Books for All Time
Custom Leather Books
Built to Last a Lifetime and Beyond
Leather-Bound Books & Journals
Handcrafted Leather-Bound Books & Journals by Lindsey Julow
For more information on having your custom leather book printed and hand-bound click here.
Discover custom
leather-bound books
Welcome to Books for All Time
I specialize in creating high-quality, handcrafted leather-bound books and journals, designed to preserve your writings, cherished memories, and special occasions. With over 15 years of bookbinding experience and 25 years in customer service, I personally craft each book in my Vermont workshop in the Lake Champlain Islands.
More Than Just a Cover: A Fully Handcrafted Book
Watch how my books are made
I believe that quality should be present both inside and out of your book. Each of my custom leather books is hand-bound individually, starting with your document and ideas. This isn't just a cover placed on a pre-made book; I handcraft the entire book from start to finish, ensuring it will last for generations.
Every part of the process is completed by me personally, ensuring meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail. From formatting your document for printing to hand-sewing and binding the pages, I take care to make sure your book will stand the test of time. This process takes many days or even weeks, but the result is a durable, beautifully crafted book that embodies both function and artistry.
Some books labeled as 'hand-bound' are only finished by hand, with machine-made text blocks. I personally hand-sew and hand-bind each book from the very beginning, ensuring that your custom leather book is truly handcrafted, becoming a timeless heirloom to be treasured for generations.
Author's edition printed and leather-bound
This is the story of how I became a bookbinder creating the custom leather-bound books that you will find on this site. As soon as I starting gaining knowledge on bookbinding I understood that creating custom printed books, journals, and restoring old books are what I love to do, and was the right fit for me.
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I live in Vermont and I started in the field of book restoration back in 2008. As soon as I walked in the door of the Restoration Lab, I was in love with the idea of restoring beautiful old books full of history and wonders. I learned first to disbind and then to de-acidify old books to help slow the aging process. I then was taught how to mend, sew, round, and eventually leather and finish the books. Each skill can take a long time to become competent in. There’s always more to learn with restoration and conservation. Each book presents a unique set of challenges and offers an opportunity to utilize problem solving skills. I love working with the books, the feel of them, and the process of deconstructing them to rebuild stronger versions that slow the aging process. These skills seemed very natural to me and once learned, I knew it was what I wanted to do as a career.
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Sadly the restoration company moved to another state without me at the end of 2009. I immediately started planning ways of making new books under the name Our Island Trades which would change to Books for All Time at a later date.
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Two co-workers and I established a company in August of 2010 to continue the restoration work here in Vermont. As of January 1st, 2014 I decided to focus solely on Books for All Time.
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I started making leather-bound journals after the restoration company left the state. I had the knowledge to make the books, although using all new materials was new to me. I started experimenting with different leathers, laying patterns, different stitching, and using dyes. I love designing the books and making one-of a-kind heirloom books that will last hundreds of years. I am delighted to create custom books for people, whether the books are a large size for an artist's work or very small for traveling convenience. I am even able to print and bind leather books with text as well. These would have to be books that are out of copyright or a writer’s personal books, personal blogs, novels, or even a treasured diary from a lost loved one.
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I try not to limit my books by always calling them journals. The word journal is a bit limiting. I feel my books can be scrapbooks, sketchbooks, photo books or anything you want to use them for. They are beautiful on the outside and extremely well crafted on the inside. I take great pride in my work and want people to enjoy them as a usable piece of art.
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Corset Leather-Bound Books
In today's digital world I'm afraid that quality handcrafted books are losing their value. I'm hoping to change that. I can't imagine finding an old hard drive and reading one’s history or treasured secrets on a computer screen. Or being moved by a moment in time and grabbing your laptop to sketch it digitally. This might be possible in today's age but it feels wrong to me. Beautiful books have such a long history and we need to continue this tradition.
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I know that people still appreciate a quality handcrafted book. I am very pleased to offer to you my books and printing services, journals, earrings, and some other great items.
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I hope you enjoy my books as much as I enjoy creating them,
Lindsey
If you're ready to start creating your custom leather book/s I invite you to
Contact Me, Request an Estimate or visit my FAQ