The long-promised holiday collection is here!
I may have overdone it.
This collection and each element within each creation is truly a labor of love. From conception to research, design, testing, production, and execution, I took steps to make sure and realize my ideas while sticking to the core principles of my approach to this craft: Select materials with the right properties including fiber quality, texture, interesting color, and sturdiness.
Book cloth is cotton and linen, papered by hand. Deckled and feathered paper are measured and torn by hand. Everything is bound, as usual, by hand. I always seem to forget that I can’t just make something perfectly the first time!
Becoming more cohesive has been a process for sure.
At first I got so excited by selecting every material and pattern and color I liked, which is great fun but a little confusing if I need to run a business with consistent materials and expectations. This collection focuses on premium paper and a luxe experience with a cohesive set of colors and inspiration.
I’m so excited to finally be able to present a beginner bookbinding kit that provides the level of quality
you’d expect from Tortie Cat’s collection:
Gradually, this project went from “how do I get people basic materials?” to “how do I make this feel the way I wish this felt when I started?”
Eventually, I justified to myself just how worth it it would be to put together real, life-long use materials and an introduction to just how many paper and cover options there are in this craft. Check out some of the images - I think they speak for themselves.
Luxe Beginner Bookbinder Kit Contents:
Four theme options include Nostalgic Glam Noir, Earthy Eclectic Ethereal,
Bold Classic Floral Enthusiast, and Purple, Purple, Purple. (I found out purple is a whole thing!)
☑️ Steel Embroidery Scissors (themed color, extremely sharp)
☑️ Wood Handle Steel Pointed Awl (extremely sharp)
☑️ Westcott Steel Ruler with Cork Bottom 6"
☑️ Pointed Genuine Bone Folder 6"
☑️ Dyed Waxed Thread
☑️ Straight Bookbinder’s Needle
☑️ Materials and Instructions to Make Three Books
Two pamphlet style books with Strathmore Linen Finish 70 LB Paper
One hardcover (pre-made cover) Arches Watercolor Long Stitch Book
☑️ Strips of paper from around the world (themed colors, various origins)
See, I really couldn’t help it. I really wanted to make a hardcover right off the bat. I didn’t get to. You deserve to! Damn.
If you’re looking for a gift to an artsy loved one 🎁 🎨
This is actually perfect for people who don’t know what to get artsy loved ones as a gift. Hint hint: we like ✨ high quality ✨ materials. We all lived through decades of those really generous but ultimately so-so art briefcases.
Truly WE LOVE YOU and I personally used every single material out of gratitude, but our true wish is to experience what it’s like to have the right tool for the job.
2023 has been a fun ride, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2024.
I did lots of experimenting, education, stumbling and falling, getting back up, socializing, research, testing, reading, practicing, failing, winning, finding my desired audience, nailing down branding, trying new marketing, developing copy for SEO, getting discouraged, getting sales, learning just how much I don’t know, and getting encouragement from professionals who have decades long businesses in other fields.
The craft and the business are two wildly different things. I am proud to say that cultivating both has made this process so exciting and worth spending my time. I now have the foundations of a portfolio and experience. I now understand more about the industry. I now have a stronger community who feels comfortable reaching out to me and interacting with me, and I aspire to improve in trying to engage genuinely.
I meander quite a bit, so if you’ve made it this far thanks so much for sticking with me. Hoping to improve further!
