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“The thrill of working, for me, is the process of discovery and
problem solving that comes with making something for the first time.”
Shanna Leino is a studio artist with a fascination for the many forms of the book. After eight years in beautiful Frankfort, Michigan, she has returned to her home state of New Hampshire. She works in her studio, manufactures a small line of hand tools for bookbinders and craftspeople, and travels throughout the U.S. and occasionally abroad, teaching book and toolmaking workshops.
I had a delightful meandering conversation with Leino about how she got into making tools and her thoughtful use of materials. She calls the image above “a handful of elbow grease”.
Here are some of her Elk Bone Awls – this little collection shows the natural variations of tone and color in elk bone. She arrived at this pen-like shape as a comfortable and flexible tool for ruling and blind-tooling on leather, featuring a soft point on one end and a narrow edge on the other.
We talked about the issues surrounding production. Leino has some steel parts fabricated, and then enhances their surface. These Double-Ended Steel Awls and Micro Chisels show 3 patterns: Hammered, Patterned, and Blackened.
Sometimes, she refurbishes antique objects, like wooden checkers that she turns into awl handles, or these Bonefolders made from repurposed Victorian hand fans.
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Shanna Leino’s’s recommendations:
- The Paper & Book Intensive: an annual working sabbatical in the book arts, papermaking, and conservation for seasoned practitioners and motivated beginners. (Leino and I are both teaching at PBI in 2025)
- Colophon Book Arts Supply: paper, materials and tools.
- Velma Bolyard’s Wake Robin Press: contact prints, natural dying and shifu.
- Jim Croft Bookbinding, featuring the book work of Jim Croft, made from his own labor-intensive handmade paper.
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You can find out more about Shanna Leino on her website and on Instagram.
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Music featuring excerpts of Makin’ Paper folk song by Peter Thomas. Listen to the full song and find out about other paper and book arts folk songs.
Gary A. Hanson did the sound editing for this episode. He practices and refines his skills in audio production while making his own podcast I’ll Have a Beer and Talk, a show about tech news, culture, weird animal stories and of course, beer. Gary is also the Deckle in Pulp & Deckle, a Portland-based community hand papermaking studio.
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