Ilse Meulendijks

Department: Man and Leisure
Website: www.ilsemeulendijks.com

Book for Sale

Ilse Meulendijks has a fascination for carefully designed books... and for Greece. Seeing both struggle for economic survival, she worked out a win-win solution. “I consider printed books as beautiful objects, almost pieces of art,” she says. “But Dutch printers are moving towards mass production: it’s hard to find small-scale print shops who are into special editions.” During an internship in Athens, she found that there are plenty of Greek craftsmen who are. On her ‘Book for Sale’ platform European designers can discover the artisans of Athens to co-create and realise exclusive designs. Her handcrafted hardcover about the project is the first product of this creative network that crosses borders to save books and businesses.