At Small Editions, the book is a work of art, not simply a vehicle for its display

Led by director Hannah Yukiko Pierce and graphic designer Isobel Chiang, Small Editions is an independent design studio and publishing house with a pretty wide remit. It makes everything from one-off limited editions to projects printed in the thousands. A cornerstone of the small press community, the studio’s work focuses on the design and production of publications for clients in the cultural corner and is often the result of “close collaborations with artists, editors, curators, printers and book binders”, shares Isobel.

Outside of its client work, Small Editions publishes a compact collection of artist books every year under its imprint, each crafted completely by hand in its small bindery space. When looking for things to make an impression with, the studio “like to seek artists whose practice we admire, who are working with concepts, materials, or construction methods we find interesting, and whose aesthetic sensibility could be thoughtfully translated into book form”, says Isobel.

These vessels can take the form of pages bound with something as simple as staples or cases tied in with intricate and laborious hand-binding techniques, like its recent title Shell Pattern Necklace, held together with a set of six necklace clasps. Each of Small Editions’ projects inventively challenges traditional concepts for the book, using different formats, shapes and surfaces to tell tactile stories. In addition to their artist editions, the pair also design and distribute publications that are all about the act of making them. These nifty guides for designers and aspiring binders How to Book and Paper and Ink are a way for them to disseminate “everything we’ve learnt from over 150 book projects into technical and practical advice,” Isobel says.

Situated in this line of work, you might have already guessed that it suits to be a bit book-obsessed, and the studio are just that – frequently turning to its ever-growing library of editions for inspiration, collecting from the likes of: “Kodoji Press, Bom Dia Boa Tarde Boa Noite, Neutral colors, Backbonebooks, Lagon Revue, and basically anything designed by Julia Born, Goda Budvytytė, or Our Polite Society”, says Isobel. “Charles Eames said ‘if you want to design chairs, don’t look at other chairs’ – We’ll be the first to admit that we often look at other chairs.”