Welcome to Rag & Bone Bindery, home to handcrafted Albums, Guestbooks, Baby Books, Binders and Journals for your very special occasions and events.
Rag & Bone Bindery was founded in the summer of 1990 in Providence, Rhode Island by husband and wife team Jason Thompson and Ilira Steinman. Together we bound books in a spare room in our third floor apartment on College Hill. On the weekends we'd hop a Boston bound train, set up our table in Harvard Square and sell handmade books to students and tourists.
The first retail establishments to offer Rag & Bone Bindery Books were local New England gift shops and bookstores. Over the years we moved the bindery to ever larger studios and lofts, eventually purchasing and renovating a 100 year old mill building as our home and permanent bindery. We reside and create from our light-filled studio in the heart of the historic industrial district of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Here, surrounded by creative makers, craft breweries, coffee roasters and our local farmers market, we help turn important moments and occasions into lasting memories.
We promise quality, authenticity, integrity, and kindness in everything we make.
The care and quality we imbue into Rag & Bone Bindery products assure our Albums and Journals will last a family for a lifetime. We enjoy making heirloom-quality archival Albums and Journals because we know how important your memories and special events are and we love knowing our items will be used, gifted and cherished. We're thankful for the opportunity to keep the art of bookbinding alive and to continue a studio culture which respects the art of the craft while offering affordable, well designed books and Albums. Thank you for your support!
Ilira Steinman
Ilira is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. She discovered the art of bookbinding during a year abroad in Italy and taught Jason how to bind books in the summer of 1990. Ilira keeps the bindery running smoothly and manages production and wholesale accounts. Outside of the studio Ilira volunteers for local non-profit organizations and enjoys time with Jason and their two children.
Jason Thompson
Bookbinder and author Jason Thompson has an interest in all types of bookbinding, book arts, paper craft as well as old bindery equipment and historic mill buildings. He maintains a personal collection of antique books about the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen and hopes one day to visit the arctic. Jason is the author of bookbinding books including "Making Journals By Hand" and "Playing With Books" and you can find his articles in the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Ampersand magazine, Sketchbook Magazine and more.
Jason Thompson "Playing With Books" {amazon}
Jason Thompson, "Making Journals By Hand" {amazon}
Jason Thompson, "Making Memory Books And Journals By Hand" {amazon}
Jason Thompson - Wall Street Journal
Jason Thompson - Huffington Post
Jason Thompson, Artist Profile - Craft Foxes
Rag & Bone Bindery
The very first Rag & Bone Bindery studio was simply a workbench set up in a spare room in Jason's apartment on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island where he crafted small journals for local college students at Brown University and Harvard. Jason & Ilira bound as many books as they could during the week and on weekends took the train to Boston to set up a table in Harvard Square. The first brick and mortar establishments to sell Rag & Bone Books were local New England gift shops and bookstores. After a year of bookmaking, Jason and Ilira moved to Boston and set up Rag & Bone Bindery in the Distillery Artist Building, a large mill complex housing a spirited group of young artists. It was here that Rag & Bone Bindery began to offer books and Albums to larger stores across the country and hired staff to help bind books during the busy season.
Once Rag & Bone outgrew the Boston studio, Jason & Ilira returned to Rhode Island and moved to ever larger work spaces over the years as the business grew, and eventually purchased a Pawtucket, Rhode Island mill building in 2004. The historic Main Street two-story brick building was originally built in 1900 as a textile mill. Jason & Ilira renovated the first floor as home for Rag & Bone Bindery and the second as a residence. The building is a perfect studio for a bindery; small, centrally located just over the Providence line in Pawtucket and filled with natural light, hardwood floors, high ceilings and exposed brick.
Today Rag & Bone Bindery offers handbound books and Albums for all occasions. Our bookbinders use traditional tools and materials to create modern and archival bindings made to last a lifetime. You can find our books in Gift and Stationery stores across the US. Thank you for your support!
Click here to take a virtual tour of the bindery!
My Favorite Things - Decor8
Book Filled Loft - Apartment Therapy
Redeveloped Mill - Art In Ruins
Ready, Set, DIY - Boston.com
Loft Above a Bookbinding Studio - Artkraft
Rag & Bone Bindery In The Press
Rag & Bone Bindery books and Albums have been featured in magazines such as 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" (Our Small Album was the Album Jennifer Lopez' character uses 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 is proud to be a member of the Center for Book Arts, the Guild of Bookworkers, and the Book Arts Guild.