Erica Ekrem - Bound: Over 20 Artful Handmade Books

I have always felt deeply connected to books. There exists a photo of me barely clothed, maybe five years old, sitting beneath the summer sun inside a storybook large enough to swallow me whole. In fact, I rarely remember a time in my life when I wasnt fascinated by an exotic world painted by the well-crafted words of a new author I had discovered.

My early childhood was painted in the magic of fairy tales with glimmering watercolors of 1940s storybook illustrations from previous generations. A few years later, when I began to decode written language, the first words I read were in a musty set of Dick and Jane books my grandmother had collected. As a tween, I devoted myself religiously to a diary, creating a memoir of my likes and dislikes, filing away my first kisses and heartaches. As I grew older, my storyline began to take the form of prose, poetry, and stream-of-consciousness writing influenced by voices like Anas Nin, Jim Morrison, and Ken Kesey.

It wasnt long before I left my hometown, enrolled in university courses, and began exploring philosophy and spiritual texts. Wherever I found myself, undoubtedly there were books at hand. Finally, after a few years (and universities), I stumbled upon a prerequisite course that altered my path, and curiously enough, melded my studies togetherit was a class that taught me how to design and build books.

In 2004, after I completed my studies and lovingly repeated the bookbinding course as many times as I could, I wished for two things in my life: to live in a forest and to bind books. I serendipitously found a cabin in the woods, as well as Bison Bookbinding and Letterpress in the nearby town of Bellingham, which graciously hired me.

By that time I had been experimenting with my own materials and bookbinding techniques. I gathered secondhand materials from thrift stores and salvage boxes. Soon after, I was asked to sell the journals in a local shop, and then finally I embarked on selling on Etsy. Thats when I realized it was possible to make a living doing what I loved to do. From then on, I continued to explore the structure of the bound book, searching for the creative edge where beauty meets utility.

And now, thirty some years after that sunlit photo of me inside my colossal book, I find myself immersed in my biggest project yet: this book. In some ways it has swallowed me, by captivating my attention the way only a good storybook can.

I invite you to think of this book as a bookbinding course. I want to offer a resource, to give you a good foundation, inspire you, fuel your creativity, and spark your ideas. I often ask: How beautiful and functional can a book be? This is the question that moved me to write this book and one that I hope will be meaningful to you.

In this book, Ive provided simple modifications on basic stitches and new stitching techniques that Ive developed to aid you in integrating up-cycled and found cover materials. For those of you new to bookbinding, if at first the projects seem challenging, I urge you to keep practicing. The more you handle the materials and intuit the way they want to be handled, the easier it will become. You might begin with the simple bindings such as the pamphlet stitch and work your way up to a more complex combination of stitches.

For those of you who are more experienced, I challenge you to approach these projects with a beginners mind. You never know what new pathway you may discover! And for those of you who like to cross-pollinate your skillset, Ive incorporated traditional sewing techniques such as embroidery and machine sewing, as well as integrating wood-burning, beachcombing, and botanical pressing.

My love and deep appreciation for the earth cannot go unspoken here. I owe much, if not all, of my success in bookbinding to the creative impulses and visions Ive received by connecting with the natural world. In return, it is my hope to give back to nature by taking the time to seek tools and materials that are sustainable and durable enough to last a lifetime, or in the least, ones that will leave a light environmental footprint. In this way, the hand-stitched books I make become a silent ode of thanks and appreciation for the natural abundance in my life.

I urge you to spend time in your part of the world, wherever you arebe it city, rural countryside, forest, urban park, or beachand let nature speak to you. Take my techniques that I have developed over many years and use them to inform your one-of-a-kind pieces. I ask that if you use any of my techniques in a commercial way, that it be in the context of your very own unique art. Express your love of books as I have done. And never be afraid to be swallowed, however momentarily, by the beauty you create.

Erica Ekrem

THE BASICS: MATERIALS, TOOLS, AND TECHNIQUES

INTRODUCTION

In the following pages, I bring you 21 book structures made with materials sourced from places as local as your backyard to more global offerings via the online marketplace. As you explore this book, let the use of materials spark your imagination and allow the magic of the old world guide you to a slower pace of being. If you arent already, I hope you will begin to explore the materials found in your own unique and precious natural environment and enable Nature to guide you in your creative process. Most of all, have fun and be curious! This is how I discovered the projects within.

SOURCES

You can get your bookbinding supplies from various places, depending upon the kind of materials you like to work with.

Stores

Many of the materials for the projects in this book can be found in your local craft or art store. Check out your local shops first. If you dont find everything you need, source your materials from a specialty bookbinding store that offers online shopping. See for a list of retailers.