If you’re interested in commissioning a bespoke book, or having your old book repaired/restored, please fill out my Commission Request Form after you read through the relevant information on this page.

Commission Request Form: https://forms.gle/HG6LsbtKDEc4Hz6c9

Alternatively, you may send an email to thecreakyspinebindery@gmail.com with as much information about your book as you can provide. I will get back to you with further questions and/or a quote for your book.

If I do not reply within 5 weekdays, please assume your email has not been received. You can email me again or reach out to me on Instagram (@creakyspinebindery), Tiktok (@creakyspinebindery), or Facebook to let me know.

If you would like to be walked through your options, I will happily send you a form to fill out. I have also listed them below, please pay particular attention to the Materials section for viewing your options.

Be prepared to tell me your overall design idea, as well as desired cover material, endpapers, design material and complexity, and another other additions you want like painted edges or raised shapes beneath the cover. If you want a rebind, please let me know what edition you want rebound, if you have a specific one in mind.

Commissions I will currently accept:

Full Rebinds of Published, Smyth Sewn Books*

Faux Rebinds of Glued Books**

Custom Handbound Books (public domain or your original works)

Journals

Book Restorations (limited)

Typesetting Services

Please note:

I will not accept commissions for fanfiction of copywritten works in ANY form. And I will not print illegal copies of books under copyright.

I reserve the right to decline requests for any reason.

If you’re an author or working on behalf of an author interested in doing a small run of special editions, please reach out!

*Smyth Sewn means a machine sewed the pages together in sections, so I can remove the old binding, shape the spine as desired, and attach cords to give more binding options, such as laced on boards that will work well with leather. It is less common in modern books but sometimes can still be found. If you’re having trouble finding a sewn edition or have one you’re unsure about, I will happily help you figure it out. I can do these full rebinds on new or vintage books in a range of conditions, as long as the pages themselves aren’t missing or moldy.

** Faux Rebinds mean that I will leave the binding alone (aside from any needed repairs) with some minor reinforcements and just create a new case. This is primarily decorative in nature, as the books aren’t suitable for resewing, rounding, and backing, and are best left in their original glue. All paperbacks and many of the recent commercially printed hardcover copies will fit in this category.

Pricing Guide

Please reach out to me on Tiktok or Instagram @creakyspinebindery or email me at thecreakyspinebindery@gmail.com for a custom quote. I would strongly recommend that you read through this page first, as it may answer your questions and provide useful information. Pricing heavily depends on the kind of work and materials involved.

Once you’re sent a quote, you can accept or decline it. If you accept, I’ll send you an invoice. Your spot in line is secured once payment has been sent. I take full payment upfront, though may be willing to break large orders into a payment schedule upon request. Payment can be done through paypal or stripe.

US Shipping is a flat $5 for 1-2 books, more for large orders. Rushed shipping is available upon request. International shipping is available upon request and will depend on where you live/which shipping method you prefer.

For SETS I will offer a discount when possible.

If you want an idea of my pricing, please view the books in my shop. Book prices range greatly depending on materials and design complexity.

If you want your book design to be exclusive to you, there is an extra fee of $75. This does not apply if I’m using your own original art, of course.

Timeline

A time estimate will be provided along with your quote. Rush orders of under a month away may be available, schedule depending, for a $50 fee.

Materials

Covering:

I take commissions for books made with bookcloth, faux suede, paper, leather, and any combination of the above.

I am very picky about where I source my leather. Any leather used in fine bindings is veg tanned goat and purchased from reputable tanneries who are transparent in their sourcing and only use meat industry byproduct. I feel this is the most ethical and sustainable option, as all commercially available faux leathers are full of plastic, toxic to heat, and are not able to be worked in the same ways.

The leather for my floppy leather journals is goat or cow, either procured the same way as above, or it has come to me second hand from bindery auctions. I have much less information on the source of the second hand leather.

Decorations:

Book covers can be decorated with Heat Transfer Vinyl, Foiling, Paint, or Labels. Leather and some bookcloths can be tooled (with genuine gold or foil).

• Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV) can be used on most cloth and faux suede binds. It is possible to use in small amounts on some leather. I do no not use shiny foil HTV due to the high chance of flaws in the mirror finish, but colors like gold and silver are still available in a nonshiny metallic finish. All HTV I use is matte.

• Foiling can be done on most smooth materials and paper. It works especially well on veg tanned leather. I can, as always, do hand drawn foil quill designs. I have also ventured into hot tooling. Any tools I have are available for your projects, or I am happy to order others for your project upon request.

• Paint can be used on any cover material.

• Labels, a traditional bookbinding style, can be added to the cover or spine of any cover material.

Other Options:

• Solid Painted Edges

• Sprinkled Edges

• Stencilled Edges

• Handpainted Edges

• Foil Detailed Edges

• Ribbon Bookmark (w/ or w/o charms)

• Raised Shapes Under Leather

• Cutout Covers

Book Options

Handbound books are all printed, sewn by hand, glued, and attached to a custom hardcover case. Options for handbound books include public domain works and original works.

The Base Price for a handbound book is $90+ which typically covers an already created typeset, a simple cloth or cloth/paper split cover, and a very basic HTV or foiled title.

All full-size handbound books will be printed on letter size 20 lb short grain cream paper or 28lb mohawk superfine unless otherwise discussed and the standard finished size is roughly 5.5” x 8.5”

For books under 50k words, I may recommend a smaller size called a quarto.

For books significantly over 200k words, I may recommend two volumes.

Public Domain Typesets Currently Finished and Available: Dracula, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (quarto), Emma, The Wind in the Willows, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Murder on the Links, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Alice in Wonderland/Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (tiny), Frankenstein, Winnie the Pooh

If you want a book that is not already typeset, I can absolutely do that for an additional typesetting fee.

Tiny Books are regular books on a much smaller scale, though still fully sewn and bound the same way. Because these are made from scrap materials, they run around $45+ and can be any public domain short work. Example: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Rebound books are any currently published books, legally purchased, and given a makeover. I take books and give them a second life. This is legal under the first sale doctrine.

As explained above, this can take two forms. A full rebind is possible for any book that has been smyth sewn. I will remove the original binding, clean the adhesive off the pages, and essentially begin from scratch with a fully new bind. This is a more expensive and laborious process, but the results will be a very sturdy, well-structured book. This is especially important for any book using leather, as it allows me to maneuver the book into the correct shape needed.

For any books with glued binds, it will be done as faux rebinds. This just means the bind itself is remaining intact, with slight modifications to hopefully give it more strength and endurance. A new cover will be created and attached to replace the original one. To prove the authenticity of the inside materials, I will never sell a book without the original copyright page.

Any book under copyright is only available for rebinding. It is illegal to print, format, or otherwise alter the contents of any book under copyright. Please also understand that I will not be using any copyrighted designs or imagery on my books. This unfortunately includes quotes from books under copyright (unless you're the author, then whatever you want goes).

Rebinds of public domain works are also available, and any changes you want can be much more flexible.

Custom Journals are available in many styles!

I highly recommend a rounded and backed journal with laced on boards, especially if you want leather. These can be tooled or painted, or a leather spine can be used alongside decorative paper to make a nice cover. These are incredibly sturdy, open well, and will hold up to time and use.

Casebound books (rounded or flat), floppy leather journals, and coptic journals are available in a variety of colors and styles as well.

Journals are available as blank, plain lined, stylized lined, book journals, parchment paper, and “aged” paper, sketchbook paper, and even watercolor paper. Want something more specific? I’m very open to coming up with a design that works for you.

Restoration: I have been training in book restoration under Master Bookbinder Michael L. Chrisman and feel comfortable taking on some projects. If you’re looking for an older book to be fixed up and placed in a new cover, please talk to me about a rebind and send me pictures of the current condition of the book.

If you want to maintain as much of the original binding as possible, I will be accepting these on a case-by-case basis. Send me photographs/video and as much information as you can, as well as what you’re hoping the results to be, and I will get back to you with what I feel I can reasonable accomplish and the estimated price. If I do not feel that I have the skills to do what your book needs, I will have to decline.

For all restoration works, I will NOT be taking any work for books with mold or bugs.

Typesetting: Just interested in someone to do your text formatting for you? I’m happy to help. I charge $20/hr for my typesetting services and will happily give you a quote based on the length of your work and the detail desired. This is great for indie authors trying to format for print copies, or you can commission me to do a whole special edition for you too!

For questions or a quote, please reach out to me on Tiktok or Instagram @creakyspinebindery or through my email thecreakyspinebindery@gmail.com.

Other Policies

All sales are final. If I need to cancel a commission for any reason, your money will be fully refunded within 10 business days of my cancellation notice.

I do not accept returns on commissioned books. I do want you to be happy with your books. You are allowed to ask for as many pictures of the bind and materials as you’d like, but I will not send them unless requested as some people like to be surprised. The design process is fully collaborative, unless you request otherwise.

Once you have chosen your materials and I have ordered and/or already begun the process of using it, I cannot reverse this. If you later change your mind or are unhappy with it in person (I can send you photos of materials in any light you request if I already have them, but I cannot control what materials look like online if I have to special-order them for you) you will be responsible for the additional cost of any requested changes.

Materials can look different in different light, on different screens, and with different cameras. Unfortunately, this is not something I can control. Please be aware that colors may look slightly different in person, though I’ll always do my best to show you how they look in natural lighting.

Please keep in mind these are handmade books, and as such, are subject to slight imperfections and differences that naturally occur in handmade items and natural materials like leather. I cannot control the longevity of the interior textblock on faux rebinds of commercial novels, as they are manufactured by the publishers’ print houses and are usually not sewn.

If for any reason your bind comes apart through normal use within six months, please contact me! That should not happen, nor has it ever happened, but I would be happy to fix it.

If your package arrives damaged, you are responsible for photographing any damage to both the box and the book(s). In the case of this happening, please contact me. All packages are shipped with insurance where possible. We will discuss refunds vs remaking the book, depending on your needs/what is possible (i.e. if a material is no longer available, etc).

Commission Request Form: https://forms.gle/HG6LsbtKDEc4Hz6c9