*This article first appeared in a 2018 issue of (585).
Sometimes a $50 savings bond can turn into so much more. It fact, it can lead to something just terrific. That’s exactly what it did for Fairport native Rachael Gootnick, owner of the book restoration, book construction, and book jewelry company Just Terrific Handcrafted Goods.
A graduate of RIT in graphic media publishing, Gootnick took the savings bond she had been given at birth—as well as a few extra dollars for supplies— and began her business in 2012, after the fine art printer/book bindery company she worked for as a book designer began to show signs of struggling.
“I saw an opportunity and took it,” says the twenty-nine-year-old, who prefers the tangible form of books. “I have wonderful memories of looking through family photo albums and reading journals. Most people my age are into all that is digital, but I see so much more value in holding a book in your hands and preserving your story in the physical sense.”
While Gootnick says she learned a lot about iPad development, ebooks, and various aspects of physical printing in college, her interest revolves around constructing, repurposing, and restoring books and credits most of her bookbinding craft training from an older gentleman who worked in proximity to her old job.
“He saw that I was looking for more to do, and that I was young and eager and interested in learning more about this craft,” says Gootnick. She began to help with his business overflow, soon learning the intricacies of book restoration and construction, an art that has become a highly automated industry with fewer and fewer individual craftsmen—especially in this digital age, and especially at Gootnick’s age. But while she probably is one of the few younger hand-bindery craftsmen in the business, her love of working with her hands and of books led her to quit her job and become her own boss.
Never being in debt and not wanting to grow too big too fast were focal points of her endeavor. However, she admits it wasn’t easy at first. “I had to learn to say ‘no’ at times in order to devote the time I needed to complete each job timely and successfully.”
To help jumpstart her business, Gootnick reached out to area bookstores and book dealers. “They really can’t afford to have a bookbinder on staff, so most of the time they were very receptive, and it ended up being a win-win situation. Most bookstores and dealers often have huge stocks of books on hand, and they know that they can bring in a higher price tag if books are intact.”
Gootnick also lent her services to the Monroe County library system, assisting them with books that were in need of restoration and reinforcement. “I felt it was applicable to what I wanted to further myself along.” And further her it did.
She now spends her days restoring and constructing various types of books through her own company. Family heirlooms, favorite children’s books, photo albums, and family bibles are just some of the types of books Gootnick restores. She enjoys giving books new life by repairing their structure and legacy. “It gives me such pleasure to work on a book that is a family favorite, or has been around for a hundred years, and helping it to last for maybe a hundred more.”
Such was the case when Gootnick received the opportunity to repair a first edition Mark Twain, reportedly worth a few thousand dollars. It took twenty hours of her expertise to resew, resequence, and reinforce the multiple stitch holes of the classic book by hand while trying to keep as many original parts of the book as possible. Staying true to the originality of each book is paramount to Gootnick’s restoration process.
She is also a big believer in not wasting materials and tries to repurpose as many of them as she can, recycling them in the design and construction of her book jewelry as an additional part of her business. From scratch, Gootnick creates earrings, necklaces, and pins in the form of books, all sewn in a traditional manner, all miniaturized. Within the tiny pages, she encourages people to write a word, an affirmation, or a thought. She is often commissioned to make them as gifts.
“They are a challenge, for sure,” admits Gootnick. Every hole, every stitch, every cover, and every page inside is tediously constructed by hand. Because they are so small, there is not a lot of room for error.
Still, Gootnick says she receives immense satisfaction in what she does, from restoring antique books, to creating new journals or sketchbooks, to crafting a book necklace. She confesses that her favorite part of her job is that she is forced to take things slowly and take her time. It is a change from the fast-paced world.
“I feel people are just moving so fast these days. They are so quick to archive their lives digitally in text and photos so they can have it at their fingertips. But having something tangible, something that does not have to rely on technology to access, means so much more to me. I guess I’m just an old soul.”
Kathi Gunio is a Rochester native who has been freelancing for local and regional publications for more than fifteen years.
This article originally appeared in a 2018 issue of (585).
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