Book Swap 2025

Keeping with our November tradition, a group of NSBAG participants gathered once again to swap handmade books. In this swap, everyone creates a handbound blank book and brings it to the meeting. The books are all wrapped in brown paper so we can't see the books right away. The packages are each assigned a number, then the participants each draw a number and receive the corresponding package. Finally, we open the packages and marvel at each other's wonderful work! As always, there was a wide range of techniques and materials and creativity in the books this year.

Have a closer look at each book:

Sally Crawford made her book with a variety of her own eco-dyed papers bound using a traditional Japanese sewing.

Larry Colwell made a traditional case binding, quarter cloth with marbled paper.

Tarika Stitt's book is a traditional codex with faux leather, handmade paper, hand-sewn endbands, and customized painted endpapers.

Mallory Kinley made a hardcover longstitch binding with her original watercolour illustrations for the pastedowns.

Heather Loney made a book using the Criss Cross Binding (also known as Secret Belgian Binding) technique with custom book cloth on the covers.

Rhynn Winstead made a book with custom linen bookcloth, decorative paper, hand-sewn endbands, and her original kitikate relief prints for the pastedowns.

Joe Landry's book is a Rubow millimetre binding with brown leather and marbled paper.

Stephanie Morley's book is a German case binding in full cloth with elephant paper endsheets.

Emily Brown made a full cloth case binding with embossed design and custom endpapers, design inspired by the Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

Marilynn Rudi bound a journal using the reverse piano hinge binding technique with a mixture of decorative papers.

Rhonda Miller's book is a Rubow millimetre binding with purple goatskin leather and her original hand-marbled paper.

Book Swap 2024 - Rhonda Miller

Rhonda Miller made this book and box for our recent book swap. The book is made using the sewn board binding technique with custom endsheets that feature an original lino print. This custom clam shell box and matching book are both made with Rhonda's original marbled paper. There is a faux leather spine and the marbled paper has a polished beeswax coating.

Book Swap 2023 - Rhonda Miller

Rhonda Miller made this half leather binding for the NSBAG book swap. The structure is a split-board library binding and the cover features some of Rhonda's original marbled paper paired with dark green goatskin leather. There are silk hand-sewn headbands and Bugra endpapers. Rhonda can be found online via her website and on Instagram: @myhandboundbooks.

Book Swap 2023 - Ariel Bissett

This colourful book was made by Ariel Bissett for the NSBAG book swap. The binding is a Coptic-style chain stitch sewing. The cover features some of Ariel's original marbled paper which is a multi-coloured waved nonpareil pattern. You can find Ariel on Instagram: @arielbissett

Book Swap 2023 - Larry Cowell

This ribbon-bound photo album was handmade by Larry Cowell for the NSBAG book swap. The album includes heavy pages suitable for mounting photos, with separators between each page to allow for swell. The covers are made with marbled paper paired with navy book cloth for the hinged cover.

Book Swap 2023 - Joe Landry

Joe Landry's three-piece contribution to the NSBAG book swap consists of two miniature books and a custom box. The books are both half leather bindings with raised bands and gold tooling on the spine. They also have sewn headbands and they both feature fine-combed marbled paper. The handmade box also features marbled paper, paired with a beige book cloth.

Book Swap 2023 - Marilynn Rudi

Marilynn Rudi created this colourful handbound book for the NSBAG book swap, featuring her own original marbling on the covers. The binding is an accordion spine with pamphlet stitched sections. The spine reinforcement is made from Kraftex and the pages are 80lb drawing paper.