A place to weave your words. ※ HANDWOVEN JOURNALS, BOTANICAL INK & MORE ※
Erica Ekrem weaves mini tapestries up the spines of journals, brings beauty to book layout, and catches poems that wander from curious and reverent spaces of the heart. Her favorite libraries are ones made of trees still breathing.
In 2003, Erica studied with Dr. Elsi Vassdal Ellis (Professor Emeritus in Design Production & Books Arts, WWU). From there, Erica joined the team at Bison Bookbinding & Letterpress in Bellingham, WA, as their in-house bookbinder. Since then, she’s been experimenting in book design and developing her voice through the integration of freeform weaving and patterning.
Erica's handcrafted journals have appeared in DesignSponge and Terrain: Proudly Made Series. She is author of internationally published Bound: Over 20 Artful Handmade Books (2015) and it's sequel Bound by Hand: Over 20 Beautifully Handcrafted Journals (2018). Her work has been featured in a number of international book arts anthologies. Erica’s signature piece, Book of the Sea (2011), is a clam shell bound into book form as an ode to the storied shores of the Salish Sea and was featured in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Paper Project.
Erica has facilitated bookbinding classes at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, Spirit Weavers Gathering, and Mercado Sagrado. She urges participants to contemplate impact, to honor those who have come before, and to choose environmentally-sustaining practices.
She makes home with her family in the Black Hills of So. Dakota.
Featured Shop Interview: [link no longer active]
www.etsy.com/blog/en/2013/odelae
Featured on Etsy's Short Stories: [link no longer active]
www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/short-stories-clam-shell-book
