Bookbinding: back to the roots with Leim & Falz
Stationery, planners, notebooks and storage boxes: Leim & Falz offer minimalistic, quality pieces that are meticulously crafted by hand and inspired by Skandinavia’s cool design aesthetic. Leim & Falz founder Florian Weigel agreed to chat to me and tell me more about his timeless and thus, enduring concept.
Please introduce yourself. What made you start Leim & Falz?
My name is Florian Weigel. I am from Berlin but live in Hamburg, where I feel very much at home. Walking around Hamburg and exploring its little side roads has made me fall in love with the city over the years. I fell for Vienna in just the same way a while ago.
On my walks I enjoy spotting small artisan businesses. Unfortunately, they are becoming a rare sight these days. That is why I wanted to start something that keeps artisan traditions alive, in my case it was bookbinding. By running Leim & Falz, I’d hope to get a younger audience interested and pass on my own passion for tradition & attention to detail to them.
Why is Leim & Falz different?
All Leim & Falz products are handmade by myself. I choose the fabrics, paper types and colours. I don’t just want to please the eye. It is important to me that my creations also feel interesting. I adore the combination of clean lines, minimalism and warmth.
I am aware that my products may not affordable for everyone. That is why it’s even more important to me that I don’t just create a beautiful object. I create items that at no point during their production or life-cycle, harm human-kind, animals or nature. To give you one example, I consciously avoid the use of leather.
Where are your items made? What production processes/techniques do you use?
Every single step of production is carried out by me in my small studio in Hamburg. I use bookbinding techniques that have been around for centuries in a way that enables me to make my products light and contemporary.
To make a notebook, I print, fold, bind and cut paper. The card for the binding is covered in book linen that I then emboss. Once I’ve added the headband and ribbon to the book, I combine it with the binding (cover). Afterwards, the complete book needs to be pressed for at least 12 hours so that it’s even when dry. The whole process requires attention to detail, great care and patience. The moment one attempts to work too fast, mistakes happen, and those cannot be corrected further down the line.
I often have to remind myself that there is no way of speeding up that manual process. Instead, I need to accept it and see creating my products as a form of meditation.
On request, Florian personalises all Leim & Falz pieces.
What is your favourite Leim & Falz product and why?
I really love the storage box. It’s a perfect hiding spot to stow away all the small bits that usually lie around the house, it’s like they just magically disappear.
Where can people find you and Leim & Falz? Where can they get your creations?
Currently, our products are exclusively sold via our own web shop. You can find out more about us on our website, we also have an Instagram account.
What are three things that make you feel heiter?
Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata, listening to the seagulls at the port of Hamburg and the colourful chard in my raised-bed garden.
Read the German version here.
Interview & images: Katharina Geissler-Evans, heiter magazine
