Every Bind piece—our books,
our vessels, our stationery and prints—represents the work of two committed artisans. We open our imaginations to you; you carry our stories on.
our products
handmade books
Beth had written and published some three-dozen books of her own before she began making blank books for others. Every book is its own singular thing—a composition built from materials Beth has made, marbled, cyanotyped, collaged, or sourced, then bound using stitching patterns both classic and inventive. Beth’s books open like gifts and close like secrets. They fit in one’s hands. They are enduring.
prints and cards
We wanted to make art that could mark a place, that would remember for, or when. Beth’s individually crafted and autographed cyanotype bookmarks preserve the frail foliage of ferns, the ambitious leaf structure of cyclamens, and the feathery reach of wheat, pampas grass, and reeds. Bill’s cards feature his muted illustrations of fabulist characters doing memorable things. The bookmarks ensure that readers will not lose their place. The cards carry friendships forward, as well as goodwill, love, and hope.
ceramics
When your neighbor brings a dahlia though you didn’t expect a thing, or the sprig of blooming dogwood must be rescued from the rain, or thyme has broken free of its seeds, is sprouting, Bill’s clay vessels offer sanctuary. He throws some of his pots on the wheel. He hand builds other pieces. There are spouts, handles, hieroglyphic details, the trace of earth colors on an array of textured bodies. If no two pieces are the same, each reflects Bill’s long interest in elemental forms and textures.
behind our scenes
Behind Our Scenes brings you into our workshop worlds. Here you’ll learn about something we have discovered or made—on a pottery wheel, on a freshly primed canvas, in a room that is ripe with paper and paint, or on a bed of carrageenan. We’re focused on the processes behind our handmade books and cards, bookmarks and vessels, fantastical creatures and cyanotype collages, and whatever else we decide to make. On the conversations, accidents, and wild hopes behind our scenes.
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Carrageenan (Beth) – For the record, I do not eat the carrageenan, which is a red seaweed known as Irish Moss, and which is used in …
Golden Opens (Beth) – Golden Opens. Nothing else. Golden Opens for the gelli prints and Golden Opens (the fluids edition) for the marbling, and all the …
We Call It the Dungeon (Bill) – I know that there’s a dragon living under those stairs – I just haven’t seen it yet. The place …
The X-Acto Knife and the Cutting Board (Beth) – When the blade is sharp (brand new, just installed), there’s nothing quite like it. It slices paper …
The Company I Keep (Bill) – I have a lot of things hanging on the wall of the ceramics studio. All of them practically placed within …
Lady With the Hat (Bill) – I don’t really know where she came from – my best explanation would be from the tip of a pencil. …
about us
Bind by Bind is the creation of Beth Kephart and William Sulit, a writer and an artist who make one-of-a-kind gifts by hand.
A National Book Award finalist who has published some three-dozen books in multiple genres, Beth became obsessed with the book arts when, following her father’s passing, she began to make booklets inside which his memory might be kept. In the years since, she has taught herself the nature and possibilities of a wide range of materials, methods, and bindings. Beth’s new book, My Life in Paper: Adventures in Ephemera, is forthcoming (11/23). More about her books and essays here.
An artist with a master’s degree in architecture, Bill has worked in a number of media—including clay and illustration—in pursuit of new forms and stories. Married for nearly four decades, Beth and Bill have engaged in a long and meaningful conversation that continues to yield new adventures and surprises.
We make our work available to museum shops, gifts shops, galleries, and pop-up stores.
BIND is also a member of the Museum Store Association.
Come meet us
In addition to our shop on ETSY, we will be selling our work at the following Farmers Markets and craft shows in 2024:
- August 25, Berwyn Farmers Market
- September 7, Victorian Town Fair
- September 15, Berwyn Farmers Market
- September 28/29, Oaks Expo in King of Prussia, PA
- October 6, Berwyn Farmers Market
- November 3, Berwyn Farmers Market
- November 9/10, Haverford Guild of Craftsmen 2024 Holiday Art & Fine Craft Show
- December 7, Berwyn Farmers Market
- December 13/15, Wayne Art Center, Holiday Shopping Weekend
contact us
Perhaps you are the manager of a museum gift shop, a crafts festival, or a retail store interested in learning more about our products and pricing. Perhaps you have in mind a custom order—a wedding guest album, for example, or a large order of monotype bookmarks or booklets. Perhaps you’d like a framed colored cyanotype of a particular hue. Or perhaps you’d just like to be in touch. Please contact us on our Etsy shop.