In Which I Make Books With Adorable People

I'm pretty sure my cousins are the cutest people in the whole entire world and they are also exceptionally generous, by humoring me as I bumbled through I did an evening of basic book instruction. They each made one five-hole pamphlet stitch book with a wrap-around cover and a handful hardback ones where I had sewed the text-block previously and they did some jazzy things to the covers and slapped 'em on. It was so much fun! The most fun I've had binding in a while. And they were geniuses at it! I was shocked when they got the five hole pamphlet stitch down the very first try. Just geniuses.

Gorgeous Paper Sculptures

These very cool paper sculptures are by artist Calvin Nicholls. His website is definitely worth a look, as he describes his process with enthusiasm and a little slideshow. Love it! (Via Craftzine)

Stitched Classics

Being a fan of both books and fancy embroidery, I am absolutely enamored with the Penguin Threads series, featuring classic books and gorgeous covers from artist Jillian Tamaki. The process pics on her blog are pretty neat, and I love that the backs of the embroidery with its scraggly ends and weird knots is reprinted on the inside covers of the books. Via Purlbee,

Pencils YES!

As I've mentioned previously, I'm a certified pencil lover, so was delighted to see a link to this story in my inbox via my bestie-of-all-time, Lauren. Blackwings are back, yo! And apparently they're better than ever.

For the uninitiated, Blackwing pencils were discontinued in the 1990's and have developed a cult following due to their super-smooth lead and large ferrule, which is that thing that attaches the eraser to the pencil. I found this out because there is such thing as a Pencilopedia, which is totally blowing my mind. They're made of cedar, last forever, and have a fancy flat-eraser to boot. Pop culture eaters Boing Boing reported on their resurgence and I can only imagine the legions of folksy copy-editors or pencil weirdos who are snatching these things up.

They were previously fetching prices up to $20 on ebay for a single pencil but can now be purchased here for a cool $19.95 per dozen count box. I know you're as over-the-moon as I am.

Finders Keepers

Book sculptures by an anonymous artist have been popping up in Scotland libraries recently. Aside from the sweetness of the sculptures themselves, my favorite thing about this project is how librarians are using the poems referenced as clues to discern the identity of the artist.

Says Central Station (with a Scottish brogue, I hope): "Nobody knows whether there are more to come and if so, where they might appear. Some say the newly opened National Museum, others suggest the Edinburgh International Book Festival. It's all a bit exciting!"

Get the scoop and check out a few more sculptures here.

Book Icons

One of my favorite pop culture blogs, Flavorwire, just released their list of top 20 iconic book covers. I was thrilled to see that a few of my favorites had made it. Check it out here - are any of yours on the list?

Fancy, Shiny Books

My boss, Gavin Dovey, has spent the summer cranking out one incredible box after the next, but I think his latest one for One Hundred Years of Solitude is my favorite. The picture doesn't come close to doing it justice - it's just gorgeous in person, and the gold leafing positively glows. Since I'm just getting started with leather work, it's a bit premature to start fantasizing about precious metals, but I think I'm in capable hands, no?