Enjoy a visit to Elina's Etsy bookshop VETEROK http://www.etsy.com/shop/veterok where you will find her delightful collection of handmade hand bound books.
Hello world. I'm Elina a.k.a. Veterok from Finland, and I make books. I studied bookbinding during the years 2007-2008 and opened my Etsy bookshop in the late summer of 2009. Previously I haven't done very much to promote myself because I find digging in my vegetable garden much more inspiring... but here I am now, wishing to tell you a little about me and my shop.
My range of handbound books includes many simple cloth-covered journals and small inexpensive notebooks, but I also make leather bound diaries with a little twist like original hand drawn panels and vintage cabinet photography. I also make miniature book necklaces which are cobbled up of leather and paper scraps that professional bookbinders produce terrifying amounts every day! These little things are actually big and smooth enough for you to write in, so they're fantastic for absent-minded people like me.
Natural world is close to my heart and I hope it shows in my works and the overall appearance of my shop. I do get some of that "Why so bleak? Why don't you make more cute colourful things?" but I think it's important to make something I truly love, not just something that pleases everyone's tastes. I always first need to melt all the ideas and designs nicely with my own world view, which mostly consists of trees, lakes and barren fields.
Structure is somewhat important to me. Not just because I love making intricate work, but also because a well-made book will last a lifetime (or two!). All my books have sturdy headbands handsewn with buttonhole silk. Historically, headbands are supposed to protect the book when you're pulling it out of the shelf. Sometimes I also use cloth hinges to attach the book block to the cover: A good hinge protects the endpapers from unnecessary tear and wear when you open and close the book. I think little details like these are very pleasant!
For the sake of quality and durability I mostly use professional bookbinder's goatskin in my leatherbound books. However, many of my items also feature ecological or recycled materials - some of them are even bound with handspun linen thread. All my books are packed and sent in recycled packaging.
My shop is relatively young so I haven't yet had time to fill it with all the things I desire to make! Hopefully in a year or so I will be making more historical bindings, more leather inlays, onlays and whatnot, bookmarks and albums for medium format photography. I you have any questions or ideas don't hesitate to convo me at Etsy!
Etsy shop: http://veterok.etsy.com
Elina
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