Rag & Bone Bindery • Pawtucket, Rhode Island • Since 1990

Rag & Bone Bindery was founded in the summer of 1990 when Jason Thompson learned to bind small case-bound journals from his then girlfriend (now wife) Ilira Steinman. The very first bindery was 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 bound as many books as he could during the evenings 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, it's 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 utilize 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. 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!