Adamantis

2 in under four months feels terribly unfair, but time is a cruel mistress. Jumble hound, our first dog, has left the building. The OG trio reunited x

Our whimbrels are back! They are early this year, but their call always cheers me up.

Cover design challenges for a “names out of a hat” competition. 1 - using only straight lines. Trying to capture the essence of a hare with no curves was fun. 2 - using up to 3 marks only, to demonstrate what can be done with limited tools. Gold pen was too fat to dash I fail at digital design.

It’s nice of the #BBC to tell me that #LucyWorsley’s Victorian Murder Club includes the use of AI, so that I can switch it off before I get invested. What a shame. It’s an interesting case, but no.

It’s nice to know that my habits are approved of in other countries. Biiiiiiig stretch!

We can’t afford a $1M trailer slot 😔 But reposts on Bluesky cost $0 - and they really help tiny teams like ours ❤️ If cozy medieval creativity is your thing, here’s our Scriptorium trailer!

My beautiful boy left on his final adventure last week, and I am utterly broken. Thank you for everything Medyg - my search partner, my trusted friend, my companion on uncountable adventures. Nearly twelve years by my side, and it will never be enough.

- whose father died at Hallowmas: was't not at Hallowmas, Master Froth? - All-hallond eve

It’s going to take a while to recover from that. In a very good way. This is what theatre is for. #Cyrano “…the clock gasps, history halts, tomorrow forgets itself and I fall between seconds…”

“Dido and Aeneas” as my background music as I await Cyrano at the RSC. Who doesn’t love a MfM related Tate/Purcell mashup?

I’d not paid attention to the casting for this. What an absolute treat to spend the afternoon with Jodie McNee!

Waiting in the BL for a manuscript to come up (and hoping they let me photograph it!) before a mad dash across the river for Troilus and Cressida at the Globe. (To be followed by Mincemeat tonight…again!)

Next up - 23.5Ct gold leaf time. Of course, it wasn’t until I’d tooled it onto the leather that I realised my lines aren’t quite true 😒 Still, it’s a sample board and not an actual book, so that’s a relief!

Went to see my “other” Thomas’s things today, and spent some quality thinking time in Wolsey’s Closet.

Front row “seat” tonight for my second favourite Shakespeare.

What an absolute waste of an evening.

Having now read the programme, I’m dreading @the-rsc.bsky.social MfM even more than I was when I saw the reduced cast list. Wish me luck…

My Saturday consisted of a seven hour round trip over the Cat and Fiddle to collect this baby. Well over 100kgs of Victorian cast iron, and stairs of death to navigate with it. Luckily I am extremely bloody minded, and refused to leave empty handed. It is now Monday, and the DOMS is very real.

A trio of washi covered notebooks, with split endpapers (I have a beautiful sample book. The issue being that there is only one sheet of each paper. This is my solution, and I have to say that I rather like it!)

Looks like the @the-rsc.bsky.social policy this season is to erase the humour 🙄

Stop taking the wrong old white guy ffs. Tom Lehrer has been part of the soundtrack to my life for almost thirty years. I’ll be raising a glass or two to his memory tonight. variety.com/2025/music/o...

Apparently the @the-rsc.bsky.social don’t proofread their programmes…

Next up is the very well reviewed “The Winter’s Tale”. A play I haven’t seen before, and only vaguely know, so this should be a fun ride!

Is it just me that gets really excited to see an understudy in the role? (Although, had I not seen it before, I might be a little disappointed I suppose). Also, I think they’ve cut a fair amount off the run time, so this should be a fun ride!

Last minute ticket for 4:48 Psychosis in the early hours of Sunday morning! A triple bill for me this weekend then, although I might find myself sleeping in the car.

When you realise you got a couple of loops back to front on the early signatures, and decide to just pray to St. Bartholomew that it’ll aaaaaallllll be fine later on…

Note to self - make sure you have spare ribbon (I did not) in case you screw up the lettering (I did). Three-part Bradel binding with springback style cloth-jointed endpapers.

Before and after… An overhaul of the 1888 edition of Mrs. Beeton - a skip find 30 years ago, that has been sat in a box ever since. Fortunately the stitching was sound! Cover off, old glue off, tapes reinforced, sewn endbands and an Oxford hollow. New leather, boards and cloth. Saved the spine print

When your 4 day workshop in that there London coincides with Charles Dance at the OT? Don’t mind if I do!

That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.

And now we wait. And wait. And wait… for the glue to dry (book is actually the same colour as the loose leather. That’s how much moisture is added in the process!). But it’s covered! Tomorrow, I get to play with the endpapers, and fill the inner boards ready for doublures.

The system works! (Although I completely understand now why cutting in-boards fell out of fashion. There has been a lot of swearing today…)

Mmmmm, old endpapers (early 1700s through to mid-1900s). Yes, I also have a lot of the plain style as well. Now to plot how to best honour them in new bindings!

Binding books about binding books… And finding ways to disguise errors caused by not double checking the infill was seated properly before pressing overnight 🫠

What an incredible show! Tightly cut, whilst maintaining the beauty and emotion of the play. Thank you to the cast and backstage team for their generosity in spending time with us afterwards to discuss the preparation, production, and emotional journey of this poignant event. #RSC up north!

A 90 minute bank holiday jaunt south to Barrow to see the #RSC this afternoon. A beautiful day to hide inside and watch The Tempest, but the building is stunning (I’m a sucker for ceilings and stained glass, what can I say…)

Messing around with open backed bindings (not a fan), and made it harder than it needs to be by refusing to distort the cover boards with tape. Stitched tapes to boards, and then sewed the signatures into the gap. Luckily, my measurements were sound! (Also made a leather-fronted sketch book)