DAVENPORT — For those who aspire to turn a craft creation into an industry, Judith Bond is an inspiration.
Over 20 years ago, she decided to imitate an object she saw at a craft show and turn surplus books into inspirational handmade gifts. Since then, she has turned her craft business from her kitchen into an industry and has sold over 10 million craft books.
“I feel very lucky,” Bond said. “We were more than once in the right place at the right time with the right product. Books like these have been around for hundreds of years. I guess what we did was find a way to mass produce while keeping them unique. They are always handcrafted and no two are ever the same.”
The books, originally Reader’s Digest condensed books, are made rigid and the pages glued together. The corners of the pages are curled and the books are painted and treated to appear like antiques. Inspirational poems and illustrations are applied to the open pages.
Bond began making romance books in his Davenport home with the help of his mother, Bernyce. Unable to find suitable text for her books, she began writing her own poems about her family members and creating illustrations to accompany the verses.
Bond’s mother became his partner in the business, helping him with everything from watching Bond’s children to helping with writing the books to financially helping the fledgling business. Eventually, Bond was able to move into a small store in Davenport.
Bond’s luck came when two buyers from American Greetings Corp. saw her working at a craft show outside Orlando in 1982. To test the market, they put Books of Love in local company stores, later expanding to its Florida stores and ultimately all of its 460 stores.
As the business grew, Bond’s brother Peter became involved in the business side of the operation, leaving Judith time to pursue artistic endeavors. In 1986, the company moved from the small building in Davenport to a leased space on US Highway 17-92.
Peter Bond said that in 1990 Books of Love purchased the entire 4 Page Road complex for its operations. The business has grown to approximately 40,000 square feet and serves approximately 9,000 customers, 3,000 of which are Hallmark stores.
Books of Love has undergone several metamorphoses since its humble beginnings. While early books were black with gold antiques, today’s books are Victorian white. Music boxes were added to a line of books and Judith Bond’s verses were translated into many languages.
“We’ve been very fortunate in consumer giveaways with the longevity of the product,” said Peter Bond. “We stayed in the mainstream for 20 years.”
At the request of sellers, the company offers parchtones at about half the price of the book at $29.95. Parchtones are scrolls, poems and antique works of art by Judith Bond.
In 1986, she created the company Frames of Mind to make decorative frames for her verses.
Peter Bond said the company is looking to the future and offering a seasonal range of gifts.
For those who don’t have a store nearby offering love books, a website, booksoflove.com, takes orders.
Judith Bond said there were many projects on the back burner, including a verse for the Guardians and a bound volume of poems and artwork.
“It was just a matter of having the right product for the times,” Bond said. “The poems express the love of home and family. Often people can’t get it across. They buy them for what they really feel and can’t bring themselves to say.”