After finishing a bookbinding, it’s the final tidy up time. There are always bits and pieces left and it feels almost difficult to throw them away as they have been an important part of the process I’ve delved in for weeks. For a while now, I’ve been saving a few offcuts of materials from each book I’ve made – they are a great physical record of the creative work gone into each. And the only thing left for me once the book has been sent to its owner. A somewhat backwards way of keeping a sketchbook, but it also serves a function – it ensures I don’t need to throw out test pieces and templates that might come in handy as memory aids in future projects. These are from a very special recent commission I completed, which is now shown in the gallery section together with a full case study – see the engagement book.