The Repurposed Library: 33 Craft Projects That Give Old Books New Life [Hardcover]

Lisa Occhipinti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2011

We all love to read and learn from books, but The Repurposed Library takes our passion even further, presenting us with 33 projects to make--quite literally--out of books. For these projects, Lisa Occhipinti rescues and repurposes orphaned and outdated books from flea markets and library sales and turns them into new art objects and practical items for the home. Her creations range from artfully constructed mobiles, wreaths, and vases, to functional items like shelves, storage boxes, and even a Kindle "keeper" for those who want to replicate the sensation of holding a "real" book while reading from an e-reader. Projects utilize every imaginable part of a book--from hardback cover to individual pages--and are a DIY celebration of a new way to view a book's potential.

Praise for The Repurposed Library:

"In an age when the bound book is an endangered species, [Occhipinti's] artwork is nicely topical. She now has a book of her own, The Repurposed Library, out this week from Stewart, Tabori & Chang. In it, she offers readers a how-to guide to making household objects from, well, books, like a mirror, a lamp and a fire screen, as well as the winsome mobile shown on the cover."
- The New York Times

"Book hoarders rejoice: all those random children's books, encyclopedias, and unread paperbacks are about to find their purpose . . . Furnished with cheery photographs and numerous hand-drawn diagrams, this endearing book will appeal to veteran crafters and literati alike." 
-BUST magazine 

“The book is really well-made, fittingly. The photography by Thayer Allyson Gowdy is wonderful and really shows off the projects—and everything in the background is as tastefully arranged as a Crate & Barrel catalog. . . . if you love books as objects, The Repurposed Library is a fun collection of project ideas.”

—Wired.com

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lisa Occhipinti is a former faculty member at the New Hampshire Institute of Art and Currier Museum of Art Center. Her work has been featured in the Boston Globe and on multiple websites and blogs, including Apartment Therapy, Publishers Weekly, and the New Yorker. She lives in Venice Beach, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: STC Craft/A Melanie Falick Book (May 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584799099
• ISBN-13: 978-1584799092
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.8 x 9.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Papercrafts, Stamping & Stenciling > Book Making & Binding

More About the Author

Lisa Occhipinti is a painter, book artist, photographer and author. She wrote and illustrated "The Repurposed Library", a book of 33 book art projects published by STC/Abrams. Her work has also been included in "Papercraft" (Gestalten).

Her work is in private and corporate collections worldwide, from the US to South Africa, China to Australia. Words, text, image and the notion of endless possibilities fuel all her works. Fascinated by the idea of how books connect people, places and time, not just the author-reader relationship, but the history of the book itself: who has owned it, who borrowed it, where has it traveled to, etc. inspires her work.

She lives in Venice, CA.

You can find her and her work at www.locchipinti.com and www.theshophouse.etsy.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book! May 17, 2011

By Jennifer Piper

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a wonderful, well thought out book with lots of great projects! I've been a fan of Lisa's creations since discovering her on Etsy. I was thrilled when I learned she was coming out with a book!
I think I may have been first in line with my nose pressed against the door....
The projects are creatively stepped out, and range from simple enough, to more challenging things. I simply adore this book. It is worth every single cent!

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars What the font? June 22, 2011

By J. E. Kenney

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I entirely agree with e Jo's review. I just received my copy of The Repurposed Library, and was looking forward to reading it and doing the projects. Though I will still be doing projects, I am disappointed in the designer's choice of font and ink color. It takes extra work to focus on what I'm reading, and I have to use brighter-than-usual light to do so. Nothing wrong with my eyes; it's a grey, thin font printed on creamy-colored paper. If you want something to be camouflaged, these are good colors. Not so good for type.

I should be breezing through instructions, paying no attention whatsoever to the print--good book design makes that happen. Even some of the illustrations could stand to be beefed up a little, with heavier lines and more contrast.

I may end up scanning pages of projects I'll be working on, and adjusting the size, color, and weight of the type. Haven't ever adapted text with Optical Character Recognition, but this seems like a good time to experiment.

The photography is beautiful, and the projects are great. I hope the author had a small run done this first time around, so she can have a new edition printed that is fun to read and use.

If, like me, you are so pleased with Lisa Occhipinti's designs that you HAVE to learn how to make them, just be forewarned and have a plan for dealing with the fine print, so to speak. Great recycled art is worth some extra work - but this is more of a challenge than I bargained for.

46 of 55 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Good Book......Bad Font Choice!! April 25, 2011

By e Jo

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Great information, however very hard to read! The book uses a thin font that appears to be grey. In addition, the background page color appears to be an off-white. This thin, light-colored font against this off-white page gives the illusion of faded pages and (for me) creates a horrible strain on the eyes when attempting to read this book. The introduction is in a black font and is much easier to read. I just cannot understand why black was not used in the body of the book....especially considering this font choice! I was very much looking forward to receiving this book but was very disappointed when I opened it and saw the faded looking pages. The information appears to be well written and the instructions fairly easy to follow but the book is just not reader-friendly. I equate it to trying to read a page from your personal printer when the ink cartridge needs to be replaced. This is entirely "MY personal" observation.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Better type in the next edition, please January 26, 2012

By zoomcity

Format:Hardcover

I like the projects in this book. I want it in my craft library. I can't justify the addition. The instructions are too difficult to follow. I don't mean they aren't clearly described. I mean I can't *see* them at a glance. I didn't understand why reviewers were complaining about the print in the book. I had no trouble reading it with the "Look Inside" feature. I heeded the other warnings, though, and previewed the book by borrowing it from my library. Here's the thing (and it's a really big thing): When you're following instructions to make something, you need to concentrate on *following* the directions, not *reading* them. The print is impossibly light. To follow the directions, you have to divert your attention from what you're doing just to focus on reading the next step. It requires a terrible ping-pong of focus and concentration. I was browsing the book while watching TV. When I looked down at the book, the photos would catch my eye, but not a single word of the text. It's a shame. Lisa Occhipinti is talented and inspiring.

I hope they improve the type in the next edition. I'd love to buy it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars You have to be able to get over the font... November 15, 2011

By Treebeard

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book for the bookshelf made out of books. I read the review about how hard it was to read because of the gray-ish color and font, but decided to chance it anyway. It does have good craft ideas in it, and I will probably do the bookshelf one. But it was, as others have said, extremely hard to read because of the font/colors. I don't know what the publisher was thinking-but obviously not of actually reading this without a headache!
I would buy from this author again, but not if she uses the same publisher!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous! May 6, 2011

By J. Peterson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is beautiful!! With both written and visual instructions, the projects are easy to follow. There are so many unique ideas I would have never ever thought of! The Repurposed Library inspires me to finally do something with all the books in my home. LOVE IT! Well done!!~

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Playful, practical inspiration January 5, 2012

By Bridget Navoda

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Received and poured over this book (!) today. Will not deconstruct it for one of the nifty projects...instead keep it close at hand whilst repurposing fun, vintage children's books. Bravo to Lisa who recognizes the beauty of books and provides a way for us to use the medium for art and craft. As Marshall McLuhan so brilliantly predicted -- " the medium is the message.".