LiliumArts

I'm Vanesa from LiliumArts, a bookbinder and craftswoman, and to me bookbinding is much more than joining pages and making covers. It is a way of turning paper, board, fabric and books into objects that are useful, but that also carry a story.

I work mainly in handmade bookbinding, crafting notebooks, journals, diaries, photo albums, books and all kinds of stationery by hand. I like to combine traditional techniques with more creative, contemporary ones, playing with materials, textures, illustration and design so that every piece has a personality of its own.

My background in graphic design is also part of the way I work. I don't draw much of a line between design and bookbinding: I think about the format, the paper, the colours, the composition, the illustrations and how each piece will finally be used.

So my work moves between bookbinding, design and craft. I am especially interested in making objects that get used, written in, filled with photographs, given as gifts or kept for years; pieces made slowly and with intention.