I love paper: a single sheet has such potential. Left to itself it reflects light. Creased, it becomes a mountainous landscape. It can be encouraged to stand up, to fly, to jump, to float, and even to slink down stairs. It can be dyed, printed, painted, drawn on, glued, torn, sliced, punched, folded, or screwed up and re-opened until it feels like cloth.

My holidays from school were always spent playing with paper, and during time off work I’d go on courses to play some more. Against this background, I started bookbinding in the 1990s.

I like drawing and printmaking (and I make and sell my own cards using my own designs). This has made me interested in making book structures specially for creative people. Though it’s always satisfying to complete a traditional structure (a precise, traditional binding can be relied on to ‘work’ and to wear well), modern bookbinding is a different sort of fun. Modern designs are more sculptural, especially those which incorporate complex folds. You can find a video below of the way fellow OCG Member, jeweller and calligrapher Kumiko Kihara, has used one of my Crazy Concertina books.

Bookbinding projects result in off-cuts of paper. Determined to use them, I also make tiny pop-up cards. My paper animal bookmarks are so popular that I’m expanding the menagerie.