I had a guy request a really distressed and beaten on journal, on that looked like it was old and abused. I think I fulfilled that request with this journal. I started with a chunk of oil tanned leather, applied a variety of acrylic paints in layers, wet them down moved them about and wiped them off. I scrubbed some in with an old toothbrush and scraped the leather with a knife and a few other tools. Using a brush I applied some darker paint to areas and rubbed that in with the end of the brush handle, wiping off areas that were raised leaving darker pain in the recessed areas. After all that I took a braided piece of hemp laid it across the cover and beat it in with a hammer, which left an interesting impression. I then folded the cover so that the area where the spine was would be measured and applied darker paint in that area so that it would look like the spine had been handled a lot; after all that I took and iron and bees wax and heated it into the leather.

I ended with a leather that looks dark and abused, as if it has been through the ringer and back again, surviving god knows what.

The details:
Long stitch with decorative Xs on slots
200 pages of Eaton paper
Sewn with black Irish linen thread
Raw flap and a black leather strap- cut thick

Check out the pics:

This journal is already called for.

I’ve been working on a few new designs. I figure that the best way to combat the imitators is to innovate and continually change my offerings, continually is a bit of an over statement but change them often and continue to innovate my historically based sewing.

The versionI’ve been working on is a 400 page journal. I’ve had people request it, so I’ve developed a journal for those people who wantt o write 1 page a day for a year and then move on. Of course a 400 page journal gives them a little leeway with the writing but it’s a thick little book and I’m going to list one on eBay first and then list the next on etsy. So we’ll see how they do.

The details:
400 pages in 20 signatures, Eaton 24ln 25% cotton paper.
Unbleached Irish linen thread, hand waxed, just alittle with pure bee’s wax.
Distressed sheep hide, great pattern, cut from A premium hide.
Basic long stitch.
Raw edged flap with an extra thick strap.

So here are some pictures to enjoy:

I’ll list at eBay later and post a link here.

I have been working on eBay since 2001 with journals and art. I started looking at what people were selling and how they sold. I’ve learned a lot and I’ve taken notes. As frustrated as I am with their current fee structure, I still like eBay and will continue to use their services. I’m in flux with my feelings about the amount I make versus the amount hey take but I know that the best way to combat that is to continue to sell and get my prices higher.

Never once in my time on eBay have I ripped off someone completely in his or her description of an item. I’ve taken notes on what has worked for that person and adapted it to my needs. If one were to go back to any of my descriptions and look at the wording, you would find that it’s all my words. It’s all me. I get frustrated when I look at another book artist who hasn’t put in their time on eBay and is deliberately ripping off my work, right down to my phrasing. The thing about people who buy journals and sketchbooks is that we are addicted to the process and buy them if we like them. There is no need to rip off my work, people will find the work and like it or not. You can boost sales on eBay by lowering starting prices and listing more items. I thought a LOT about how I used eBay before I listed an item, about how I read a description and what I look for in a journal. Selling on eBay is easy if done smart. There is no reason to steal from some one else’s hard work.

So what prompted this? There has been a seller who has been selling journals very much like mine for some time now. I’ve ignored her forays into my territory until now. She has always somewhat styled her auctions after mine, now she has ripped me off almost completely, using my phrasing in her auctions. The other issue is also that she is now making journals like mine. Her bindings are sub par and her photography stinks but the fact remains that she has started to rip off my designs and now she’s ripping off my auction styles. All of my new auctions will feature a little tag at the end that will discuss that my auctions are my words and my work and that copying them is LAME-O!

I am much more balanced on this than I was the last time I found someone ripping me off, being angry about it doesn’t do anything, so I’ll figure out something.

I feel like I got very little done though I really did get a lot more done than it at first seems. I managed to cut a load of really nice covers, some of which will fetch high prices at auction as well as on etsy, keep an eye out over the next week or so. I learned a lot about using and making a reed pen. I’ve filled 4 or 5 pages in my moleskine with note and doodles. I plan on using this tool a lot and maybe offer some for sale on etsy. I’m not sure though. I’ll have to make a pamphlet on how to sharpen them.

Anyway, I forgot to mention that the scan of my moleskine with notes about the reed pen had reed pens scanned in below the image. So I cropped the scan here to show just the pens. Please note that these are my first attempts and are not wonderful.

One of the things I found is that it’s really important to get the pulp center out of the reed. If I don’t the ink doesn’t flow freely and then suddenly blobs out, making an ugly spot. On my newest pens I used my tiny metal file set to really scrape out the “pith” leaving me with a nice smooth surface. If I am careful and scrape out the pith I don’t need to scrape out an ink channel, it flows along the veins of the reed easily. I also must eb careful to NOT file down too far, or the ink flows too freely and blobs. It’s a careful medium. I’m pretty sure I’ll have this figured out in no time and will end with easy writing tools.

I read an article in a magazine at B&N last night about Van Gogh, those of you who know me in real life know of my obsession with his work, in particularly his ink sketches. Back when I lived alone I checked out book that had a great deal of images from his huge assortment of sketches and drawings from Arles of the local landscape. I love those sketches. I photocopied them and had them all over my apartment, so that everywhere I looked I had great art to look at. I spent a great deal of time that summer outside sketching with pen and ink, no thinking of making my own reed pens; I did use brush, dip pen and fountain pens. I also dipped sticks in ink and used those to work. My work while it held a variety of line and were some what interesting never had the huge variety of line that the sketches I viewed of Van Gogh’s which I tried too emulate in my own fashion.

These little sketches in my moleskine are using a reed pen, Van Gogh’s instrument of choice, in Arles, anyhow. I picked a variety of reeds while at Charrette today, from their parking lot no less. I brought them home and got out the click knife and began experimenting. I downloaded instructions and some of them worked and some didn’t. What I found is that every reed size needs a style of cut. I’m sure that not all reeds are a like and that the reeds I used, a local reed for Mass, may not use the same cut as the reeds from Arles.

I found that the larger reeds didn’t produce as nice a pen as the thinner reeds. I’m sure with practice I can get a nice pen from the larger reeds, but the thinner reeds, about a ¼ inch in diameter, were just as stiff as the larger reeds and didn’t split as much. If anything I found that the larger reeds made a very flexible tip, that didn’t hold nearly the amount of ink as a smaller reed. This may be due to how I cut the reed but I haven’t had time to experiment with different cuts.

On my way home from work tomorrow I will head the back way and stop behind the strip mall and gather a wide variety of reeds. The reeds there grow much taller than the reeds in the parking lot at Charrette, we’re talking close to 10 to 12 feet tall. I’m interested in seeing if the bases of these reeds are sturdy and thick and if they are more so than the other reeds.

Anyway the lines produced from reeds are painterly and effective in shading and texture. I need to now find something to draw with texture so that I can really play with these reeds.

Here are a few examples of my sketches with reed, as well as some EDM inspiration.

I’ve finished the small covers that I had made already. I switched to slots for these sewings as I felt that I have a ton of stationed sewings on etsy. So one of these will go for eBay and the other 3 for etsy. Tonight I’m also going to work on the 6 recycled books I have set to go. I’m going to use a variety of Keith Smith sewings for those.

I’m pretty happy with the 4 journals I finished today. The details on them are as follows:
All have an Eaton 24lb paper with 25% cotton content in cream. 200 pages in 10 signatures sewn onto slots. I used Irish linen in a variety of colors. (The golden deer hide is double sewn.) all the sewing styles are a variation on the long stitch, either with angled stitches or decorative Xs sewn into the open areas of the spine. All have my usual flap with a strap, I cut extra wide straps for these journals.

So I’ve been in a crazed book making fit today. I’ve made 3 of the recycled books and made another 6covers. It’s not fast but it works. This time around I’ve remembered to score all teh folds… I forgot that on one ofthe books I made before, not a good idea.

So the books on etsy are here:
Distressed Leather Spine
Oil Tanned Leather Spine

And the one on ebay is here:
Black Leather Spine

The new covers are pretty nice too. I used a larger variety of scraps so I have a nice selection of spines.

Now its time for me to cut some covers for paying gigs!

I’ve been working on the new book style since last night and I’ve got it worked out pretty decently. I cut a cover sheet and score it (that’s important) then glue down a scrap of leather to the spine area. I use a nice thick PVA, so it doesn’t soak into the leather too much so causes minimal shrinking and bending of the card cover. I then fold the excess from the card in toward the middle; attach elastic then glue in some folded accordion pleats to form the envelope. I clamped all that over night. Today I marked the spine and cut slots or punched holes. I did a series of 4 sets of stations so that I could fit 200 pages in the 1-inch spine. However 160 pages would be enough too.

I chose a series of simple sewings for these spines, I like how all but one came out. I used thick chunky hemp, un-waxed and let them fray a bit, I like the look.

Essentially everything in these books is recycled or re-used in some way. The cardboard came from the bakery at work, where it’s used to protect delicate cookies in shipment. The Leather comes from my scrap pile. The inner paper comes from the recycle heap at work. Often large companies change their advertising branding and assorted things like this paper either get used in-house to print memos and things on or they get tossed into the recycle heap. In the case of this paper a 2000 sheet ream was tossed into the recycle heap because it had words printed on one side, top and bottom and no one wanted to take the chance that things would be printed over the words. So I was able to bring it home chop off the words and the company logo and I was left with paper with a series of pale green printed borders and one side plain. It’s awesome paper so I’m pretty excited about it working out for this project. I get 3 covers from each sheet of card and I can cut sheets until I get bored. I’ll be mixing these up and putting them on etsy and eBay. They will be in limited quantities; I’ll run out of cover material quickly! I’m not sure about pricing though. I’ll have to figure it out in terms of how long they take me to make.

I think the card is a nice compliment to the rough leather I used. I’ll be experimenting with other leathers as time goes on, but so far these 3 were great.

Here they are:

I’ll post links to eBay and etsy later.

I started to stitch this journal last night with about a half hour before bedtime, ofcourse I chose the one journal in my stack that has a sewing that will take more than an hour. I could have just used the black thread and saved myself the time of the double sewing but I can’t resist the diffculty that the double sewing requires. It’s simpl and effective for a fat thick sewing that sinks into the leather, especially this thick leather. have I mentioned that I’m in love with this leather. It’s so damn soft I can’t believe it. It’s absolutely amazing. It’s the deer hide. I then turned around and adhered it to the mango paper, which just added an even heavier texture to the cover. You can’t see it but he cover is realy very thick.

With the cover being delectable I added my favorite paper as the pages. I’ve got about 250 sheets of this paper left and I’m hoarding it. It’s foxrivers natural confetti, 25% cotton, 24lb, acid free and in my book an incredible writing paper, it rival strathmores 25% cotton renewal paper. It’s thick, stiff and a delight to write upon with pencil, roller ball, or *sigh* my pelikan fountain pen.

So i used my #18 mislabeled as #12 thread to sewin it, in warm brown, it works muchbetter with the golden shade of the leather than black, which while it can be nice can seem harsh. I did a simple long stitch pattern but linked the center section. It’s simpl and lets the double stitching show itself off.

I had a hard time parting with this one for etsy, but it’s up there and ready! Link following the pictures.

See this hot baby on Etsy.com

I’ve been playing around/ experimenting [which sounds more professional? ;)] with using a similar station pattern to see what i can get out of it in terms of different links, angles and what not. These journals are some of those experimental books. i have one more I haven’t finished stitching yet but we’ll see where they go. So far so good. These books are also listed on etsy.com rather than ebay. They were a lot more work than some of my journals and thus I can’t bare to part with them for possibly nothing.

I had a special order that required bright red thread. So I ordered a whole spool and thus lots of goth looking red and black journals will follow. Kidding, Red and black is a classic combination and it looks good. So here is a black pebbly textured cover, sheep hide with red irish linen stitchin in a patterned long stitch with linking. Simple but sweet. There are 200 pages of tan granite colored paper inside. It has a nice texture, smooth enough to use a fountain pen but rough enough to accept pencil with less than normal smudging. It’s a nice warm paper, which I thought might not match the cover but what the hell, I’d rather have nice paper than something not as nice, plus this paper is wonderfully writable.

Link following the pictures.

Black Leather with Red Stitching

The journal below is a marigold yellow, more like a light buckskin colored deer hide. It’s been adhered to an orange marbled paper. The strap was cut extra thick and extra long. This leather is incredibly soft, it feels like nubuck. I’ve lucked out on leather lately, the last 5 hides or so that I’ve bought have been decadent and wonderful. Simply amazing. I bought 2 of these hides and man am I happy I did.

The MOST incredible thing about this journal is that it has 200 pages of Southworth 100% cotton paper. The paper is crisp smooth and heavy weighing in at 28lbs per sheet. It has a slight tooth that is perfect for drawing with pencil over all a decadent sheet.

Enough talk some pictures: LInk toetsy below:

You can get this journal here: Golden Deer Hide JOurnal