High Class Booker is the alter-ego of Rai Peterson, retired English professor and founder at Book Arts Collaborative.
Using centuries-old methods, Rai makes books from sheets of paper, thread, book board, and glue. While she loves the 21st Century (and dreamed since childhood of participating in it), she generally eschews modern machinery in favor of hand tools: knives, brushes, scalpels, rulers, pencils, needles, sewing frames, bone folders, presses, and patience.
With a fondness for vintage ... view more »
Artist Style: Visual: Functional
Artist Medium: Visual Arts: Collage, Mixed Media; PAPER
My work is for sale at Indiana Artisan Gift Shops and Galleries in Carmel and French Lick, Indiana; Artifacts Gallery in Broad Ripple (Indianapolis); MacArthur Books in Carmel, and Gordy Fine Art and Framing in Muncie, Indiana. It is also available online through my website.
I do commissioned work, building the journal or sketchbook of your dreams.
The right journal/sketchbook is an exquisite personal effect.
Take it on a trip or take it to work. It’s a comfort, a pleasure, a statement.
As stationery binders, we build blank books, canvases for your secrets or stories.
Our books feature treasure-bindings; talismans and good luck charms.
A good journal and a good sketchbook share many of the same qualities:
beauty, fine papers, ease of opening, a protective cover.
Whether you are composing or sketching, any of our books support your endeavors.
Designing a book for yourself or as a gift is exciting and rewarding.
There is no extra charge for designing your own book, and they start at $75 plus shipping for an archival book.
The process may take up to two weeks, so if you’re in a hurry, please check our online inventory,
but if you want to make something that is unique to yourself and have time, we can do that together.
We love to meet potential customers via email. Drop us a line to get started.
Learn to sew and build a casebook in two (really pretty easy) lessons! Rai Peterson will be teaching casebook binding at Indiana Artisan Gift Shop and Gallery at 22 N. Rangeline Road, Carmel on two consecutive evenings: October 23 and 24 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. each day.
No experience is necessary! Come learn to make a journal for yourself or learn a skill that will have you building gifts for the holiday season.
I have a Ph.D. in world literature, and those problem-solving skills (and cursing repertoire) last a lifetime. I bring much of what I know about literature and writing to the design and building of each book I make.
Juried into Indiana Artisan in 2022