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floral2-2.jpg

Floral

January 14, 2014

 

case bound book with rounded spine - linen fabric / antique embroidered tablecloth, paper, board, thread, handmade endpapers
104 pages of white heavyweight 120gsm paper suitable for mixed media
15,5x14,1x2 / 6.1"x5.6"x0.8"
SOLD
This is a book that really took its time. Finishing this last week led to a serious bout of reminiscing that's still lingering. In 2005, or thereabouts, when I was doing my bookbinder's apprenticeship, my darling mother gave me this gorgeous (but horribly torn) little tablecloth embroidered with lilac Art Nouveau flowers so I could make a book out of it. At the time I felt I still needed to work on my skills before taking my scissors to this beautiful piece of cloth, and then it only took me about nine years to get a grip and get it done. I have a love/hate relationship with one of a kind materials - it pretty much breaks my heart that I'll never be able to make another book out of this tablecloth. There is of course the other end still left but it's full of holes and other damage (sometimes I think my family goes by the rule that if an item fits into the washer it's machine washable), so I'd have to get pretty creative if I want to find a use for that section. I'll just have to keep my eyes open in the hopes of finding other damaged treasures in need of saving.
Another thing that took its time this year is Winter. -14°C today, and at last that special cold weather winter light is here, too. We had some snow before Christmas but it was soon gone, and it looked like November until a couple of days ago (November look is a bad thing, wouldn't recommend it to anyone). I'm hoping having more light will lift my spirits and result in more new books. There are some already listed on Etsy but there are more on the way any day now. I'll also be blogging more frequently again now that my winter semi-holiday is over, so I hope to see you here, too, soon!
PS. Take a look at Poppytalk Handmade Online Marketplace where I too have set up my stall until Feb 28th. The company there is pretty damn great, so I'd definitely pay the site a visit if I were you. Ok, bye.
In all books, bookbinding, case binding
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Welcome to Paperiaarre!

Kaija Rantakari / Paperiaarre in her Helsinki based studio

Hello, my name is Kaija. I'm a master bookbinder / mixed media artist / accumulator extraordinaire / poet from Finland. This website is where I share my creations to fellow paper enthusiasts.

Paperiaarre is Finnish for a paper treasure, and I hope you find many of those here!

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Hello you, just a quick note that I'm spending May in Edinburgh at a writing recidency, so the Paperiaarre shop will be closed from April 30th. Any orders placed by Wednesday afternoon will be shipped as usual ❤️❤️❤️
Another great day for this bookbinder! Thank you all for your many orders - they really make my day every time ❤️
This golden floral kimono silk is one of my all time favourites. I love how beautifully light plays with the weave even on a cloudy day like today.

This notebook with semi-flexible covers is one of the five still left of yesterday's shop update. All
New books in the Paperiaarre shop! Four hardcover notebooks with heavier weight paper, and ten notebooks bound with the sewn boards binding style that results in semi-flexible covers. All made with repurposed vintage kimono silk.
On my to-do list is to add this stack of vintage kimono notebooks to my shop. Some time next week, I hope!

I made these using the sewn boards binding structure that creates lovely semi-flexible covers.
Wrapping a lovely order today 🤍🤍🤍

We've now made it through the darkest moments of winter, so maybe soon I will finally get to my stack of journals waiting to be photographed. Read: New books coming soon-ish!
New blog post and new books now available in the Paperiaarre shop at www.paperiaarre.com. There's postcard-sized watercolor journals perfect for travel journal use, too, and a small lot of the popular adorably tiny notebooks. All covered with repurpo
Watercolor journals and mini kimono journals for sale through my IG stories for the next 24h. Any remaining books will be available at paperiaarre.com in a few days 🤍🤍🤍
Every now and then I get requests for notebooks suitable for watercolors, and even though I don't do custom orders in the traditional sense, every now and then I hear your requests! This lot of six lovely A6 landscape format watercolor journals will
[Edit: We raised a total of 630 €! Thank you so much for your participation and support! A winner was picked at random in my stories ❤️]

Time for a fundraiser!

I'm raffling off this handbound vintage kimono journal to raise money for Doctors W

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