JonathanDayBookArt
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.
Items
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Reviews
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Brian on Jul 17, 2022
5 out of 5 starsJonathan is very kind. He was also VERY patient with me because I changed the contents of my book one too many times but he very quickly delivered the book and it looks AMAZING! The pictures don't do these books justice it looks and feels amazing to hold. It feels like a special edition worth hundreds of dollars!
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mountaindreem on Jul 13, 2022
5 out of 5 starsThis is the fourth journal we bought from this shop. beautiful workmanship and attention to detail!
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Alexandra on Jun 27, 2022
5 out of 5 starsAbsolutely beautiful craftsmanship and the materials from the leather to the paper to the binding were all very high quality. I cannot recommend Jonathan's work strongly enough:)
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Sharlene on Jun 15, 2022
5 out of 5 starsThank you so much! It was a perfect wedding present for our son and daughter in law. Beautifully made and designed. Quick response and delivery.
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Tiffany on May 24, 2022
5 out of 5 starsJonathan was always my favorite book-maker. My pieces have always been of wonderful quality.
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Jax on May 17, 2022
5 out of 5 starsExactly like it was pictured, the lock is a SERIOUS lock. No one is getting into this thing!
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Anne on May 15, 2022
5 out of 5 starsPerfect! Beautiful construction and thoughtful packaging for shipment. I'll definitely return to get more. Thank you so much. ❤️
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Kimberly on Apr 15, 2022
5 out of 5 starsBeautiful journal. Everything I expected and the perfect 5 year "wood" anniversary gift for my husband. My husband even purchased a special fountain pen exclusively to use to write his thoughts. Thank you so much!!
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)