Take a note of these hand-sewn books

Stocking up on hand-sewn, leather-bound notebooks no longer requires a trip to Venice as the ancient skills are still being practised at Barbara Hubert’s alluringly Dickensian bookbindery on Tobin Street, Cork.

While gluing and wire-binding theses is her bread and butter, the real gems are her notebooks with calf and goat spines, hand-printed paper and marbled front panels created with inks floating on a size made from Carrageen moss. She'll make up any notebook you desire and even personalise it with gold or leather embossing. hubertbookbinding.com