Happy Turkey Day! Welcome to my 13th annual roundup of book arts-related Black Friday-ish deals! Even in this economy, there are many deals to be had and quite a few of them are lasting into the weekend and beyond. Don’t worry if you can’t shop locally for bookbinding supplies (I know it’s hard) – you can still shop small. I’ll update this post through the weekend if I discover any additional deals. Here we go! Acadia Leather has been one of my favorite leather suppliers for a while now. Their skins are very affordable and they offer free (and fast) shipping. From 11/24/23 – 11/27/23, get 25 ..read more

Vermont’s Spring Open Studio Weekend is coming up this weekend, May 27 & 28! I’m not going to lie to you – my studio is not looking that great at the moment. I know I’ll pull it together because I always do, but looking at the space today has me a concerned. I think there’s a lot of staying up late in my future. This event is put on by the amazing Vermont Crafts Council. Most Vermont craftspeople work in studios located in or close to their residences. These are places of production and inspiration located in downtowns as well as at the ends of dirt roads. They are exciting places to visi ..read more

Welcome to your Book Arts guide for Spring Open Studio Weekend 2023! Vermont Open Studio Weekend is coming up this Memorial Day weekend, May 27 & 28. As a book artist, I like to support people in my tribe, so I dedicate a blog post to them every OSW. There are five book artsy studios participating (in addition to mine) this spring. I created the Google map at the bottom of this post which includes all of the studios to help you plan your travels. I’d like to say that the studios are near each other, but sadly they’re not. Look at it this way – the foliage is starting to turn and hopefully ..read more

The Vermont Crafts Council‘s Spring Open Studio Weekend will soon be upon us…May 27 & 28…and, as always, you’re invited to my studio! I love this event. Not only does it give me the opportunity to share my creative work, but I also get to educate people about the value of handmade work in general. I especially enjoy it when people bring their kids because they always ask the best questions! If I’ve piqued your interest, read on… So what can you expect when you come to my studio? You might be surprised by the size of my space – it’s small, but it has lots crammed into it (I’m good at maximi ..read more

Welcome to National Library Week, a celebration of all that is the awesomeness of libraries. This year the event takes place April 23-29, 2023 and the theme is There’s More to the Story. From the American Library Association‘s website: Libraries are full of stories in a variety of formats from picture books to large print, audiobooks to ebooks, and more. But there’s so much more to the story. Libraries of Things lend items like museum passes, games, musical instruments, and tools. Library programming brings communities together for entertainment, education, and connection through book clubs ..read more

Welcome to your Book Arts guide for Fall Open Studio Weekend 2022! Vermont Open Studio Weekend is coming up this weekend, October 1 & 2. As a book artist, I like to support people in my tribe, so I dedicate a blog post to them every OSW. There are three book artsy studios participating (in addition to mine) this fall. I created the Google map at the bottom of this post which includes all of the studios to help you plan your travels. I’d like to say that the studios are near each other, but sadly they’re not. Look at it this way – the foliage is starting to turn and hopefully it will put on ..read more

The Vermont Crafts Council‘s Fall Open Studio Weekend will soon be upon us…October 1 & 2…and, as always, you’re invited! I love this event. Not only does it give me the opportunity to share my creative work, but I also get educate people about the value of handmade work in general. I especially enjoy it when people bring their kids because they always ask the best questions! If you look at the image to the right, you’ll see a picture of me in my studio during a previous year. I had no idea that picture was going to end up on the back page of the map – what a surprise! If you come for a vis ..read more

The Vermont Crafts Council‘s Spring Open Studio Weekend is happening during this coming Memorial Day Weekend! As I’ve said in previous years around this time, it’s time to get cleaning… Oh, and you’re invited! I love this event. Not only does it give me the opportunity to share my creative work, but I also get educate people about the value of handmade work in general. I especially enjoy it when people bring their kids to my studio – kids ask the best questions! So what can you expect when you come to my studio? You might be surprised by the size of my space – it’s quite small, but it has lots ..read more

The Focus on Book Arts conference is happening this year! Yay! In case you haven’t figured it out, I really love this event. I’ve attended every conference since 2007 and haven’t been disappointed. I’ve also taught there twice. FOBA runs every other year at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. They offer five full days of book arts workshops for all skill levels. This year’s dates are July 15 – 19, 2022. According to their website, many of FOBA’s events and activities center around the theme of momentum. “As we gather momentum, we can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.” I li ..read more

So, guess what? I needed paper. No, really. And I needed something that folded well, like Chiyogami. After going down the paper rabbit hole, I decided to buy paper from Morita Washi, a shop I visited during my trip to Japan 6 years ago. The paper was delivered in just over a week – I thought for sure it would take at least a month. I am so impressed. And the paper, sakes alive. It is GORGEOUS. All of it was made in Kyoto. Did I mention that I purchased 36 sheets? I was vaguely aware that some of the patterns on my papers had traditional meanings, so I decided to do a little research. According ..read more