Christmas Gifts

I know Christmas was a while ago, but I am just getting around to writing a post on some little notebooks that I made for Chrissy presents for my sister-in-law and two of my nieces. They are similar in construction to Ana’s Book—they are hard-covered, 5-hole pamphlet-stitched, single-section notebooks with the name of the recipient embossed on the front cover, and the word ‘book’ embossed on the back.

These books are so easy to make, and are so satisfying. I can think of nothing better than when giving someone a gift, giving them one that is hand-made. My wife and I got a little handmade felt bird for a wedding gift, and it made the most impression on me out of all the gifts we got. There is something special in the knowledge that someone was thinking about you and valued your friendship enough to spend some time making something. In a world where everything you could possibly want is mass-produced on machines and is available on demand at any time of the day, what I think of as the ‘lost arts’ are so important to preserve. It takes a few days to produce a few books, what with the drying time and everything. If I wanted a journal, I’d much rather make myself one—and get something cheaper and infinitely better-produced—than go to the shops and buy an off-the-shelf one.