A bit about me
Hello there, my name is Jonah Woodstock. I was born and raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I currently live in Micaville NC (about an hour outside of Asheville NC), where I work full time in my bookbinding studio. I taught myself bookbinding by reading books, watching videos, talking to fellow bookbinders, reading niche forums, and years of trial and error.
I started bookbinding in college. I had been writing poetry and prose, and wanted to self publish with a short run of hand-bound books. I was quickly taken with it and as I fell in love with bookbinding, I just as soon fell out of love with everything I had worked on in college. Soon my creative outlet had shifted and I was only interested in working with my hands.
I worked for a baker, took odd jobs doing construction and demolition, and I even worked at a small business stuffing pillows for a time. All the while, I was making books. I did it on the side for years just out of passion. These days I work out of my own studio filled with antique bookbinding gear from the 1800s (as well as all the gear I had to fabricate along the way). Since moving here, I’ve been able to expand, learn new skills, go full-time, and even teach bookbinding classes!
Sourcing materials
I try to be as ethical as possible when sourcing my materials. I love to reuse and upcycle whenever possible. I’ve made my own book cloth from clothes and gotten leather from boots and couches on the side of the road. When I was working for a baker, I would take the paper bags from the flour and cut them down to make them into books! I’ve never once bought book-board for the covers. There are so many books being thrown away these days. I cut the cover off and use the board and then recycled the rest.
When I started bookbinding I used exclusively repurposed and found materials. As my business has grown, so has demand, so I’ve had to start buying certain papers and leather. And out of a want for better quality, I’ve bought things like proper book binding glue, and waxed linen thread. Whenever I do this, I try to buy locally and support small businesses.
(sketchbook made with leather from a couch in a trash pile)If you have any specific materials questions, feel free to ask and I will answer as best I can!