About Us LeatherBound started as an idea when I was teaching literature and philosophy at the Casablanca American School. I periodically took the train north to Rabat to have my books bound at a bookbinder famous for the quality of his binding. I loved the feel of the books and wondered what it would be like to have my own writing wrapped in such a luxurious covering. Gathering together a variety of essays and travel pieces I’d written over the years, I reformatted them and printed them out in signatures. Then I brought them to Nour-Eddine Doghmi's Atelier de la Reliure where they were hand sewn and bound in leather with marbled endpapers. The finished product drew looks of amazement not just from me, but the friends and family I gave them to.
During this time, my wife Fouzia and I spent a day at the workshop to watch the binders at work. With Fouzia translating, we learned that the bookbinders had lost their main client when the Kingdom of Morocco decided to modernize and phased out much of the binding of its ministerial reports. Though workshop owner Nour-Eddine Doghmi still binds the oversized Royal Budget, he said work has dropped off in the last four years. Of the five binders that worked at his once overflowing shop, only one binder remained. When this binder, Abdelfetah, retired that would be the end of an 82-year old business and Morocco’s best bindery.
Fouzia and I decided that we couldn’t let this knowledge pass away, so we created LeatherBound. We hope that by providing access to new markets, Nour-Eddine's Bindery will have a reason to bring on and train new apprentices and thereby help preserve the tradition of hand bookbinding in Morocco. Meanwhile, I've begun my apprenticeship in the trade. | Master book binder Abdelfetah Rahali. (Photo by Ingrid Pullar.) Nour-Eddine Doghmi stamps a gold leaf title. 
LeatherBound owner Michael Greer learning how to sew a signature. (Photo by Ingrid Pullar)
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