A studio service
Personalized books for adults.
An illustrated hardcover about one real person. A mother's seventy years for her birthday. A grandfather's allotment through the seasons. A couple's story for their anniversary. A colleague's thirty years for the leaving do. Written from what their people tell us, painted from their photographs, and bound to be kept.
Their life, painted and bound.
N° 01Not a picture book
Drawn with dignity, written for a grown-up.
A personalized book for an adult is not a children's book with an older hero. The illustration is painterly and restrained. Faces are drawn with accuracy and warmth, the way a good portrait is, not as cartoons. The writing is for an adult reader: specific, unsentimental, and true to the person.
The material comes from the people who know them. A brief or a short call gives us the places, the habits, the sayings, the small facts that make the book unmistakably about this one person and no one else.
N° 02Occasions
Milestone birthdays, anniversaries, retirements.
01
A life story
Twenty-four pages from childhood to now, for a sixtieth, seventieth or eightieth birthday. Childhood home, first job, the wedding, the children, the garden.
02
A year in a place
A grandmother's garden through four seasons. A father's workshop. A family's summer house. One place, one person, painted through the year.
03
A couple's story
How they met, the early years, the homes, the children and grandchildren, for a silver or golden anniversary.
04
A retirement
Decades at a firm told with affection, contributed by colleagues. The office, the projects, the running jokes.
05
A group book
Each child or grandchild sends a memory and a photo; the book collects them into one story with a shared dedication.
06
For Muslim families
A life told with the values that shaped it, imagery the family is comfortable with, and a dedication in the words of the family.
N° 03How it runs
Brief, plan, paint, bind.
You brief us in writing or on a short call. We send a page plan for you to correct. Then the text is written, the people are drawn from photographs and you approve every likeness, then the spreads are painted in order and you see a full digital proof before the book is printed and bound. Four to six weeks.
N° 04Investment
Two ways to work together.
Life story
From $890
24-page illustrated hardcover about one person.
- Text written from your brief
- Person and up to 4 family members drawn from photos
- 24 pages of painterly illustration
- Likenesses approved by you first
- Cloth-bound hardcover, 8×8
- Two printed copies
- Full digital files
- 2 rounds of revisions
Group book
From $1,400
Contributions from many people gathered into one book.
- Up to 12 contributors
- Each memory illustrated
- Up to 32 pages
- Shared dedication page
- Cloth-bound hardcover
- Five printed copies
- Full digital files
- 2 rounds of revisions
N° 05Questions
The answers we give most often.
- What is a personalized book for an adult?
- An illustrated hardcover about one real person, written from what their family tells us and painted from photographs.
- Is it in a children's book style?
- No. Painterly and dignified, closer to a gift book. Adults are drawn with accuracy, not as cartoons.
- How do you gather the story?
- A written brief or a thirty-minute call, then a page plan you correct before writing begins.
- Can several people contribute?
- Yes. Group books collect a memory and a photo from each contributor.
- How long does it take?
- Four to six weeks from brief to bound copy.
Start your book
Tell us about the person.
Who the book is for, the occasion, and when you need it. We reply within two working days with a brief to fill in or a time to talk.