Meet Our New Obelisks

We're delighted to introduce our handmade obelisks. Each one is constructed completely by hand from archival bookbinders' boards (19 pieces-- quite a puzzle!) and stunning hand-marbled papers from around the world. 

This has been a fun project for us. Having admired antique obelisks made from specimen stones, papier-mâché and other interesting materials, it was a challenge to translate these elements of classical design for production in the bindery.

As is our mission with all of our work in the bindery, we've designed and crafted these obelisks with the intention of creating heirlooms for the future. Every element has been designed and selected for its enduring quality, from the artfully made papers to the solid brass ball feet. 

We've made a batch of these beauties, currently available for immediate delivery at The Parvum Opus Shop. We plan to keep them in stock, having splurged on lots of stunning marbled papers... The patterns are so beautiful and are impossible to resist!

Of course, we're always happy to accept commissions for pieces in special-order papers and design elements (the next batch will feature obelisks with mounted grand tour intaglios... stay tuned!).

  

New Portfolios from the Bindery

A 9x12" portfolio made with a stunning block-printed Italian paper
and jaunty red book cloth. Visit the shop for details.

It's been another busy month in the bindery, and after having made many bespoke portfolios for designers and artists over the years, we've finally added them to our shop's collection. 

A view of another portfolio laid open: this one is in a blue marbled paper handmade in France. It looks so perfect with one of my desk calendar illustrations that I was tempted to make another one for myself! Visit the shop for details.

Many of our clients commission portfolios to present their work, and with so many patterns and colors available, it's easy to find the perfect paper to frame their work or design scheme.

Another version of the portfolio design, this time sized to hold invitations or half-page sized artworks. More details at the shop.

We're also introducing a 6x9" portfolio, popular for special invitations and announcements. Above and below are views from a set recently completed for a special occasion: each of twelve folios was made in a different color combination.. what fun!

Here we have papers from Japan, France and Italy, all paired with colorful Italian book cloth. A charming project. Visit our shop to learn more. 

A view of the exterior of a 9x12" portfolio: I think the book cloth
corners add a nice touch. These are available to order at our shop.

Here you can see the interior of a 9x12" folio: the hinge is flexible and so can accommodate a varied number of pages. For more information, visit our shop.

We're enjoying this new addition to our collection!

Recent Work from the Bindery

Spring is here, and the bindery is buzzing with new work. When we're busy like this, it's especially important to pause and reflect on the collaborations we enjoy with our clientele. Each one is different, and it's always such fun to customize design features or work with a new paper pattern discovered by a client. Here are a few recent pieces to inspire you.  

A bespoke 3-panel desk pad, with interior pockets. The exterior is made with Italian book cloth and the interior is made with Il Papiro's beautifully hand-marbled paper in a blue peacock pattern.  

Above is one of our popular lidded paper trays or in-boxes, made in bespoke extra-deep dimensions and with a vibrant gold Japanese Chiyogami paper. 

Here we have a customized desk organizer, with a notched tray for note papers, a pen and pencil tray, and a standing slot for letters and envelopes. This piece was made using one of the many classic Florentine prints from Rossi.  

Lastly, here is a set of petite stacking trays, each made with a different paper in cheerful shades of yellow. Our client requested this piece to use as a stacking jewelry box, so each tray is fitted with a padded fabric liner.

Our New Graduated Stacking Tray Designs

A set of octagonal stacking trays made with one of our beautiful new Japanese papers. In the top tray you can see my very favorite antique netsuke and a stack of our fun new miniature desk blotter business cards. Custom made to order trays are available at
The Parvum Opus Shop.

I adore exploring antique shops both close to home and when I travel, and among my favorite finds are small trays. The best ones have beautiful scale and personality, and are always the perfect thing to finish off a desk or table corner. I've designed our new range of trays with my charming antiques in mind, paying extra attention to proportion and scale. 

A set of rectangular trays in graduated sizes. This set was made with our second new paper, a beautiful Japanese Chiyogami paper with a shagreen-like pattern of
gold dots on a rich green ground.

Our new trays are available in rectangular and octagonal formats, in graduating sizes, with or without brass ball feet, and it's been great fun to design these latest additions to our collection. At the bindery, we're known for our meticulous craftsmanship, and it's been particularly enjoyable (I hope it's not too nerdy to say) to design a set of proprietary techniques to ensure that the corners on our octagonal trays are as sharp and crisp as those in our other trays and boxes.

The octagonal trays, with the larger one reversed. I fell in love with this pattern as soon as I saw it. It's a hand silk-screened Chiyogami paper, still made in small batches in the traditional Japanese way, and reminds me of the intricate silk patterns found in kimono fabrics.

The introduction of our new trays coincides with the addition of two new papers for our palette. We stock eighteen papers, which we invite you to see on our website's palette pages. Beyond these, we work with hundreds of fine papers from around the world via special order on behalf of our clients, and it's hard not to fall in love with each one. The Japanese Chiyogami papers in particular come in more than a thousand patterns, each one special in its own way. It was a challenge to settle on our two new patterns, but I think you'll agree that both the interlocking circle design and shagreen-like dotted green design are especially beautiful. 

This is the smaller of our rectangular trays, shown with one of my tiniest antique books, one of our small jacketed Moleskine journals, and an antique English salt cellar, pressed into service as a paper clip container.

I do hope you've enjoyed seeing our new arrivals, just in time for the spring. If you'd like to collaborate on your own perfectly scaled and patterned trays, or if you have a special project in mind, we are cheerfully at your service.

The Art of the 'In-Box'

One of our lidded paper trays made with Il Papiro's beautiful brown
peacock hand marbled paper. By special order via www.parvumopus.com

We've had a run on our 'in-box' paper trays recently. Perhaps, like me, our clients are making the best of the winter months to tidy up their workspaces. Here are a few lovely examples, showcasing some of the world's loveliest papers:

A lidded in-box tray made with a red fleurs de lys pattern,
made by Rossi in Italy. More details at www.parvumopus.com.

For this example, we used a beautiful hand silk-screened
Chiyogami paper from Japan. All of the ball handles for
our paper trays are carefully painted to coordinate
with each paper pattern. 

Here, we used another Chiyogami paper, this time in tones of
gray and rust. I never tire of working with such lovely papers.

A desk organizer tray jacketed in Rossi's turquoise
Florentine paper. 

For this in-box project, we used a vintage world map design.

Rossi's classic red Florentine paper is always a popular choice for our
clients, and this paper tray design shows it off nicely. 

Sure to cheer you up on a cloudy day, this lidded paper tray's
yellow hand-marbled paper is made in France. I imagine the desk this
belongs to is the site of some fascinating work!

It was a pleasure to make each of these paper trays, and there are several more in progress at this very moment-- how wonderful. We of course invite you to visit our website to see more of our custom desk furnishings, or inquire about a bespoke project of your own. 

A Valentine from Parvum Opus

 Parvum Opus is pleased to provide desk furnishings
made to order in your choice of colors and patterns.
Visit our shop for details.

Warm Valentine's wishes from Parvum Opus!

We're getting ready for a new batch of stunning papers to arrive in the bindery from around the world. Even while winter lingers, it looks like spring in the workroom with these new colorful additions. We look forward to sharing the resulting new works!

A New Partners' Desk organizer

A new project: a double-sided partners' desk organizer made to our client's specifications and jacketed in a stunning hand-marbled paper by Il Papiro. 

At Parvum Opus, we have the pleasure of collaborating with our clientele on beautiful bespoke projects every day, and often, our tight schedule prevents us from taking the time to photograph and share them. So today it's my pleasure to share a recently completed project: a double-sided desk organizer designed specifically for our client's Edwardian partners' desk. It features slots for stationery, pens and pencils on both sides, and measures just over 15" long. For this piece, we selected one of the world's finest handmade papers from Il Papiro, the venerable Italian papermaker. 

This paper, called a 'peacock marble' is made one sheet at a time using a centuries-old process, with every inch beautifully varied. To give you some idea of how this paper is created, here's a short video snip from Il Papiro in Firenze (via YouTube): 

We hold craftsmanship and design in the highest regard here at the bindery, and it's a distinct pleasure to work with materials made in the same spirit. As with all of our bespoke projects, we were delighted to design and fabricate this piece and hope that our clients find it beautiful and useful for many years to come.