Since her first exhibition of paintings in 1992, the Finnish born artist Mia Leijonstedt (b.1971) has pursued her interest in artist’s books and studied both traditional and modern bookbinding skills. Having lived in the UK for over a decade, she relocated to the UAE in 2006, where she now creates artist books and designer bindings that span several creative disciplines. She has also returned to her earlier love of painting. She has exhibited internationally in over 40 shows including the UK, Ireland, Japan, Canada, the US, France and Finland as well as has won a dozen awards for both artistic and technical merit – including the Open Choice Book 1st Prize in the Designer Bookbinders Annual Competition in the British Library, London in 2005.