It's the shop name. "Feldie" is short for "Feldspar," a common crystalline ore found in minerals. I spell it "feldspaar" for embellishment. I came across it thumbing through a dictionary many years ago. FeldieJournals was established in 2015 in Hong Kong.

In college, I shared a house in Providence with two Visual Artists, one of whom specialised in bookbinding. One afternoon, she taught me how to prepare a book block and I was hooked. Over the years, I read up on the subject and found out how to case in, or attach the book block to a cover.

So much help has come along the way via a crafty auntie (she makes her own cheongsam!); super helpful tutorials by Sea Lemon and others; Pinterest and online tips and books like Alisa Golden's Making Handmade Books. The rest is practice and refinement. I may have made over 300 journals since it picked up in 2015.

More recently, it has become a real outlet. I enjoy unwinding from teaching by delving into a new journal and watching 6 or 10 of them stack up for pressing. The market fairs are mostly a way to distribute the end products and a way to interact with people who actually like journals!

Of course!

The hard way is to learn on your own. There are one or two items of specialty equipment you might need, but everyday items can be used instead in many cases.

The easier way is to set up a workshop with me sometime. I don't do this often... but it can be arranged. The full workshop takes about 2 hours; the shorter version takes about 1 hour, both excluding drying time. Email me at feldspaar@gmail.com or choose the "Chat with us!" option in the bottom right corner. Let's talk.

In most cases, yes. I'll need to see the fabric to make sure it's neither too thick nor too thin, which would make it too hard to use. If you want specific printing or a book for a particular purpose, in most cases, that can be done, too.

I've been asked about various custom orders. A friend had a poem he wrote printed inside the cover of the journal he designed for his girlfriend to celebrate their anniversary. I think that went down well...

The same friend is trying to get me to source fabric with an obscene print for another job. I will continue to deliberate. Gotta have limits, right? Still - please feel free to start a conversation by emailing me at feldspaar@gmail.com or by clicking the "Chat with us!" tab at the bottom right. Let's talk!

Maybe - let's talk. My email is feldspaar@gmail.com. I've given a softcover book a hard cover and fixed loose pages before, but it's quite a skill.

About an hour, excluding the 3 to 5-hour drying time.

Well, it starts with acquisitions (tools and materials) and continues with preparation, production, marketing, logistics and retail. And then there's research and development, which feeds into the other aspects of this fancy lemonade stand.

It's a one-man band, but it is very satisfying and I've had so much help along the way. You can read about it here:

http://bit.ly/vs-Biz701

Kind of - slits from the cutter before I got a safety ruler, paper cuts, hacking off my nail with the uber sharp scissors, cuts from sewing, stabbing myself with the needle, back aches from trimming cloth or card …I haven't grown high from working with PVA or hot glue because the room is always ventilated.

Until I got a foldable dolly, there were also some bumps and bruises from ferrying a 30 or 40 kg suitcase from place to place. The extreme fatigue also hits from time to time since I tend to craft when things get stressful or unpredictably busy at my day job.

That said, it's quite safe making journals one by one!

Thanks for your interest! Not at this point, but I am happy to run a workshop for parents and their children - all you would need to provide is a table for a 2-hour workshop. Please start a conversation by emailing me at viva321@yahoo.com or by clicking the "Chat with us!" tab at the bottom right. Let's talk!

Thanks for your interest! I'll let you know when FeldieJournals goes IPO. Meanwhile, you are most welcome to check out the shop page or write in about a custom order ;-)

Shop bit.ly/vs-shop

Thanks for asking! Not at the moment. I have texted people via WhatsApp about fairs and events, but haven't done much marketing. Maybe that is a relief to many people. Your best bet is to check my log from time to time.

Log bit.ly/vs-log

Shop updates, ongoing additions to the website and different functions for journals.

Please stay tuned - and send me requests if you'd like!