap - a bar of soap felted in wool that you use as a part of the soap. I can't say enough about the quality of Mary's products. They are expertly crafted, eco-friendly and beautifully packaged! Word on the street is that there will be a new product launch October 20th.

My final purchase was Samuel the squirrel from Tigerflight. I caught a glimpse of him on Beth's blog and knew I had to have him. He will make a nice addition to my son's stuffed animal collection.

Last, but not least, I would like to thank Athena and Forest who took my son all day (and night!) so that I could be 100% present for Crafty Bastards. This while designing and painting a mural at the Mt. Vernon Recreation Center. Check it out in the Del Ray section of Alexandria - it is amazing. Forest really captures the spirit of Del Ray in this inspired work.