There's More To Life Than Books,
You Know, But Not Much More.
-------------------------------The Smiths, "Handsome Devil"
Part One: Why
As might be imagined, I find that keeping a notebook of some kind is very important to both my mental well-being and my creative growth. I speak to many people who say they don't write in a notebook or journal because they don't like the pressure or feel like they don't have anything to say. I maintain that writing anything--even if it's only interesting quotes from a book you're reading or lists of any kind--is good for you. And by good for you I'm talking about fresh air good-for-you, not brussels sprouts good-for-you. Your notebook might be your only chance to tell what has happened to you.
I carry my notebook around with me everywhere; it serves as a daily aid to me and as an aid to my memory later on. I still go back through old notebooks and find crazy ideas and wonderful quotes I'd completely forgotten. I love keeping notebooks, which is why I make them, and I make things I would want to use. The dilettantism ensures that my tastes change often, too, so there will always be something new a-brewin'. For more thoughts on keeping a notebook, read Joan Didion's "On Keeping a Notebook" (click for PDF).
I like to use various materials for the cover boards of my books. Sometimes it'll be a page from an old encyclopedia, a piece of cool wrapping paper that came on my birthday present, a page from a 1977 yearbook, or just a transfer of a funny picture I found in a magazine. I like making one-of-a-kind books from reclaimed materials--there's no mass- producing for this chicken. For the most part, the text paper is a fairly heavy weight that can stand up to fountain pens and markers, but might not do well with watercolors. Sometimes I use weird paper from uncertain origins, so if you're looking for acid-free books, you should probably go somewhere else.
If there is a particular type of book you want to see made, by all means drop me a line. I like to make special things for people who will appreciate them. What this means: Yes, I do custom work but no, I do not work in bulk nor can I give discounts. By buying something I have made, you enter into an unspoken agreement that you will not re-sell it. Further, these ideas are mine and it is not very nice to steal them. Oh, and if I thought I could make you swear to actually use the notebooks you buy, I probably would.
Part Two: Who
I'm Carolee. I am a dabbler, a librarian, and an incurable trash-picker and paper-hoarder. I put some books together and take others apart, often for money. I have been employed variously as a title messenger, a photo lab assistant, a professional picture-framer, and a conservation technician. I know how to write backwards, how to frame a golf ball, and how to fix your loosey-goosey library books. I like gin martinis, black licorice, potato chips, and sake ochazuke. I have a virulent hatred of the scent of Red Bull-type energy drinks. I own five capes and I wear them. I might be taller than you. Usually I enjoy talking about myself in the third person.
