The Books I Want To Use Take Their Sweet Time Showing Up

I use the cards, the books, the planners and the calendars that I make, and I use them every day.

And given the project, it can take some serious time to go from an idea, and then sourcing or creating materials that can make the thing, and then so much time to make the thing—over and over with edits and false starts. I make books in my sleep, I dream about them, but it still takes so long to make a book that I will actually use. After a couple years of dreaming and scheming, and an abundance of misfits and prototypes, I am experiencing a lot of tingly feelings with the debut of the Project Book.

It’s a little slip of a book, with 42 pages, each letterpress printed with a 5mm dot-grid pattern…you can actually feel the imprint! I have full command of the colors of the paper, the ink, and the book cloth, and I’m having way too much fun with it.

And the really big news is: I’m actually using these books. Daily, repeatedly, and with gusto. It feels like a finite, manageable universe exists in each one: it’s not expanding or contracting, but giving me just enough space to work it all out.

There are a bunch of variations in the works, and in time I’ll settle on a couple of solid color combinations. But for now please enjoy the happy experiments you see in the shop.

Martha KearsleyJune 20, 2022