JonathanDayBookArt
Top shop for gifts.
Buyers bought gifts from this shop and gave them 5-star reviews!
Announcement My one goal is to make a book for you that is beautiful and will last forever. Or close to forever.
Announcement
My one goal is to make a book for you that is beautiful and will last forever. Or close to forever.
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Reviews
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Bridget on Jan 15, 2021
5 out of 5 starsThis beautifully hand crafted traditionally bound book has stolen my heart. It is a truly dying art that is lovingly kept alive by this artist and others. He had emailed me a few times and was so very gracious and kind. He kept me up to date on the progressions of things. I will buy from Mr. Day again. Thank you for another book i will cherish for my lifetime.
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amyartz1 on Dec 22, 2020
5 out of 5 starsThe handmade wooden book is beautiful and high quality. Seller was also quick to respond to questions.
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Megan on Feb 28, 2021
5 out of 5 starsThis book is absolutely gorgeous! I've been best friends with a group of gals for 20 years now and we are going to use this as a sisterhood of the traveling journal since we are living all around the country now. It is extremely well made and is just perfect for this! Can't wait to fill it up so we can get another!
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Rick on Feb 23, 2021
5 out of 5 starsWonderful, fantastic, top notch, high quality, one of the finest handcrafted books I have ever seen. And the embossing was perfect! Thank You Jonathan!
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Anne on Feb 17, 2021
5 out of 5 starsAbsolutely beautiful. Wonderful craftsmanship, thoughtful design, safely packaged, and fast delivery. Our family has been devastated by a recent loss, and we'll be using this gorgeous notebook to write down memories and letters to our lost loved one. This store has been a bright spot in our grief. We can't thank you enough for your wonderful products and excellent customer service.
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mountaindreem on Feb 8, 2021
5 out of 5 starsJonathan truly is a master book binder! This is my second purchase, but lot the last. Excellent quality and service.
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James on Jan 29, 2021
5 out of 5 starsBeautiful handmade book, excellently and lovingly made, and delivered and transported with care
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Nathan on Jan 16, 2021
5 out of 5 starsIncredible craftsmanship! Jonathan was so thoughtful about his response to a question we had. The hand written note included w/ the book was personal, genuine & kind. A beautiful work of art! Looking forward to filling the pages!
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juliepatrick555 on Jan 16, 2021
5 out of 5 starsBigger then I thought it would be😄 but no complaints I love it.It got here so fast after he sent it. Did such a good job, very unique never seen one like it.
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Bridget on Jan 15, 2021
5 out of 5 starsThe name says it all extra pages to add to one of Mr. Day's books.
About JonathanDayBookArt
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Sewing a stack of signatures together.
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A stack of signatures has been hammered over on both sides, to give the spine a rounded shape.
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The book block with the covers, ready for glueing.
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Here the cover has been glued on, and the book is in the book press.
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The finished book.
Something I love to make
I have loved books almost as long as I can remember. When I was a teenager, most of the books I had were paperbacks, that being what I could afford, and sometimes I would go to spread the book open a bit wider and the spine would crack. That was very upsetting. Those were dark moments, and I carry the scars of the trauma to this day. How serious am I being? Good question. I began to try to fix those dilapidated paperbacks with the tools we had. I would hammer nails through the book near the spine, or I would use a big staple-gun we had, the kind used for roofing or shingling or something like that, and just staple the book back together. Sometime in my twenties, wanting to go about it a bit less crudely, I picked out one of my books, not too precious to me but bound in the traditional way, and I basically took it apart to see how it was made. That's how I began to learn about sewn bindings, and all the rest of the art of traditional book-binding, and I began to rebind the books that I had that needed it, and I began to make my own books. I still remember the satisfaction, the pure delight that I felt, when I made my first book in the traditional way, with pages carefully sewn into the binding, and with real hard front and back cover boards, covered in cloth -- denim from an old pair of blue-jeans, I think it was.
So, you see, my main focus all through that learning was on how to make a book that would last, that would never fall apart or crack or break in any way, that would never let you down -- how to make it so that the binding would stay tight and strong, the pages would never work loose or fall out, or turn yellow and brittle. And of course, how to make it so that it was beautiful. I have experimented much with materials and methods, and I still am. Making books is a wonderful craft, always with more to learn, always with more possibilities to discover.
I have discovered that these books, once I make them, are hard to let go of. I just love to turn them in my hands this way and that, to feel the soft leather or the light strong wood of the covers, to turn the pages and feel how strong the binding is. I hope that those who buy my books enjoy the look and feel of them, and enjoy the use of them, as much as I do.
Shop members
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Jonathan Day
Owner, Maker, Designer
Grew up in Alaska, moved to Oregon in 1972, been there ever since. Jobs? Everything from chicken-shit shoveler to microwave electrical engineer. Main focus all that time: art. But much time left over for reading, and book repairing and book making.
Shop policies
Accepted payment methods
Returns and exchanges
I gladly accept returns and exchanges
I don't accept cancellations
The following items can't be returned or exchanged
- Digital downloads
- Intimate items (for health/hygiene reasons)