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 […]
Making remote handicrafts accessible through handmade journals
So far….it’s crickets on Etsy
So I decided to try my hand at selling some of my handmade journals on Etsy. Suffice to say that so far the experiment has not yielded great results 😀 Here’s my […]
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 […]
How to add a bookmark to your DIY journal
You can make your DIY journal have its own inbuilt bookmark. Something like this, see the bookmark sticking out of the spine? Adding a bookmark is extremely easy, but you need to […]
Field notebooks and the power of noting down your ideas and observations
I came across this idea of a “Field notebook” in Leonardo da Vinci‘s biography recently. Leonardo had a lifelong habit of jotting down his observations, ideas and lists. Here are a few […]
How to convert any fabric into book cloth to cover your DIY books
If you’re into bookbinding, you probably find gorgeous materials every now and then that you wish you could use to cover your books, but you’re not sure how to. One of the […]
Don’t be quick to judge your work
I have a tendency to not like something I’ve made, right after making it. I’m not sure why this happens. But for many handmade journals that I’ve made so far, my initial […]
The joy of seeing your products in someone else’s hands
Why do we this? Why do we put our heart and soul into making products, making ourselves vulnerable to what others think about them? Yes it’s a form of creative expression. Yes […]
Neatsfoot oil – A super simple way to make your DIY leather products feel supple
I’m a completely self-taught bookbinder. As anyone who is into making books would know, working with leather is a big part of this craft. Leather is often the material of choice for […]
Work in coffee shops to boost your creativity
Are there times when you feel “stuck”? Your head is swirling with the same ideas, the same questions, and you can’t seem to get out of your own head? I certainly have! […]
Sonali Mangal 