A handmade book with hand printed covers, vellum tipped corners, cloth spine and filled with pro grade VPCo Handmade paper.

Made by hand in our Stomness workshop, the Athena Traveller Sketchbook offers utility, looks and value for money. Designed to be used out in the field, it's equally at home in the studio too.

A very usable usable size, 9 x 6 inches, it's not too big or too small, and easy to hold in the hand. It's slim and lightweight too, making it easy to pack and carry about.

The paper in this binding is 32 pages of our wonderful, professional grade 220gsm VPCo Handmade Paper.

Developed for drawing, painting and printmaking, VPCo Handmade is a 60/40 cotton and linen blend, perfect for most media including watercolour (and watercolour brush pens), oil pastels, Conte, gouache, graphite, pencil, drawing and writing inks, pastels, chalks and charcoals.

The surface of this paper is smooth but with a very, very slight tooth. The colour is a creamy vintage white which sets off blacks and colours beautifully.

The hand printed cover is made on our antique GEM proofing press. We use the same paper on the cover as is inside the book.

The process begins by colouring the surface with a drawing ink or pigmented paste wash and allowing it to dry. We then make the print and whilst the ink is still tacky we brush over it with a coloured bronzing powder giving it a rich, luxurious, metallic, slightly reflective lustre.  

The binding is made using the same materials as our Properly Made Books but in a more simplified structure - a case binding with the bookblock positioned very tightly into the spine. 

The pages are gathered into one section and sewn and glued in the middle. This allows the book to open completely flat.

Should you want to remove the pages when the book is full, you can simply snip the thread in the centre of the binding and gently pull the paper out in its entirety. 

The spine is made from cloth, adding even more colour.

Cloth spines offer a wonderful appearance, strength and flexibility - a brilliant material for book spines. Seen here, the binding has been opened a full 360°. 

The corners are tipped with repurposed antique vellum parchment. Tipped corners offer protection to the most vulnerable area of the book, especially when being carried around in a bag or dropped whilst out and about!

Made in a similar way to leather, vellum is an animal product but more refined with greater longevity. It was the precursor to paper and used in valuable books, documents and certificates. Laws made in the Houses of Parliament are still recorded on vellum to this day.  

Closed Size: 9 x 6¼ inches, 230 x 160mm

Open Size: 18¼ x 6¼ inches, 463 x 160 mm

Weight: 7oz, 245g (approx)

Page Count: 32

Paper Inside: VPCo Handmade Edition Vintage White 220gsm

Made By: VPCo