April at Sarah Reimer Designs: Introducing hand bound books!

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What keeps me going as a creative and a solo maker is bringing new ideas to the table.  Since listing my first batch of greeting cards back in May of 2015, I have tried new ways of bringing my travel inspired items a new twist.  Beginning with my travel calendar last fall, I branched out and successfully listed some hand drawn prints (mostly maps, bicycles, or nature inspired), and even sold my hand painted plates that I listed earlier this year (though they turned out nicely, I look at those as completely random. Can't say that idea really took off. But it was fun!).  This twist, however, seems like a PERFECT fit for my shop.  Hand bound travel photography notebooks.  These books perfectly showcase my travel photography while at the same time bringing in the art and detail of handmade.  Not only do I print the photos on handmade paper (and use that paper throughout the book), I actually hand sew these books.  Sounds tedious perhaps, but I love it.  There is something so fulfilling about actually creating these books from beginning to finish.

The inspiration actually came to me from a small shop here in Chiang Mai, which sells books just like these.  I loved leafing through the pages and seeing all the coloured threads they would use and different coloured papers to create these little beauties.  I found myself researching book binding at home and watching tutorials on how to make my own sketch book.  After a few tries and some not-so-pretty-looking sketchbooks, I looked at what I had made in awe.  I really made this?  What a great feeling it was to feel so proud of my new skill.

Considering I was away for half of April (you may have seen some photos on my Instagram or Facebook of Indonesia... blog posts are coming!), I am pretty proud of what I have listed in my shop this month.  Also, many more are currently in the making!  It does take quite a bit of time to make one book, so I struggled a bit with pricing my items (I've priced them in between 24-30 dollars, but considering all the time I spend PLUS the materials I use, I simply couldn't afford to go any lower).  I am hoping that people will see the hard work and detail that I've put into them and hopefully appreciate the sustainability factor that goes into each one (Thai Saa paper is renewable and very eco friendly!).  I've listed 4 books so far, and though they've had a fair amount of views, I've had no takers so far.  But we'll see, I truly think they are little works of art and would make a great handmade gift!  Here are some details of the current books that are available:

1. "Courage is found in unlikely places" - J.R.R. Tolkien

2. Towering Pines: Photo taken in Thetford, England

3. Life Is Beautiful: Photo taken in Chiang Dao, Thailand

4. Tandem Bicycle Classic Notebook

I am still working on perfecting the details of my books.  I've begun using a waxed thread (pictured in the "Life is Beautiful" photos) instead of just the standard white string I used in the other three.  I've also begun adding more pages so that they will have roughly 130 pages of blank space, using Thai Saa paper as section dividers (which also adds a more rustic aesthetic).  If you have any questions or are interested in anything custom, feel free to let me know!  I look forward to sharing more book designs with you in the month of May!