PURCHASING

Where can I buy your books and boxes?
Most of my customers are people who hear about my work from friends, or see work that I donate to various silent auctions and fundraisers. For a list of Madison Area retailers carrying my work, go to Madison Shows and Shops.

If I see something on the website I want, but can't get to a store, how can I get it? Though my work is available in a few shops, I primarily sell out of my home studio, and am happy to have visitors. If you live in the Madison (Wisconsin) area, please e-mail me and we can arrange for you to see my work directly. If you live outside of Madison, we may be able to work something out. If you see something that you like, get in touch with me via e-mail. If I have the paper and book cloth that you're interested in, I'll let you know. I will ask for payment in advance before shipping, via a money order, and will add a charge for shipping. If that works for you, let me know

Do you sell books and boxes on the web? Not currently.

Why not sell on the web? There are several reasons (excuses). This is a new venture for me, and I'm not prepared for either the volume or the risk of selling on the web. I usually have a limited amount of each kind of paper, and so at any given time may or may not have a paper similar to what is shown on the web. Also, I make each piece individually. Finally, I have the luxury of not needing to make a living doing this, and so can set boundaries on it to keep it a source of joy.

Why have a website if you don't take orders over the web? I've found it useful for several reasons. First, I primarily sell locally (Madison, Wisconsin), and enjoy having people make their own choices about the type and size of book or box, paper, and book cloth. While it's fun having people come to my workshop to make their choices, they are sometimes overwhelmed by the many decisions that they get to make. Seeing the possibilities on the web will help them think about their decisions. Secondly, doing a website helped me take a step back and think in a different way about what I do. Finally, I'm happy with what I do, and enjoy showing my work.

Do you do custom orders? Yes. I enjoy meeting with people to have them "design" their own.

ABOUT BOOKS AND JOURNALS

How long does it take to complete a book? Start-to-finish, making a book is about a 15-hour process. Since much of that time is spent waiting for glue to dry, the actual time is considerably less. The time with hands directly on the materials - cutting, sewing, assembling, gluing, etc.-is probably about 2-3 hours. How long it takes depends on whether I'm doing all of the cutting of the board and text papers for myself.

Do you prefer lined or unlined journals? When I started, it never occurred me to make a lined journal for myself. I write according to my mood, and sometimes the lines are too confining. I also sometimes doodle and draw, and like the open space of an unlined book. When I'm puzzling out a plan or a project, or sometimes even when reading a book, I draw a mind map. It's really a matter of personal preference, and the goals that you have for this particular journal.

Where do you get lined journal paper? I like to use acid-free paper, and was unable to find a source of acid free lined paper. I print the lined paper on my laser printer, which is why lined journals cost a little more. A word of advice: There is archival ink, but I don't have it for my printer. I don't know paper chemistry, but I expect that the ink compromises the archival quality of the paper somewhat. So if it is important to you that your great, great, great grandchildren read what you write, unlined paper will be safer.

I bought a journal and it's too pretty to write in. What should I do? A few suggestions:

• Make the first mark. Once you do that, it's easier.
• Get yourself a special pen and reserve it for using with your journal
• Buy two: one to admire, and one to use. You'll find that it's easier to use the second one after you've finished the first one.
• Give it to a friend. I gave a small journal to a friend, and she started writing poetry. She had never written poetry before. She says it was my book that did it. So who knows what magic might happen if you give someone a blank book?

BOXES

How long does it take to make a box? Boxes are quicker than hand-bound books. I occasionally use pre-cut kits, (see Hollanders) but I have accumulated the tools and techniques to do my own cutting, which takes quite a bit of time, focused attention, and a strong right arm. Clam-shell boxes are more complicated than hinged lid boxes, so take a little longer. Once I have the board pieces cut, I can get the box to the final stage of weighting and waiting in 45 minutes to an hour. Since I usually have half a dozen projects in different stages, it's hard to calculate the time precisely.

How can the boxes be used?

A travel book with a matching box will help you keep the memories of a special trip together. The book can hold postcards, photos, wine labels, ticket stubs, and other reasonably flat objects. Use the matching book to hold all of the 3-dimensional items from the trip. A rock picked up from the Rhine, the cork from an exquisite bottle of wine, a few leftover coins, a small piece of an old cobblestone street.

A box can be a gift in itself, but can also hold a second gift.

• For my daughter-in-law Leslie's kitchen shower, I filled a couple of boxes with an array of specialty mustards from the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin, which boasts the world's largest collection of mustards. (Side note: Fodor's lists this as one of the 7 wackiest museums in America, along with the Combat Cockroach Hall of Fame, Leila's Hair Museum, the Elvis is Alive Museum, and others. But that's another story. And I won't get side-tracked on the story about the founder of the Museum who is the only attorney to ever have tried a case in the United States Supreme Court with a jar of mustard in his pocket. Or about the fact that the museum is the home of the distinguished institute of higher education, Poupon U, whose fight song is to the tune of "On Wisconsin.")
• Ok. Stop it now. Get back to business. Leslie used the larger of the two boxes (an 8x10 box covered with Chinese red dragon silk brocade) for her wedding cards, which matches the personalized guest book.
• Leslie made a small lace pillow for the second box (covered with Chinese blue dragon silk brocade) and the ring-bearer carried it during the wedding ceremony. After the wedding, it became a place to store small mementos from the wedding.
• My son's dad and partner bought a box for our granddaughter, and filled it with items that carry special meaning for them, and a special blessing for her.
• A co-worker bought a matched set to help her husband organize his desk.
• As a hostess gift, I have included small note cards in a 4x6 box to give a gift of stationery.
• I covered a large (10x13) box with beautiful marble paper, filled it with spices from Penzey's Spices in Madison and gave it as a wedding gift.

OTHER THINGS YOU MAY BE WONDERING

What's your hourly wage when you're making books and boxes? If I really knew that, I probably wouldn't do it.

Do you make your own paper? No.

Why not? Because I can only afford one aesthetically pleasing, spiritually rewarding, time-intensive and financially challenging endeavor at a time.

Where did you learn? I took my first two classes through my local university extension. Those classes introduced me to basic techniques, and that was sufficient for a while. I simply made lots of books (and almost as many mistakes). As I was scanning the web for ideas, I discovered Hollanders in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In addition to a wide range of paper and supplies, Hollanders offers both kits and classes. Some of the kits come with optional instruction booklets are easy to follow and well illustrated. Some good friends indulged my obsession by giving me a gift of a trip to Ann Arbor, where I was able to take a class and get my hands directly on their paper. I don't have stock in Hollanders, but have found them to be a helpful and reliable resource.