Monday Spotlight On: Marie of WeeBindery

As this post goes up, I'm on vacation with my husband and his family at Lake Michigan and there is one thing I do almost constantly, every year when I'm there. I read.  So it seemed only fitting that, while I'm off reading a book, you should be reading about someone who makes them.

Marie (nicknamed Wee, so we know where that comes from), has been an artist for over forty years, but before she really got there, she went the traditional route or marriage, a family and a job in the business world.  When they relocated to North Carolina from Massachusettes for her husband's job, Marie was able to pursue her lifelong dream of being a full-time artist.  WeeBindery is the result.

Handmade Leather Journal

Tell us three things about yourself we don't already know.
I love to read, can't stop creating, and love to go to museums.

What’s your medium and how did you get into it? 
I am a book artist. I design and create journals and notebooks. It all started when I came across a Japanese bookbinding workshop in a catalogue. That was it! I haven't looked back.

Bookbinding is not a common art.  What's your favorite thing youve made? 
I always say my three sons but seriously, a colorful coptic stitch book using 8 needles at the same time. It was a great challenge.

From where do you take inspiration? 
Books and museums.

Name one piece of art you wish you'd created and why? 
Great questions - hmmm - I would have to say Michaelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel or Giotto's paintings in the church of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy.

Eco-Friendly Handmade Sketchbook

I have a feeling I'll already know the answer to this, but what are you doing when you're not crafting? Reading.

If you had to give up your medium and pursue another, what would it be and why? 
Well, I also paint with watercolors but haven't found the time to do it because of my bookbinding business. If I placed aside the books, I would paint.

Tell us about a time you were making something that came out better than expected and how it happened. A small one inch book with all different colored papers. I call it my rainbow book.


Who is one person living or dead, famous or not, who you wish owned one of your creations and why? Probably Abigail Adams, the wife of our second President John Adams. Abigail was an avid writer and a very intelligent and strong woman ahead of her time.

How would you explain how to do what you do to an eight year old? 
You take paper, needle and thread and sew.

Petite Handmade Leather Book

What's your favorite part of the process? 
The sewing.

One random thing you think people should know. 
I absolutely love what I do.

Where can people find you?
On Etsy: www.weebindery.etsy.com
On Twitter:    www.twitter.com/weebindery


My last random question. What did you want to be when you were ten?
An art teacher.