At last, my very own blog! It's very exciting to think of my thoughts and going-ons being out there for people to share.

My business is finally about to become reality, instead of just a lovely dream that I’ve had for so long. It seems a lifetime ago that I first spoke to a random stranger on the street about my plans. To that young man from Greenpeace that caught me as I was going to an appointment to find out the details of starting a new business, thank-you for listening. And it seems a hundred lifetimes ago since I first saw a photograph of the restoration of an antique book in National Geographic which first started my passion for book-binding. I will find that article again one day! And if anyone knows the copy that I’m talking about, please let me know. I’ve come a long way from there and my books have evolved along with me. Late nights which often turned into early mornings spent on the edge of my seat, bent over a press, awaiting a book to emerge from between the boards after a new experiment, are now looked back on with fondness. The long process to what my books have become. Every aspect, from the paper to the fabric and everything in between has developed and intertwined to become a refined creation.

Learning from mistakes (do you have any idea how hard it is to put the ribbon in after you’ve finished the book?) and the joy of discovering a better way to do something by trial and error makes being a self-taught book-binder an incredible and amazing journey.

I’m going through the process of getting my web-shop up and running. The plan is that you will be able to go to the site, pick your fabric, and choose from a range of sizes and number of pages. I can choose the colour of the thread, ribbon and title page to match, or if you have a preference, you can choose those too.

The local markets at Hansen Park in Bowen are becoming a familiar upheaval to my household on cold Sunday mornings. My pup Lottie is happy for the early morning company as I run around on the cold tiles, trying to remember where I left my Ugg boots the night before. But my kitten Byron is usually a little put out at losing his human-sized hot water bottle so early in the morning. Watching him do his yoga stretches while making his way down the hall for breakfast is always entertaining.

At the markets every week, it’s lovely to see the familiar faces as well as all the new ones and I’m still amazed by the number of people that are astounded when told “No, I don’t just cover them, I make them.” The incredulous question of “Do people still do that?” always makes me smile.

Another thing I love is to hear the stories. About the daughter loving her new sketch book; or the journal that with be going on the upcoming overseas trip; or the young guy that picks out a book for his girlfriend because the fabric reminds him of the dress she was wearing the first time he saw her. The look on their faces as they recall these memories gives me a fleeting glimpse into a thousand different lives. Then I say “Thank-you, I hope you enjoy it,” and my books go with them further down their path to be a silent observer to their lives.