 Quite a long time ago now, I wrote about a roll-up I got for my bookbinding tools. It was originally for knitters, but served my purpose. The other day, Sophia Kramer mentioned the roll-ups she makes expressly for binders — made of leather. The one to the right is $42. You can see them here and contact Sophia by email. |
One of my bookmaking kits got a nice mention on the Etsy Blog today, in an article about “crafting adventures with paper.” They mention some things that I didn’t include in my recent post on bookmaking supplies and tools on Etsy. Like the Plantable Paper Kit Deluxe from Good Karma Soaps pictured (“plantable paper” is “tree free” paper made using unwanted paper and embedding wildflower seeds. The idea is to plant the paper when you’re done with it and the wildflowers will grow.) as well as stuff for printing (like Gocco kits) and handmade paper. Take a look here.
In my letterpress classes I am constantly reminding students to use a ruler or pica pole to measure things — Is the type straight on the page? Is it really centered? How much furniture do they need for the lockup? Some resist (although everyone comes around by the end of the day), but others start immediately to reminisce about using a type gauge, like the Haberule ones on the left.
I looked up the Haberule the other day, to see if perhaps I could find one to show students. I immediately found the Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies, full of tools that were useful not-so-long-ago, but have been mostly supplanted by computers. Look here for info on the Haberule (be sure to look at the comments, which explain how it works).
Yesterday, I wrote about bookmaking tools I found on Etsy. Today’s post is the supplies I found, in addition to Susan Scott’s Yardwork bookcloth, that I wrote about earlier.
| Piacere Mio sells single jars of PVA. | 
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Diane Falvey of Iris and Lily will custom cut book board to your specifications. She also sells pre-made text blocks. |
| KarleighJae sells leather hides and pieces — like this amazing green one. 3 pieces of cut Italian Lambskin at least 6″ x 18″ are $25. (She also sells Davey board scraps.) Another shop, awal1, sells faux and real leather in a variety of colors. |
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The two sisters who run Snippets of Time sell vintage wallpaper samples that can be used for book covers. They also sell other ephemera, like maps and bingo cards. |
| Ana Buigues of contexto sells leather faux bookbinding endbands, including a sampler of various colors for $3. | 
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Several shops have paper for sale: washimatta sells packs of washi, as does Washi Paper and Pebble Stone Papery. My Marbled Papers shop sells washi, marbled and Suminagashi papers. |
When I first started selling on Etsy (it’s been exactly 3 years!) there were few books and no bookmaking supplies. Recently I was looking for unwaxed linen thread, and discovered that there are now lots of shops selling tools and supplies, usually in small quantities with low shipping costs. Here’s some interesting tools I found (tomorrow I’ll post the supplies).
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Wren Haven Tools sells these nifty micro scissors in 2 sizes, as well as felt covered weights, boxmaking and bookmaking angle tools for cutting. They even sell a angle for left handed people! |
| Instead of my manual method for making perfect bound books, you can use Kirk Whitham’s binding machine from his Atomic Binding shop. He’s got 2 sizes, to make up to 5-1/2″ books ($69 + shipping) and the larger to make up to to 11″ tall ($99 + shipping). He’s got heaps of info about it on his website including a you-tube video. | 
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UberArt sells this solid oak book press for $70 plus shipping — years ago my husband made me one with a bench screw mechanism as explained here. Mine presses multiple books at once, unlike UberArt’s, but the materials alone cost as much as the Etsy press. |
| Randy Arnold sells wooden bone folders, including this one made of ebony with a pearl inlay. Piacere Mio sells bone folders made of bone, as well as single jars of PVA. | 
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Instead of a Japanese screw punch, you can buy this “Bookbinder’s Screw-down Double-sided Hole Punch.” Kristin, of The Indigo Raven, says it drills through 2-3mm of cardstock, matboard, buckram… It has two hole size options: 1.6mm (1/16th”) and 2.3mm (3/32nd”). The punch can accommodate materials up to 3mm thick. |
The popularity of scrapbooking has opened up a world of tools and papers that were hard-to-find and expensive just a few years ago. Now there are low-cost manual machines to apply glue (I have one myself — a laminator — that I use for my bookmaking). Similar rotary machines will die cut (mostly pre-made dies, but you can have your own made or there are models that are computer controlled). And now, coming to a craft store near you this fall, is L, “the Letterpress combo kit [that] contains everything you need to begin letterpress printing right away.” In the pictures below, you can see how it works…
But what exactly is “letterpress”? Is it only, as their website explains, “printing words or designs with ink while simultaneously debossing it into a thick, soft paper.” I suppose it is, although I stress in my Etsy listings that my printing work is all done on my vintage 1890s large cranky press. The Lifestyle Craft website doesn’t show an example of the impression you can get from their little machine, or what sort of designs and typefaces they will offer, or how to make and use your own. I’m also sure that registering two colors will be fraught with problems. I’m interested to see a demo in person!
