One of the things I love about the Arne & Carlos books is the way they are designed. There are so many fun pictures displaying some of their collections and the things that inspired the designs.
Arne & Carlos develop their ideas using idea books, which are part art journal, part three-dimensional Pinterest. These handmade smash books are glorious, holding sketches, swatches, ticket stubs and whatever ephemera they collect on their travels.
They share exactly how they make their idea books and what people might include in their own in their book Make Your Own Idea Book with Arne & Carlos: Create Handmade Art Journals and Bound Keepsakes to Store Inspiration and Memories.
While the book doesn’t really have anything to do with knitting, it’s possible to use idea books to gather knitting inspiration or pattern notes, and Arne & Carlos use them in developing knitting patterns, books and designs.
The first part of the book covers how they make their idea books, using a variety of papers sewn together and bound. Most of the materials are pretty simple to acquire, and you can easily make a bunch to store all sorts of ideas and inspiration.
The rest of the book talks about different ways you can use the journals, with pictures from their idea books to show how it might be done. Some of the many ideas shown include collecting ideas for knitting and crochet, gardening, geneology, hobbies, travel, weddings, holidays and more.
This book is so fun and inspiring and will make you want to make your own books (I have a simpler version on my blog) and fill them with all sorts of great stuff.
About the book: 168 pages, paperback with interior flaps. Published June 2016 by Trafalgar Square Books. Suggested retail $22.95.
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