Pit Stop

This archival, hand-sewn journal/sketchbook is made from French, 85 gsm, hand-laid Arches 100% cotton rag archival paper stitched with Irish linen thread in the linked pattern that was used as early as the ancient Copts. This stitch allows the book to lay open easily at any page.

 This book’s endbands are blue and white cotton, and its bookmark is goatskin.  Its spine is covered in goatskin from the Rocky Mountain Leather Supply in Utah, and its boards are wrapped in a 1957 road map of Indiana that was distributed by Texaco Service Stations.

 Treasure binding began with monks in the 6^th Century who would encrust volumes with jewels. During the Renaissance, there was a resurgence in treasure binding. This is a contemporary revival of the treasure binding in which a lucky charm has been embedded in the cover of this book.  

 The talisman in this book is a mid-20^th-century Restroom Token from the Nik-O-Lok company in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Nik-O-Lok was founded in 1910 and continues to operate in Indianapolis, where they make public restroom hardware, including the ever-popular Nik-O-Lok token system.  A good idea perseveres. Write yours here.

This book is roughly 6.5 x 10” with a few more than 150 blank pages.