Daily Inspiration: Meet Julie Elefante

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Elefante

Hi Julie , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I found bookbinding in early 2023 while looking for a creative outlet to help me navigate through a series of losses I went through during the pandemic. Bookbinding gives me tasks where I can either focus and be precise or keep my hands busy and brain distracted with simple tasks, creating something that combines utility and aesthetics. Both task types allow me to be mindful and present in different ways. I got hooked on the craft and kept making books, learning though videos, books, and blogs, gifting books to friends and family to make room for more of the books I’d make. After just a few months, I decided to start selling them at pop-up markets to get the books to people who’d use them and to make money for materials to make more books and equipment upgrades to make them better and more efficiently.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Figuring out how to do my taxes has been the worst part. But really, finding time, especially now that I’m having to work in-office after getting to work from home most if not all of the time during the pandemic. Juggling a full-time job and making sure I have time for my partner and cat and just time to rest has been hard. I have some chronic illnesses that wipe me out, and I’m awful about getting enough sleep, so all that on top of running a small business selling handcrafted items threatens to keep me on the edge of burnout. But I love the craft, and I love getting my books into people’s hands, so I’m driven to keep going as hard as I can.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a bookbinder, and I usually make sketchbooks and journals and sell them at pop-up markets around Phoenix and the East Valley. One of my emphases is including affordable books across a range of prices, so I use economical and accessible materials and binding techniques for most of my books. For example, I’ll fill most of my sketchbooks with good drawing paper and then a few sketchbooks with the best drawing paper I can afford. I’ll also use unconventional materials–a pizza box logo will make me laugh, so I’ll turn the box into a book cover. I’ll end up with tiny pieces of materials from book projects, so I’ll turn them into tiny books and add a string bookmark that you can also use to hang the book up as a tree ornament. I always get such a kick out of seeing ideas like these work out, and I love that I’ll eventually run into people who like them, too, and want to take these books home. One of my favorite aspects of my books is that every one is at least a little unique because they’re handcrafted. Every one has its own origin story.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Even though pop-up markets are an important part of my business–and even play an important role in defining me as a bookbinder since my customers contribute to that definition–I’m such a homebody and introvert that my brain immediately liquefies after I finish packing up from a market.

Pricing:

• Softcover notebooks: $5-15
• Hardcover books: $15-75

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rockscissorspaper.org
• Instagram: rockscissorspaperpress
• Other: https://rockscissorspaper.square.site/

Image Credits
All photos, Julie Elefante