Handcrafted Albums for The Pool House Gallery by Ursula Jeakins

Bookbinder Ursula Jeakins has created eight scrapbooks especially for Fresh Air Sculpture and available only from the Pool House Gallery. They are all inspired by the theme of ‘Rhythm, Pattern, Repetition’.

Large sewn albums have completely disappeared from conventional retail outlets since the awkwardness of their construction makes them costly to produce. They are a wonderful expression of the bookbinder’s craft and are designed to be a sturdy tome that will give pleasure over many years of use.

These large albums are made with a special robust construction, because of their size and weight. There is a spacer (known as a compensation guard) between each page, which allows for items to be attached to the pages and prevent the book from bulging when it is full.

Out of sight underneath the spine cover, there are a number of linings including one of a strong finely-woven linen cloth. The sewing of the book is painstaking, combining pages of four different sizes to make up the sections. The sewing is supported by linen tapes which strengthen its attachment to the covers.

Each book has 100 leaves giving 200 sides. The pages are 160 gsm acid-free cartridge and are suitable for writing and drawing, as well as for glued paper ephemera. You can use both sides of the page.

The albums covers use textile pieces, designed by Kaffe Fassett. These are combined with inset waves of my hand-decorated paste papers, which change the textile patterns, and bring in movement, sparking the imagination in new ways.

The Pool House Gallery will be open every day during Fresh Air Sculpture showcasing exceptional design and craft created exclusively for the show.