Phet Louvan has more than 15 years of experience in Archival Products and is an expert in her field. When Rob Mauritz, president and CEO of Archival Products, came to Phet with a learning opportunity, she was all ears. Rob suggested Phet attend a hand-made bookbinding class led by Peggy Johnston of Waveland Studios, an independent Des Moines artist with years of experience in bookbinding and paper sculptures. Peggy is a longtime friend and partner of LBS and Archival Products.
At the class, Phet chose from a variety of unique materials, including leather, marbled paper, covered board, reinforcing tape, endsheets, and other beautiful papers to create an amazing, hand-sewn bound book. Peggy called the style of bookbinding taught during her class as “old book book”. It showcased a rustic style and weathered elements. Signatures are sewn into sections and held together by a zig-zag piece of reinforcing B-Cloth and two pieces of 90-pt. binder boards along with exquisite decoration.
Phet’s book has a gorgeous pink and gold marbled cover board with mauve leather accents near the corners and spine. The construction of the spine is exposed, showing Phet’s handiwork of sewn signatures. Brown leather straps with an angled pattern, cut with an exacto knife, hug across the spine and keep the book together.
To protect her new hand-bound book, Phet placed it inside one of Archival Products’ very own products, an Adjustable Four Flap Enclosure. Our Adjustable Four Flap Enclosure fully protects and securely holds the book so that it can be easily shelved and protected for the long term. Made with sandstone archival board, Library Summit bound spine, and acid-neutral polyvinyl acetate adhesive, Phet can rest assured that her handiwork will be protected for decades to come!
Phet thoroughly enjoyed her experience at the class and viewed it as an opportunity to learn more about her customer’s needs. About her experience, Phet said that “it’s so important to choose the right material for a project. For example, when I was looking for a reinforcing paper, I needed something that was easy to sew through, yet strong enough to keep the book sturdy. This exercise helped me understand our customer’s point of view, why they make the choices they make, and the application of our materials."
Overall, Phet found this class thoroughly enjoyable and educational. She told me that even though the class spanned all day, time went by quickly. By being creative with these materials, Phet found an opportunity to see a different kind of beauty in some of the same materials she works with every day!
Learn more about Archival Products adjustable four flap enclosures.
To learn more about Waveland Studios, please visit https://www.wavelandstudio.com/about/