Ever since 2007 I’ve sold my work on Etsy, but now I’m saying goodbye to the platform. It’s high time I open my own shop here at www.paperiaarre.com as Etsy no longer serves the needs of small international makers. My new shop opens here on April 19th - I’ll let you know the specific time soon! I’ve promised to give scheduled product drops a try as there's always a very limited number of books available, and many found their favourites already sold out when they came across my shop update. I’m not sure if it’s the best solution – I’d personally be even more annoyed if something was sold out the very minute I try buying it myself. Let’s give it a try, though! Until the grand opening (doesn’t that sound nice?) there’s still older work available on Etsy. Some of it will be available in the new shop, some will be packed away in my personal archives. So, if you’d like to make something listed on Etsy yours, I recommend playing it safe and buying it now. On another note, I’m considering if I should bring back some of my older mixed media work that hasn’t been available for sale for a while now. It’ll have to wait a while, but it’s possibly something to look forward to.
This is the 16th year of Paperiaarre. It feels quite incredible that I was just 22, a fresh young master bookbinder, when I started this blog. Last Friday I turned 38 and so much has happened in these Paperiaarre year.
Back in 2007 craft blogs weren’t that big yet, in fact I don’t think I even knew of any other bookbinding blog when I started mine. During these years this blog has been many different things, but almost nothing has had as big of an impact on it as Instagram has - I post there much more often, with greater ease and feel more connected with my followers (no surprise to anyone familiar with how blogging has changed, I’m sure). That’s how things’ll remain in the near future as well, so if you’re on Instagram, do follow @paperiaarre. That being said, this blog will stay an important part of my site and I’ll do my best to keep you more up to date about the books I bind and sell, as well as once again create some more informative posts about bookbinding in general.
Since 2007 I’ve made 1286 sales on Etsy, with 502 reviews (5-star average, I’m happy to brag). That’s a huge number of handmade goods, especially since often sales include multiple items. I don’t really grasp how and when I’ve made all those things, as it’s always been important to me to keep this thing as light and fun as possible.
This 16th year of making books as Paperiaarre (my history with bookbinding reaches quite a bit further back) didn’t start in the best of ways. So far I’ve broken my right arm and had a very unlucky appendectomy, but at the moment nothing’s too badly broken and I’m once again getting things done in the studio. Bookbinding feels especially fresh after this long break and I love the huge stack of new books I have waiting for the shop opening.
In case you’re wondering, the thing that has affected Paperiaarre more than Instagram is my career as a poet. What was a dream in 2007 is now very much my everyday life - I’m writing my fourth poetry book due out autumn 2023, and since 2015, when my debut was published, I’ve had the luxury of working most of the time as a full time poet funded by grants. Poetry is how I now make my living and it’s become my priority. Bookbinding will continue to be a big part of my life, but how much time I can devote to it depends on the stage my current manuscript is in. This spring will include tiny bits of bookbinding and big (and chaotic) bits of poetry. I have many stacks of notebooks in various stages of undress, so I better get at least some ready for the bright summer days.