1) It begins with sourcing the leather hides. This is the difficult part! I hate the idea of animals suffering and of animals being bred for the purpose of using their skins. That is why I only use hides from mature working animals that have come to the end of their natural life.

I buy hides exclusively in India and Nepal – because in Hindu communities there is a reverence for cows and buffaloes, and the animals are not maltreated and regarded as a commodity.

2) When the leather reaches me it is already cut into 'blanks' (pieces of prepared leather already cut to an appropriate size). The leather cover will eventually be trimmed with shears after the signatures of paper have been stitched into the spine. At this stage the cover is folded and creased, and holes are punched in the spine for the binding.

3) The main feature that distinguishes one book from another is the design that may be embossed on the cover.

This can be applied in two ways, and both are low-tech. Traditional 'cold-embossing' uses a block of steel in which the design is etched in negative. The leather blank is laid over the block and hammered till the design is embedded. It is loud and heavy work!

Another method is to etch the design with acid into a zinc plate and run it through an embossing roller. The roller looks rather like a Victorian laundry mangle!

4) A dye is now applied to the leather with a brush – in a circular and stipple action. When it is almost dry it is rubbed down with a rag to absorb residual dye. You might find that some of the dye remains on the surface and stains your fingers the first time you touch the book. This will cease after a while. I could avoid this staining – but I would have to use synthetic dyes and toxic chemicals. No thanks! I prefer to use natural materials that don’t poison our water supply.

5) In the case of some books the blanks are prepared with a 'lacing' of leather thong along the edge of the cover. Cowhide is too thick for this, so goatskin is used. The thong is cut by scissors in a spiral from the centre of the hide to the outside. It is cut by hand – that is why it varies in thickness along all its length.

Some books have the corners strengthened by brass trims (solid brass – not plated steel, as cheap plated steel trims eventually rust).

6) The signatures of paper are stitched into the spine, sometimes with twine, sometimes with leather thong.

7) The handmade paper arrives ready-cut and bundled in signatures. This paper has been made sheet-by-sheet by a traditional process, from pulped recycled cotton rags. The process uses a lot of water, but it uses no bleach. And with careful management the water can be caught and recycled.

8) Finally, the cover is trimmed so that it is the right distance from the paper all the way round.

9) If there is a fastening (tie-strap, buckle, press-stud, c-lock etc) it is fitted at this stage.

I hope, whoever you are, that you find a good use for your book and that it brings you happiness.