Love Little

“I’ve always liked books. The way the paper feels in my hands, the rustle or snap as the pages turn. I like the way a book can sit innocently on the shelf and yet open to reveal any number of surprises. The endless possibilities of books.”

Sarah Mitchell works at the Leeds College of Art and Design as a print room technician but she is also a very talented book artist. Her books and portfolio style boxes are beautifully made and can frequently be seen at the Annual artists book fair  at the University of Leeds. I love the way she describes her process of creating this bespoke product.

“I’ve always enjoyed making things; cutting up bits of paper, drawing, sticking, folding and sewing things together. And so my books are hand made, hand cut, hand folded, hand stitched and hand finished. This is important to me. I like to keep that contact with the object I’m making, it has to feel right. Tactile. I enjoy the process of folding the paper, sewing the signatures, and the fact that from this repetition, surprising new things can emerge”.

Sarah Waterhouse Textiles is a textile design and printing company where all fabric is printed by hand in a small studio in Sheffield, England.

The company is run by Sarah Waterhouse who designs all the collections and prints every piece of fabric by hand using water based inks on hemp or organic cotton thus giving it a strong environmental and ethical policy. What I love about the fabrics is the use of one or two carefully chosen colours, the simple designs and the way each print coordinate together, and obvious the use of pugs in  prints is always a winner.

I have been busy updating my Etsy and Folksy shops this weekend. There is some lovely new products available. You can also follow me on my facebook page here.

“That was me aged about 8, after swimming on a Saturday morning at Ladywell swimming baths somewhere south of London. I’ve got my towel tucked under my arm and my dad and I are on our way to Foyles bookshop which was our Saturday morning treat. My dad told me it was the biggest bookshop in the world and I loved it, the fresh piles of new books and being allowed to choose one.

Dad bought me Rudyard Kipling when I wanted Enid Blyton and I still have the books he bought me. This is where my love of books and all things bibliophile began. Escapism among the towering stacks of freshly laid print.”

I love this description of Louise’s love of books.

Louloulovesbooks was introduced to me at my book club at HBP, I have seen a few of her books and each one gives me that “I want to own this” feeling. They are visual treats with a brilliant sense of humour. Check out her website here, I am trying so hard not to buy to many books.