PikiThins is a play on the words 'picky' and ‘things.’ They describe my crafting process. I'm very picky about the details in a project, but I'm open minded as to how those details come together, whether it comes from a broken button on a shirt or a glass bead that captures a theme.

When PikiThins first opened in 2009, it was primarily a macramé jewelry shop. However, I closed the shop in 2011 because my heart had packed a suit case and walked out the door. Jewelry wasn’t my primary passion and it never had been, as saddening as that is to admit, although it was fun while it lasted.

I decided to rearrange my priorities. I questioned what did I really enjoy doing, what would make my heart return and stay home for good?

Reopening the shop as a book store came to me when I was spring cleaning (in early summer, mind you) my workspace. I noticed a stack of unused sketchbooks buried under paper scraps and fabric. I felt it wasteful to throw them out, so instead, I savagely tore-ahem-gently took the books a part and recycled them into lovely mini books.

It hadn't been my first time immersing myself in bookbinding; I had taken a class on it at the Museum of Modern Art as a high school student. In that class, I discovered bookbinding wasn't just about creating a book for its functionality, but creating a book functioning as an interactive piece of art. Ever since, I have been cutting, coloring, and hammering out small notebooks, zines, and accordion books packed with illustrations and children's stories. This is where my passion lies, where my heart beats the strongest.

I believe books are empty bodies waiting for you to give them a soul with words and drawings. So browse around the shop; it’s time for you to start jotting down your story!