our story
A bindery that started on Instagram and learned to stitch.
Spread & Spine began in 2022 when our founder, tired of notebooks that fell apart, taught herself to stitch a Coptic binding from a YouTube tutorial and a spool of waxed linen. The first ten books were posted to @spreadandspine. They sold out in a weekend. The eleventh book was the first one someone paid for, and from that day we never bought virgin paper again.
What began on a kitchen table is now a small studio in Bengaluru where we cut, fold, sew, and glue every book by hand. We run workshops for people who want to learn, sell kits for the ones who want to make at home, and take custom orders for weddings and studios who care about the object as much as the content.
What we hold to
Recycled first
Our text blocks start life as office offcuts, post-consumer waste, and khadi trimmings sourced from mills within 200 km of the studio. Nothing on the shelf is virgin pulp.
Slow by choice
A single Coptic journal takes roughly three hours across cutting, folding, stitching, and gluing. We ship only what two pairs of hands can finish each week.
Repairable, not disposable
Every spine we stitch can be re-stitched. We include a thread card with each book so when the signature loosens ten years in, you can mend it yourself.