New look for the recycled journals.

I'm excited to introduce a new series of handmade journals. As you all know the inner tubes are recycled and now I've included a textured plastic that was destined for the dump. This material is used as photographic background and is tough & waterproof. The enclosed recycled paper is neutral. Two journals have white pages while the other two have gray pages. I'm happy with the product and it now gives the journals a beautiful sporty finish!

More Inner Tube journals.

I love making handmade books. Here's my newest ones. During the holiday season I sold out of my books in my Galstudio Shop. So it was time to make more.

This time I made all the covers with recycled bike inner tubes. I let my imagination run wild with the free motion stitches design making each book unique. Inside I used different material from felt to "faux" animal print. The pages are made with a wonderful thick reclaimed paper in white and gray and l also included a ribbon page marker with 3 bike chain link.

I am pretty happy with the results. To see more pictures look in my Galstudio Shop.

For the love of paper

I just posted two new ‘Hand Made Journals’ and it made me think about how I first started my love affair with bookmaking.

I’ve always been attracted to the feel of nice paper in a beautiful handmade journal. As a young woman I kept many journals. I would buy a cheap book only for the inside pages. Then I would transform the cover with collage and drawings. I still have them all and promise myself to read them in my old days!

When I attended art school, I took an elective class of papermaking & bookbinding with Sharyn Yuen. Wow! I already had the love for paper but she gave me the tools to express that love. I made many books that year…

‘Nikohl’ is a book I made to remember precious moments in the life of my dear friend, while she was fighting ALS. It’s a collection of my photography along with short stories we shared together.

I have made this book in collaboration with my husband. It is a symbol of our life coming together in one book with each side showing photographs of our families. My husband is Chinese descent and I was raised near the ocean on the east coast of Québec. We brought forward our differences side by side in this handmade book. And symbolically tied this story of our togetherness with a piece of bamboo joined with beach wood.

On the board today, bookbinding & breadmaking.

One might think that making bread and making a book is not the same, I would argue this, for me it's all the same. It's all about creating with your hands and your heart.

All by hand...

I take my bread making really seriously, no bread machine or mixer with dough hook can compare to the ritual of making bread by hand. The choice of the flour, the mix of different grains, feeling all the ingredients coming alive under your hands, kneading the dough, rising the dough again, kneading the dough once again, baking and tasting the fist piece of warm bread with butter... what a joy!

Book in the making...

Bookbinding is also a great way to express my creativity. I usually gather material days even weeks before I begin any real work. When I have enough material, only then, I place every thing on my table and let the ideas form in my mind. By assembling the different items I begin slowly to see the finish book. Usually I will leave an unfinished book on my working table, I realized that by allowing more time for my ideas to mature I can see clearly the finish book. From that point I can already feel the book in my hand, the texture of it's cover, the extension of the closing strap, the weight of the paper... what a great feeling!

Ready to go on my galstudio shop!