Inspired by a trip to Florence's famed leather markets in Italy, Emily Renee began making journals by hand about five years ago. She hand-tears the paper and stitches the leathers - cow, deer, beaver, otter, bobcat, stingray, and even alligator - chosen based on their natural and unnatural characteristics.

Cattle brands, for example, get worked into the design. Other accents come from found objects. "I use a lot of recycled bits and scraps of slate. I have a bunch of costume jewelry from my great aunt, and I've dug in my grandmother's button box," she said.

"Paper is my real passion," she says, gesturing across papers crafted specifically for books in every shade from bright white to peachy cream, vibrant handmade Lotka papers from Nepal, and muted earthtone colors of the famed Roma handmade paper by Fabriano. Color is not the only aspect of variety! Thin but unusually strong Lokta contrasts with heavier papers like Revere Book. Textures range from silky smooth to rough, even woody. "Besides the rare Roma papers, I can't choose a favorite," she laughs. "Each paper is suited to a niche!"

Her pieces often are described as "relics" or "legacy books," but Emily Renee calls them Nuance Journals.