Paper and Gifts
My name is Lou and I'm based in Reading, Berkshire UK.
I create jewellery and decorations using old and unwanted books.
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I was inspired to start my business by a good friend, who had a second hand book business and a lot of unwanted or unsaleable books. I always keep in mind that I am recycling a precious object - a book, and that people love them.
I'm happy to say that after 16 years I'm well on my way to my 17,000 sale!
My background and education had always been in art and design, and as a kid I loved to make and to draw, yet somehow, by the time I was 38 I was fully ensconced in an academic job that really had very little to do with hands-on making, although I did work with other designers. I had the urge to do something completely different.
I made the leap in the Spring of 2009, and set up Bookity a couple of months later, on a shoestring budget, in the spare basement room of our house in Reading, UK. My partner Matt made me a work bench out of an old door, and away I went!
Bookity became Gloria Monday in 2023, and has remained a one-person outfit, but now it's a fully fledged micro business. I'm grateful for all my customers, and for being able to learn so much about the art and business of handmade craft.