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ABOUT ME

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I have a love obsession with paper. It's been that way since childhood. My mom always knew that she could make me the happiest with a brand new notebook and set of pencils. What I filled that notebook with didn't matter, but the promise of longevity and possibility did. There were many notebooks; some I have carefully placed in my hope chest. 

I have a love obsession with learning. Specifically, how to make things. One of my favorite things to do was to "basteln" (German for "craft) with my aunt whenever we visited them. Working with my hands has traveled with me through my entire life. If there is something that can be made with my own two hands, I want to at least try and I want to do it well.

I have a love obsession with journaling. It wasn't always that way. But becoming a mom, having Post-Partum Depression, anxiety, the need to have my thoughts stored somewhere other than always in my brain, having family members die not knowing anything really deep about them, I began to see the importance of journaling. I am able to work through the present. I am able to learn from the past. And I am saved for the future.

​I have a love obsession with reading. Some days I'd be happiest just sitting on the couch all day reading a book from start to finish. And as much as I'd like to say that I don't judge a book by its cover, the truth is I base a lot on the book by it's cover. How it was made, the care that went into it. How the book felt in my hand would have an effect on the overall experience I had with it, not just how much I enjoyed the author's words. I like books that feel great to hold.
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Bookbinding came about from the melding of my obsessions. I had decided one day, after years of thinking it over, to just do it: I was going to learn to bind my own journals. Five years, lots of Dr. Pepper, and Hulu/Netflix/Prime binge "watching" later Mel the Maker: Bindery & Art has been my greatest learning experience. And it's an experience that I'm happy to say, still holds many more things to teach me!

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"I hope somebody finds my story some day, not because I want them to know what we did here, but because I want them to know who we were."
- Dorothy Jennings, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"

MY MISSION


It is my mission to explore the narrative of the book: as an art piece and as a means of holding and conveying knowledge.

Artist Books:
​The definition of a book is more than just papers glued between two covers. It's fluid. In my artist books I attempt to force a new view on what a book is, specifically by changing how the viewer interacts with it. It becomes an experience; one that I hope furthers the definition of what a book is.

Fine Bindings:
The saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" to me can be misleading. I very much want you to judge my books by their covers. To see how the construction is important to the life of the book. How the selection of colors and images speak to the themes of the text. How the feel of the book adds to the experience of reading it.
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Journaling:
I found it easier to want to journal when I found the notebook I was using to be beautiful and inspiring. If it felt good in my hands, if the pages felt soft and inviting, if it read "me" all over it, then I was more likely to continue writing habitually. I work hard, with precision and patience, for each journal I make to fit those criteria. Each journal is individual and unique, thoughtfully and carefully crafted waiting for that one person who sees it and says "That's so me."
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YOU ARE AN HEIRLOOM

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