Founder Samsiah Jendol said she was studying computer graphic design in New Zealand when she picked bookbinding as an elective subject.
It wasn’t long before she fell in love with the process of fastening loose sheets of paper inside a cover to form a book. “I’ve enjoyed art since I was young,” the 51-year-old told FMT Lifestyle.
However, working as a graphic artist in an advertising agency left her with little time to indulge in bookbinding. Still, she harboured the dream of starting her own business someday.
“I told myself that before I reach 40, I want to work on my own and build something using my skills,” she shared.
In 2008, that’s exactly what she did.
She quit her job in advertising and started Little Syam that same year, working out of her house. The word “little,” she added, represented her humble set-up then.
Today, she has a studio in Kuala Lumpur where she handcrafts books, mainly journals. As she works, she is accompanied by her adorable cat, Kitty.
Taking the FMT Lifestyle team through the process of crafting a journal, Samsiah shared that she first folds sheets of paper into separate batches, called “signatures.”
After determining the type of stitching and the colour of the threads she’ll use, she punches holes into each signature as well as the covers, before stitching everything together.
She uses various stitches – chain, kettle, buttonhole – and sometimes combines different types of stitches. Additionally, she likes using more than one colour of thread to make the end result more aesthetically-pleasing.
Finally, she puts the finishing touches to the book. This includes adding an elastic band, a bookmark, and metal corners before embossing her brand name on it.
Samsiah uses either leather or fabric covers for her journals. She even makes some of these fabrics herself, using different methods such as batik canting and silk screen printing, among others.
Apart from the class she took in New Zealand, Samsiah shared that she is mostly self-taught, learning from YouTube videos and from other bookbinders.
Besides journals, she also makes photo albums and offers book restoration services. Requests to restore damaged books, she added, started coming in several years after she started her business.
“People want to restore a book because it holds sentimental value for them. Their mother’s cooking book, for instance. That’s something that touches my heart and that’s why I feel I should help,” she said.
Book restoration, she added, involves renewing the covers of books and even mending damaged pages. She has even restored books that date back to the 19th century! Giving a new lease on life to these books, she shared, is something that excites her.
Apart from running Little Syam, Samsiah also conducts bookbinding workshops, and estimates that she has taught over 2,000 people over the years.
Some of her students, she added, come from as far away as New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei.
“There are also parents who encourage their children to join my workshop as they do not want their kids to use gadgets all the time,” she said.
Whether it’s creating or restoring books, this bookbinder is certainly writing a beautiful chapter in her life story.
“I still feel like I wake up every day with purpose. People may say, ‘A book is just a book’. No, for me, I felt like I found my purpose by making books,” she concluded.
Learn more about Little Syam on Instagram.