Our Story

The Watermark Bindery was founded in 1973 by John Hansen, a Seattle aspiring writer who found himself unable to buy a notebook he enjoyed writing in. He took the steps to learn how to hand-bind and hand-craft his own, and the Watermark Bindery was born.
John created his books with the finest papers, and hand-bound the books so they were as sturdy as they were beautiful. The hand sewn pages allowed the book to lay open flat without damaging the binding or losing pages.

Our history is interwoven with one of Seattle’s independent bookstores, Elliott Bay Book Company which was founded in the same year. With people interested in buying his books, Elliott Bay became the largest seller of Watermark Bindery books, a relationship that lasts to today.

John continued to run the Watermark Bindery until 2003, when he sold it to Virginia Marston and Ned Herbert, a couple with a passion for the books and the craft. Before buying the company, Virginia studied book making at the Watermark, and was John’s book case maker for a number of years.

In 2011, Diane Thierry and Viktor Grabner purchased the Watermark Bindery from Virginia and Ned and are continuing its nearly forty year tradition of making fine Journals and Notebooks. Their past careers in Seattle’s high tech industry only heightened their passion for the traditional art and craft of bookmaking. Diane has decades long experience in the paper and printing industry and is an accomplished craftsperson in her own right.

We hope you enjoy our books.