What Makes Spellbound Book Art Different?

Book folding has become extremely popular over the last couple of years in the UK and beyond, for both hobbyists and professionals. But, based on my own observations, the vast majority of the book folding industry seems to be centred around the selling of the patterns (and even pattern-making software), or the finished folded book sculptures themselves which have been made using these generic software-produced patterns. This is what makes Spellbound Book Art so different.

The 'graphic design' element of what I do is an extremely important part of the process... perhaps even more so than the production of the book sculpture itself! I take great pride in my passion for designing and creating completely bespoke, personalised graphics for my patterns which allows me to tailor the content and layout to the passions, interests and personality of each and every unique recipient. Think of it as a fully customised logo or tattoo design, but folded into the pages of a book! It is not simply generic folded book sculptures I produce, they are all custom designed by me too.

If you already have some ideas about what you’d like, feel free to get in touch and we can discuss your options. If you’ve seen a book sculpture you like the look of in the gallery I can design and create a customised version of it for you. Alternatively, if you’re looking for something more generic, need something in a hurry or you simply don’t have a clue where to start, you might find it useful to browse my current selection of pre-designed templates that can be customised any way you like!

Click here to learn more about the process.

Who is the person behind Spellbound Book Art?

Spellbound Book Art is the brainchild and passion of myself - Karen, a philosophical 41 year old theatre-loving, creativity obsessed, socially anxious, autistic dreamer. Hello, nice to meet you!

This description of my character will hopefully go some way towards explaining why I love to fold books, but I will expand a little further nonetheless. I have a tendency to view the world from an alternate perspective, and this extends to my view of books. For me, they are so much more than a collection of ink marks on a stack of paper. They are vessels of imagination and information that form a bridge between the author's mind and the readers'. If you cast your mind back to the last time you watched your favourite movie, do you remember the size, shape or brand of the screen you watched it on? Or do you recall the way the characters danced around in your imagination and how the storyline pushed and pulled at your emotions? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that, unless you sell TVs for a living, it's going to be the latter! In other words, the content - or, more importantly, your relationship with it - is where the true magic lies. This is what transforms a stack of printed paper into a work of art.

This concept, combined with my inclination to think outside of the box (and my need for solitude and repetition), is where the idea for Spellbound Book Art emerged. For me, art is art, just like beauty is beauty. Why pigeonhole things into categories when you could just enjoy them for what they are and what they represent to you? A book is simply an artform.  It is an object of beauty that can inspire, inform and entertain its audience - whether it does this via the ink on its pages or through its physical shape is irrelevant to me. It's all about how that book makes you feel inside... be it awe, gratitude, love, pride... whatever!

As for the fact I have a diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder and am on the autism spectrum, this has also played a very important role in the development of Spellbound Book Art. Spending so much time on my own (as the nature of my challenges dictate) means that I am able to focus huge amounts of time and attention on the crafting process, which is essential when it comes to achieving such a high quality finish. I can (and do) spend hours on end working on the tiniest details of the designs - something which my family and friends inform me most people would tire of after only a few minutes! I also find the repetition of the methodical page-by-page cutting and folding to be beneficial (and, at times, essential) when it comes to regulating my autistic mind.

If you would like to know anything else about me or Spellbound Book Art, you can email me at info@spellboundbookart.co.uk, fill in the contact form, or get in touch via any of my social media channels.