Heres variety of custom guest books I have done for clients from the past couple of years.

These two custom guest books, I worked with a water color artist named Megan Weaver. She did small painting for the client and then I inlaid them to the cover of the books.

I am really excited to finally be able to post about this project. A lot of blood sweat and tears went into these binders. Everything on these three ring binders is hand sewn. After the first 15 I could barely hold a the needle. 

On this project I had a chance to work with Erik from Weft and Warp, in New Gloucester Maine. Super awesome guy, he makes beautiful stuff you should check his work out. Erik made all the front pockets for this project. 

Finished a custom one of a kind guest book with swing lid box. I in-laid a vintage tin type of a wedding couple. I used beautiful letter pressed lined paper that my friend david wolfe makes at Wolfe Editions . The book is for a friends wedding that is going to a shaker museum. So taking a page out of the shaker hand book, I wanted to make something that is going to be usable and last. Some thing that can be handed down. No one has ever said they wanted to inherit there grandmother’s kindle.

Finished 33 hardcover copies of "Crazy Horse & the Custers" for Nine Point Publishing. 26 copies have red end sheets and are stamped with a black foil on the spine. There are 7 Hors Commerce copies with Marbled end sheet paper by Chena River Paper Marblers, in Amherst Mass, and stamped with silver foil on the spine. The covers of the book are a black stonehenge paper letterpressed by David Wolfe of Wolfe Editions in Portland Maine. 

The books are getting packed and sent to the Poet William Heyen and ArtistDeLoss McGraw for signing, while I start working on the swing lid boxes. 

These are two handmade brown leather journals with exposed waxed thread stitches. The books have a leather belt with a vintage buckle closures. The bookmarks are old antique Vermont State Fair ribbons from 1916. The books have a first, second and third place ribbon in it.  

One book I used a antique metal ribbon pin bar. It original was for a first place high jump. I used my kwikprint and stamped o pioneers, with silver foil. 

Both books have 240 pages of mohawk superfine paper measuring 8.75"h x 6"w. The paper is acid free.

Finished 25 custom tasting books for a distillery in York Maine Called Wiggly Bridge. They are located right near the beach and they produce some great Baby Bourbon. If you are headed to make they are definitely worth a stop. 

We created a new book this holiday season, a tasting book for whiskey, bourbon and scotches. They did really well at the holiday shows and we have brought them around to a few distillery. 

The book measures 8.5” x 5.75” with 128 tasting sheets. Bound with a green asahi Japanese book cloth for the spine and a black iris book cloth on the cover. This hardbound tasting book is made in Brandon Vermont.

vailable for purchase on etsy!

A Custom Book I did for a client, a day book for a lake house on Sebago Lake. We did a fish leather spine and customs log sheet pages.

This is a hardcover long and link stitch book I did for a client named Lisa. The spine of the book is made with beautiful piece of python, and black iris book cloth for the covers. I in-laid a photo of her mother on the cover and hot stamped her mothers nickname onto the photo. 

This is a new binding I did for a client. They had me bind a copy of the New York Times, which was printed on the day of their daughters birth

Finished hardcover book, bound a New York Times article for a client,
 

The Maine Field Guide is made of a olive green wax army duck canvas, with soft chestnut brown leather belt. A half pocket is sewn into the front cover, and a full pocket sewn into the back cover of the book. 

The Field Guide measures 8" tall x 6.5" wide, with a text block size of 7.75" tall x 5.75" wide. The Field Guide contains 96 pages (192 double sided) pages of a unlined brown smooth paper.

Each Maine Field Guides is hand made and the sizing is approximate.

A new slip case for a few volumes of A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean printed in 1784. I used a nautical chart to line the inside of the box, and a fabric called Cotlin from Talas for the outside. I printed the title plates my self with the new type I just got in for the kiwkprint.

This is a leather lincoln and long stitch book I made to be used as a guest book for the Schooner Fame in Salem, Massachusetts. I was able to pick up the lined paper from Wolfe Editions in Portland, Maine. I the end sheets are nautical charts of Salem Harbor.

A repair project for a client in Mass. He had a copy of Norman Rockwell Illustrator in really rough shape. After taking the old faded covers off,  I re-backed the book to strengthen the spine of the book. I was able to find and use another copy of the book with a cover in great condition and a dust jacket.

To see more in progress images check out my blog, dskidesign.wordpress.com.

This guest book measures 9 1/4" wide by 6" wide, the book contains 60 blank pages. The front cover are of a nautical chart of Camden Maine, and in-laid vintage photo of sailors. The back cover is a nautical chart of Deer Isle Maine.

This is a full custom wedding guest book and photo album. For this book I was able to use the couple's wedding colors, in the spine, end sheets, small pocket and even the thread. 

My entry to the New England Guild of Book Workers show, called Geographies. It is a linoleum print, bound with japanese silk book cloth. I  used a extra print in the kwik print as the title plate for the book. 

I picked up this document at the Boston book show. Its shows the taxes for towns of Massachusetts which includes towns Maine as well.  The Tax Pamphlet was printed in Boston at the State Press by Adams and Larkin.

My friend Mark from Dunstan Press in Scarborough made the title plate for me.

This is a small edition of 30 prints. It took me a little longer to print after several tries on a rolling press. I ended up having them printed at my friends shop Dunstan press on his Heidelberg press.

You can now purchase one off my Etsy Store. http://www.etsy.com/listing/151355799/read-or-die-print

I also want to thank my Friend Ian Kahn for giving me the idea for the Read or Die part.

This is my first of I hope many collaboration projects with Artist/Printer David Twiss. I met David a while ago and loved his prints, which you can see more at his blog davidtwiss.wordpress.com. We have been talking about doing a project for awhile, I was a book binder he was a printer. Finally we decided to do a book of some of our favorite crazy old folk tales. Due to time and we wanted to have it for the Meca sale and Picnic. We end up doing one of the stories called Cats and Matches, and make it into a chapbook. David will be selling the book at his table (along with his prints) this Friday and Saturday at the Maine College of Art Sale, I am going to be selling copies at my table this Sunday at Picnic.

The chapbook is a small edition of 18 copies fully letter-pressed. We are hoping that it dose well,  We are planning on doing a few more stories in the chapbook style then down the road doing a full bound book.

This was a line of books I did for a company called Sea Bags from Portland, Maine. The covers are bound with vintage and anchor sail cloth. 

Long and link stitch wedding guest book, and invitations designed to go along with the guest book.

The guest book we had the spine hot stamped with their names and date of the wedding. I also added a drift wood button to the cover of the book.

For the invitations we digitally printed the map and then the rest of the invitation letter pressed by my friend mark at Dunstan Press. Emily and Kate actually added the blue paper to the invitations to give it a little more pop. In stead if doing a normal RSVP card we made it into a post card with the map of Casco Bay.

An order of 25 leather hardcover long and link stitch for Rogue Industries of Portland. They will be selling the books online and in a few stores through out Portland Maine.

This is a of collaboration I did with Ponomo, to be used as her look books. 

Hannah of Ponomo did a lot of the accent work on these look books, adding the rivets and coming up with the leather strapping for a closure. I also had my friend Mark of The Dunstan Press, print the title plates on the covers of the book.

This edition is limited to 50 copies handbound in Japanese green silk over boards by Eric Drzewianowski in Portland, Maine, with letterpress title plates typecast and printed by Mark Matteau at Dunstan Press in Scarborough, Maine. The limited edition also includes two compact discs of the recorded conversation.

A wedding album and slipcase for Molly and Archie Clark. On the front of the album and slipcase I inlaid two of their linoleum prints that they used as table cards for there wedding. The green and brown I used on the album and case were  their wedding colors.

This is hand made math book which rebound and did some minor paper repair on. 

A Spanish hymnal, Published in London in 1707, I rebound the book and made a swing lid box. 

This copy of Uncle Toms Cabin, that was owned my wife's great grandmother. I rebound the book and made a swing lid box for the book. 

This was a small chain stitch photo book I did for a client named Ted Axelrod. I made about 130 that were used as mailers and to potential clients. 

Another edition of books for Ted Axelrod Photography.