Ten years after our founding in 1990, Rag & Bone Bindery hired our first Sales Manager. During one of her earliest meetings with our team, she asked us a cheeky question. "What do we make?" We looked around the bindery and answered without hesitation. "Albums." "Journals." "GuestBooks." "Baby Books." She smiled and gently shook her head. "That's true," she said. "Those are the things we build. However..."

"What we create are places for memories to live."

 
It was a reminder that every book that leaves our studio becomes part of someone's family history. A wedding album filled with photographs from one unforgettable day. A baby book documenting first steps and first words. A guest book passed around at a celebration. These weren't simply books, they were heirlooms, entrusted with preserving the stories that matter most. It was one of those moments that permanently changed how we think about our work.

We've returned to that conversation countless times over the years. Not because it changed what we make, but because it changed the way we talked about it. She put into words something we'd always felt about our work. Every book that leaves our Rhode Island studio begins its journey with us. The rest of the story belongs to you. That conversation all those years ago came to define our company motto:

"We make our books beautiful. You make them special."

After 36 years of bookbinding in our Rhode Island studio, that philosophy still guides everything we do. We know that every book we make becomes something unique in the hands of its owner. And we're honored to play a small part in preserving those memories for generations to come. Thank you - Jason & Ilira 

 

Our Rhode Island Bindery

Rag & Bone Bindery began in the summer of 1990 when Jason Thompson learned to bind books from his then-girlfriend (and future wife), Ilira Steinman. The entire business fit on a workbench in a spare bedroom on Providence's East Side, where Jason made journals during the evenings before taking the train to Boston on weekends to sell them in Harvard Square.

As demand grew, so did the bindery. The first stores to carry Rag & Bone books were independent gift shops and bookstores throughout New England. After moving to Boston, Rag & Bone found a home in the Distillery Artist Building, where the company expanded its wholesale business and hired its first bookbinders.

Eventually the bindery returned to Rhode Island, moving into progressively larger studios before purchasing a historic 1900 textile mill in Pawtucket in 2004. Jason and Ilira restored the building themselves, creating a light-filled bookbinding studio on the first floor and a loft above it. 

More than three decades later, we're still making every book one at a time in our Rhode Island bindery, where each one begins its journey to become part of someone else's story.

Redeveloped Mill - Art In Ruins

Loft Above a Bookbinding Studio - Artkraft

 

Rag & Bone Bindery In The Press

Over the years, Rag & Bone Bindery has been featured in magazines, newspapers, television programs, and online publications around the world. Here are a few of our favorites: Oprah, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides Magazine, American Baby, Traditional Home, Real Simple, People Magazine, Bridal Guide, Pregnancy and Newborn, Canadian Living, Daily Candy, Pregnancy Magazine, Parenting, Chatelaine, Style at Home, Verdana, Elle Decor, Child, Good Housekeeping, InStyle and others.

Oprah's Favorite Things - Oprah

Rag & Bone Profile - Seventeen Magazine

Product Profile - The Kitchn

Perfect Mother's Day Gifts - Cool Mom Picks

Rag & Bone Profile - Aeolidia

 

Rag & Bone Bindery In Movies & Television

Rag & Bone Books have been featured in Movies & TV shows such as "The Wedding Planner" (Jennifer Lopez's character uses our Small Album in the film), Will & Grace, Monk, Grace and Frankie, Star Trek: The Next Generation (really!) and Crossing Jordan. Our books and albums have been featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The View and others.

 

Rag & Bone Bindery proudly supports organizations dedicated to preserving and advancing the art of bookbinding and American craft: Center for Book Arts, the Guild of Bookworkers, and the Book Arts Guild.