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relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Relics-of-Reveries
@relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
330 followers 140 following 51 posts
Self-taught bookbinder inspired by epics and fantasy.
I make ancien-looking journals out of wood and leather.

FR/EN
I'm from Geneva, Switzerland.

More of my work :
https://www.relics-of-reveries.com/
Posts Replies Media Videos
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Stand upgrade ! Now with custom displays and table cloths for a bit more height and visibility at conventions !
Backdrop is under construction 👷‍🚧
(Big thanks to @chaabs.bsky.social for all the sewing)
#tabling
My booth, with 3 presentation areas : a tall one on each side with books, and a smaller but wider one in the middle with journals. The left part of my booth, with a mix of books in English. The right part of my booth, with a mix of books in French.
October 24, 2025 at 8:59 AM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Hi #PortfolioDay !

I'm a bookbinder from Geneva, Switzerland.
I bind journals and grimoires ; I also repair and rebind second-hand books.
My craft features covers and elements of wood, leather and metal.
All of my work is handmade.

Website : www.relics-of-reveries.com
The image is a montage of four pictures each showing a different book, illustrating my work. The top-left one is a "Frankenstein", by Mary Shelley, rebound in red and black floral leather spine, walnut cover, and copper title plate. The top-right one is a closup on a "Horus Rising", by Dan Abnett, rebound in black leather spine, dark walnut cover, and two brass plates : a background one shows piles of skulls, while the front one is engraved with the book title. The bottom-left one is "The Call of Cthlhu and Other Weird Stories", by HP Lovecraft, rebound in an olive leather spine, darkened oak cover, and a large, elaborated brass title plate. Finally, the bottom-right one is a "Dracula", by Bram Stoker, rebound in red/black semi-gliterring leather spine, dark walnut cover, and copper title plate.
October 14, 2025 at 3:42 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
"His Dark Materials", by Philip Pullman.
I re-covered it a few weeks ago, but I can't remember which wood species I used. Oak maybe ? I'm so bad at identifying it afterwards. :/
Feel free to enlighten me if you know better, you wood-savvy people !

#handmade #crafting #craft #art #bookbinding
A book is held in hand, facing light. A brass title plate reads "Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials". The cover is wood, with a spine of dark-blue floral-patterned leather. A gold colored bookmark is visible on the bottom edge.
September 25, 2025 at 12:29 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
My first attempt at actually painting (vs "just" tinting) the leather. I hated the process, now loving the result. I'm left with the only option of getting better.

#handmade #crafting #craft #art #bookbinding #theprincessbride
A book lies flat. The cover is oak, and the spine is white-tinted leather showing a floral pattern. A brass title plate reads "William Goldman - The Princess Bride - S.Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, the "Good Parts" version". A blue bookmark ribbon exits the pages from the tail edge. This picture shows the same details as the previous one at a different angle. This perspective offers a better view at the leather strap that holds the book closed. The back cover of the book. The book is held open at a random page near its middle.
September 12, 2025 at 1:02 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Hi there,

I'm currently available for commissions !

Second-hand book rebindings : 100 - 200 CHF
Grimoires : 300+ CHF
Journals : 60 - 80 CHF

Everything hand-made by myself !

(... more in comments)

#bookbinding #ForSale
An old wooden table is covered by a mix of items such as old looking books, a pirate treasure map, a spyglass, parchments and rings. In the middle lies a heavy grimoire with a red spine, black locust cover, and closed by a loop of rope. The image is a montage of four pictures each showing a different book, illustrating my work. The top-left one is a "Frankenstein", by Mary Shelley, rebound in red and black floral leather spine, walnut cover, and copper title plate. The top-right one is a closup on a "Horus Rising", by Dan Abnett, rebound in black leather spine, dark walnut cover, and two brass plates : a background one shows piles of skulls, while the front one is engraved with the book title. The bottom-left one is "The Call of Cthlhu and Other Weird Stories", by HP Lovecraft, rebound in an olive leather spine, darkened oak cover, and a large, elaborated brass title plate. Finally, the bottom-right one is a "Dracula", by Bram Stoker, rebound in red/black semi-gliterring leather spine, dark walnut cover, and copper title plate. A simple blank guestbook with an ash tree cover, a brown floral leather spine, and a brass title plate showing my commercial name "Relics-of-Reveries" and my own logo : a harpy-like creature in an irregular circle.
September 6, 2025 at 12:44 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
The new Frankenstein movie is releasing in 41 days.
This book is 202 pages (pocket edition). That's 4.9 pages a day.

Just so you know.

#handmade #crafting #craft #art #bookbinding #MaryShelley #Frankenstein #gothic
The front of a book. The cover is dark walnut, the spine red and black leather embossed with a floral pattern. A copper plate reads "Mary Shelley - Frankenstein". The book is open of its first page, showing a piece of red and black leather with a red flyleaf. The book is held open, and shows the randomly choosen Chapter 8. The book lays flat and closed, on a dark fabric.
September 5, 2025 at 3:07 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Hi from Switzerland !
I bind or recover books the wood-hardened way !
My goal is books that look out of time and space, from natural material and custom techniques.
I work mostly with second-hand mass-printed books, but I also do blank journals and grimoires on occasions.

www.relics-of-reveries.com
Handmade journal bound in wooden cover, with a black leather spine, on some volcanic gravel Front cover of the book. The overall aspect is black, with a dark walnut wood cover and a black-tinted spine. Two hoops of leather loop around the spine, and are nailed to the cover. A first brass plate occupies most of the front cover, and shows etched piles of skull. A second, banner-shaped, etched brass plate lies on top of the first one, and reads "Dan Abnett - The Horus Heresy - Horus Rising". A black bookmark is visible on the outer side of the book, near the spine. The front cover of the book, showing the oak wood cover with slight marks of worm holes, the copper title plate reading "Andrzej Sapkowsky, The Witcher, Blood of Elves", and the red spine with some elvish repeating pattern. A red bookmark ribon is visible on the outside of the book. A book with a dark walnut cover and an olive leather spine. A copper title plate reading "H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories" is nailed on the front cover.
August 25, 2025 at 10:12 AM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Hi there !

Next stop in Lausanne : #arcana_festival !
Arcana is a major Swiss fantasy fair & comic con that has been getting better every year.
Their fifth edition is taking place from September 19th to 22th, at the palais de Beaulieu.
I'd love to see you there !

en.arcanafestival.ch

(FR in alt)
Bonjour ! Vous êtes sur Lausanne du 19 au 22 Septembre ? Moi aussi ! Venez me rencontrer au festival Arcana, au palais de Beaulieu. Arcana est l'un des plus grands festivals fantastiques & comic-con de Suisse, et cette 5ème édition promet d'être encore meilleure que les précédentes. Et cette année : entrée gratuite ! Je me réjouis de vous y croiser à mon stand ! https://www.arcanafestival.ch/
August 25, 2025 at 9:43 AM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
I had this piece of walnut with such a nice convoluted middle area, which I kept for a special book.
The piece is quite small unfortunately, but given some brass staples it should do for a beautiful Frankenstein !

#handmade #crafting #craft #art #bookbinding
Two pieces of walnut, which will become the front and back cover of a Frankenstein book. Both pieces have a hole in their center from a convoluted knot. Pieces of brass are laid out across the hole. The overall effect is of big staples in a gnarly wound.
August 15, 2025 at 3:59 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Nailed it.

#bookbinding #handmade #crafting #art #craft #craftsky #booksky
A book with a dark walnut cover and an olive leather spine. A copper title plate reading "H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories" is nailed on the front cover.
July 11, 2025 at 3:34 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
New shiny border with a custom illustration, hand-drawn by @chaabs.bsky.social !
I did a test etching on copper for a Lovecraft compendium book, and I absolutely love the result *o*

#etching #handmade #crafting
A copper plate is etched with an illustration showing two sets of tentacles overshooting an elaborate frame. Inbetween the two sets of tentacles, the plate reads "H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu and other Weird Stories".
July 7, 2025 at 3:18 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
A guestbook prototype !
I've been showing it on my booth at various events, and so far it pleases both talented artists, and feral unmonitored children.

#bookbinding #handmade #crafting #art #craft #craftsky
Front cover of the guestbook. The cover is of waxed ash tree with a floral-patterned leather spine. The engraved brass title plate atop reads "Relics of Reveries". The book is held open at the center of the single-signature binding, and shows two pieces of leather padding the binding cord and the paper.
June 23, 2025 at 11:19 AM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Horus Rising by Dan Abnett, T1 of the Horus Heresy series from Warhammer 40k!
I did an honest attempt at understanding the characters, factions and timeline involved, but I don't know the details of 40K lore.
Feel free to suggest thematic improvements!
#bookbinding #warhammer #horusheresy
Front cover of the book. The overall aspect is black, with a dark walnut wood cover and a black-tinted spine. Two hoops of leather loop around the spine, and are nailed to the cover. A first brass plate occupies most of the front cover, and shows etched piles of skull. A second, banner-shaped, etched brass plate lies on top of the first one, and reads "Dan Abnett - The Horus Heresy - Horus Rising". A black bookmark is visible on the outer side of the book, near the spine. The book is held from the spine, showing it's front cover and footer. The book lock, visible on the fore edge, is quite large compared to the book size, pointy-shaped, and made of black leather. This is a dramatic close-up on the title plate, showing the details of the etching and the grain of the leather.
May 22, 2025 at 1:18 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Here's another rebinding, this time of Andrzej Sapkowsky's "Blood of Elves", a first novel setting the tone for the stories of witcher Geralt of Rivia !
More info and details in thread ! 🧵

#bookbinding #handmade #crafting #art #craft #craftsky #booksky
The front cover of the book, showing the oak wood cover with slight marks of worm holes, the copper title plate reading "Andrzej Sapkowsky, The Witcher, Blood of Elves", and the red spine with some elvish repeating pattern. A red bookmark ribon is visible on the outside of the book. Another view of the front cover ; the strong contrast from the light especially highlights the bevels and worm holes on the wood.
April 24, 2025 at 2:02 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, rebound by hand and with love.
Cover is of stapled leather scraps and worm-eaten maple wood.

#bookbinding #handmade #crafting #art #craftsky #craft
Front cover of the book, showing a brass title plaque reading "Mary Shelley - Frankenstein". A red bookmark ribbon runs out of the cover at the tail of the book. Spine of the book, showing the many staples joining two pieces of leather ; one piece of leather has a shiny golden surface while the other is dark-green with slightly burnt edges.
April 9, 2025 at 12:08 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
As promised, a more focused picture of Dracula - the book, of course. Considering his ... condition, the Count would probably not show on any photo.

#bookbinding #handmade #crafting #art #craftsky #craft
A book in dark wooden cover and red/black spine leather ; a dark red bookmark ribbon is visible on the left side. The copper title plate reads "Bram Stoker - Dracula".
March 29, 2025 at 7:43 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
This is what you missed if you weren't at my table past weekend !
I was at a books and comics festival from "BD Pays de Gex" in France, with a bunch of brand old books. More high-res pics of this central Dracula book coming in a few days!
#bookbinding #handmade #crafting #art #craftsky #craft
Picture of my table at a books festival. It shows a bunch of books with wood and leather covers, together with pirate and necromancer-themed grimoires.
March 25, 2025 at 6:28 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
A piece I finished past week : "Face de Lune" ("Moon Face") from Alejandro Jodorowsky and François Boucq.
My second comic rebinding ; and this thing is huge! I tried my best at giving this book its own cathedral of wood and light.
#bookbinding #handmade #crafting #art #craftsky #craft
The front cover : a piece of wood of wavy borders, showing a T-shaped knot at its center. The spine is of green/brown soft leather, flush with the wood. Flowing with the foreedge is a copper plate etched with the title and authors, flush with the wood as well. The book lays open at its first page. A short endsheet of brown leather follows the wood grain. A thin green bookmark is visible on top of the flyleaf. The book is open on a two-pages illustration of the central character of the book, pictured dancing in front of a tidal wave. The foot of the cover, showing a round concave bevel along the spine. The leather follows the bevel closely.
March 10, 2025 at 8:31 AM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
A Gimli-themed Lord of the Rings rebinding I've been commissioned, just in time for Christmas !
I'm really proud of this one, arguably one of my best pieces so far.

#bookbinding #handmade #crafting
A Lord of the Rings book rebound in a dark patterned wood and emerald leather cover. The title is etched on a copper plate and includes an axe inspired by Gimli's battleaxe. A close-up on the copper title plate, featuring an axe inspired by Gimli's battleaxe. The back side of the book, showing the clasp leather strip nailed into the wood cover. A close-up of the inside of the book, opened on its first page. The green bookmark is visible atop an emerald flyleaf. The wood cover is lined with a dark brown leather, itself embossed with a repetitive pattern.
December 19, 2024 at 12:47 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Preparing book covers !
Step 1 : cut
Step 2 : cut some more
Step 3 : cut a bit more
Step 4 : take blurry pictures

#bookbinding #handmade #crafting
A stack of roughly-cut wooden planks, on a workbench. Some are oak and some are maple. A mix of smaller maple and oak planks A mix of maple and oak book covers with bevels. A few pieces have been darkened. Another shot of the same mix of maple and oak book covers, now with bevels. A few pieces have been darkened. The photo is slightly out of focus.
December 9, 2024 at 6:21 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
My planned rebindings of second hand French editions for December !
Any favorite one ? If none (ouch!), any recommendation ? Second-hand English books are hard to come by in Geneva :'(
#bookbinding #handmade #crafting
A bunch of French editions of the following books : George RR Martin's Game of Thrones, Terry Pratchett's Light Fantastic and Guards! Guards!, Homère's Iliad, JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders, Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin, Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile , Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alain Damasio's Horde du Contrevent, and Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
November 27, 2024 at 3:29 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Reintroduction Thread!
📚 Name: Julien
🖋️ Pronouns: He/Him
📚 Location: Switzerland
🖋️️ Hobbies: bookbinding, game development
📚 Links: www.relics-of-reveries.com
notebook with a broken wood cover, repaired using wax-hardened leather Keyring miniature books, among pieces of paper and leather Pirate book in red-tinted leather and black locust wood, with rope lock 2 notebooks bound in a cover of cedar wood
October 22, 2024 at 3:50 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Hey! Just realized I never flexed my romantic rebindings!
I struggled fairly long before finding a viable way to rebind perfect-bound books into heavy wood covers. Very happy with how it went.
5 books bound in cedar wood : Tristan & Yseut (Beroul), Fables (La Fontaine), Notre-Dame de Paris (Victor Hugo), Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), Le Horla (Maupassant)
October 22, 2024 at 3:01 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Lately, I have been working on simpler, more affordable journals.
Meet my "Romantic" bindings! A single signature of 32 sheets (64 leaves, 128 pages), bound with thick round leather lace, in a wood and leather cover.
#bookbinding
A stack of 5 journals, covered in wood and various types of leather. A stack of two journals viewed from the bottom side, highlighting the shine of the wood and its bevelled front-edge. One journal, opened on its first page. We clearly see the single signature holding a lot of pages.
August 12, 2024 at 7:12 PM
relics-of-reveries.bsky.social
Many people at #craft markets really like to touch stuff, so I made them a special book.
It has pages of waxed cotton (no risk of tearing!) holding swatches of leather, rope and wood at various stages of work.
Technically a book, yet still not sure whether it really counts as #bookbinding though?
A closed book with a leather front cover and pages of waxed cotton, sandwiched between a wooden back cover and a wooden stick (similarly to stab-binding). For scale, a tiny lego craftsman with a beard sits on the wooden stick. The book is huge! A book which pages are of waxed cotton, open on a page that has stitched pieces of paper and wood. For scale, a tiny lego craftsman with a beard sits near the spine. A book which pages are of waxed cotton, open on a page that has stitched pieces of paper, wood, and leather. For scale, a tiny lego craftsman with a beard stands in the background, near the top edge. A book which pages are of waxed cotton, open on a page that has stitched pieces of paper and embossed leather. For scale, a tiny lego craftsman with a beard lays face down at the bottom of the page.
June 19, 2024 at 6:23 PM