The Craft of Folio

May 03, 2025

When your aim is to make the ultimate edition, no effort is too big, no idea is untested – and no material off limits.

Behind an unassuming door in Folio’s headquarters lies the ultimate destination for any lover of books and bookmaking: the Sample Chest. It’s a glorious Aladdin’s cave of ribbon, paper, card, cloth, leather, typefaces and finishes, sent to Folio for consideration from vast global manufacturers down to the smallest craft enterprises. And, like Scheherazade telling stories to save her life, it’s a magical source of Folio’s storytelling.

‘A few days ago, the editor of a major six-volume project and I were in there after hours, trying to choose endpapers and ribbons to harmonise with six different colourways,’ says Kate Grimwade, Folio’s Production Director. ‘It was extremely complicated! But the editor turned to me and just said: “This is so much fun, isn’t it?” And he was so right.’

The limited print from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Limited Edition

After all, when your aim is to make the ultimate edition of a beloved book, no effort is too big – and no material is off limits. ‘I think every Folio book is a thing of beauty,’ says Kate. ‘There’s often a chance to do something special, to ask ‘What if we did this? What if we did that?’ A prime example of this is Folio’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a galactic piece of design that includes high-tech features including digital holographic foil printing, and even an accompanying towel printed with a design by the artist. ‘It’s that “wow factor” that is a feature of each Folio book.’

Of course, hundreds of smaller decisions need to be made before Kate and her team go wild at the Sample Chest. Folio editions are driven by the art – so the look and feel of a new book is born when the artist sends in their drafts. Those drafts might be rough and unformed, but they still provide the first sense of what the book will eventually look like, says Kate. ‘Once we have those, we can start discussing if it will be bound in cloth or paper, what the slipcase will look like, what the edges will look like, if it should be blocked or printed, and so on.’

The gilded edges and leather spine of Mythago Wood

And then it’s time for the material choices – all driven by the artist’s vision and Folio’s commitment to achieving it. ‘For example, we might want to incorporate leather, buckram or a particular cloth,’ says Kate; ‘or a specific technique which we think could somehow elevate the book.’

From there, the team create a ‘dummy’ sample: a version of the book with everything in place apart from the words. And that is when the fun starts. First, those little extra details which make the edition sing are added – or removed. ‘This is the point at which I look at it and think: ‘Is this as good as it could possibly be?’’ says Kate. ‘One recent edition just demanded gilded tops, for example. But then, the binding design was very detailed so the endpapers felt a little too fussy. We had to pare that back.’

Photograph © Dunja Opalko

She chooses materials to best realise the book’s art, but also to reflect the experience of reading it. ‘Very delicate artwork will block better on a very smooth surface in order for the details to show. Cloth can be thirsty and dull down the colour, so we screen-print when the image is solid or perhaps use a specialist printable cloth to ensure that colours are rich and intense. Sometimes you want a different feel: perhaps silky for a luxury feel, or a buckram for a book that’s more serious. Some books just cry out for a textured cloth.’

Practicality is also vital. A Folio book, after all, is designed to be treasured and lusted after, but above all to be read: to be taken out of its slipcase and marvelled at, to be handled and cherished, and ultimately to create the very best reading experience. That beautiful cloth must also be hardwearing: that perfect paper must hold the ink of an intricate design so that it doesn’t smudge the inside of the slipcase. ‘Our books are for reading,’ says Kate. ‘We don’t just make them to sit there and look pretty.’

Hand-binding carried out by UK based Smith Settle

Every Folio book is a team effort, she emphasises. And creating something truly special couldn’t happen without the support and incredible skills of craftspeople: bookbinders, leatherworkers, hand-marblers, cutting-edge digital printers and traditional hot-metal letterpress printers.

Kate is passionate about keeping these skills alive and ensures that Folio produces at least one entirely hand-bound book every year. But the company also has the influence to encourage more commercial printers to adopt what she calls a ‘craft attitude’. ‘Whenever we start working with someone new, I always tell them that we’re difficult! We’re exacting. We will push back if something isn’t right. But I feel that we push them to finesse our books as a craftsperson would.’

A letterpress machine prepping for print

As the book progresses, all the elements of the book will be checked individually before they come together in a hand-bound copy. This is then checked yet again – sometimes on the spot at the printer or bindery – before the go-ahead is given. Folio books are complicated things and there is a lot that could go wrong. ‘Do I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night thinking: “Did that ribbon match that head and tail band?” Absolutely.’

But there is nothing like the feeling of finally holding the book in your hand, she says – while knowing that tomorrow, another ultimate edition will be born. ‘We’ve got to be brave and keep trying new things. We’ve got to experiment and break boundaries in bookmaking. That’s what we’re about.’

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The Craft of Folio