Making a book using your hands takes time and a lot of patience. There are a lot of steps involved, and each step needs to be executed with a certain level of […]
DIY books – How to avoid your book boards from warping using “drumming”
As a bookbinder-in-the making, an issue that I struggle with when making hard cover books is the problem of the book boards warping after the book is allowed to dry for a […]
Should you take custom orders as a new small product business?
When you start a small business that sells a product, at some point you’ll run into customers who’ll ask you for something that you don’t have off the shelf. Instead, you’ll have […]
What to do when your product has a small defect or an experiment does not go as planned
Does this happen to you? You painstakingly work on your product, paying attention to all the small little details, trying to make sure that you get the little things right. And then, […]
New Zen Scribbles journals ready for purchase!
I’ve been on a bit of a journal making marathon over the last few weeks. I source leather for my journals from a furniture designer on Etsy. He usually sends me large […]
New to bookbinding? Here are 7 simple tools that can make your DIY leather journal look really good!
I love the feel of a nice leather journal 🙂 When you start out in bookbinding, making a gorgeous leather journal is really what you’re hoping you’ll be able to make one […]
The economics of selling handmade journals
Hmmm…..so what are the economics of selling handmade journals? Tl;dr Not great, especially if you’re making them in the US! Let’s use a simple leather handmade journal as an example. Something like […]
Making remote handicrafts accessible through handmade journals
As someone who hails from India and was exposed to the huge variety of gorgeous handicrafts found in many different parts of India, and as someone who has developed an interested in […]
An easy way to identify veg tan leather
I love making handmade leather bound journals. There’s nothing really that beats the look of a leather journal – it has such a timeless classic beauty to it. At the same time, […]
Burnishing leather edges – A quick way to make your DIY leather books look professional
As a self-taught (and still learning by the way!) bookbinder, I’m always looking for ways to give my leather bound journals a more finished look. Leather working is a field in and […]
Sonali Mangal 