A Rescue Mission

Every once in a while I am questioned about why I take apart and "ruin perfectly good books" for my business.  Well, they are not perfectly good books when I find them.  The books I like to use are the ones that are in need of rescue:  the covers need cleaning, the inside pages have been loved to the point that they are brittle (or written in by small children), and loved beyond their original use.  I do find other books, however, that have pages that I use in many different ways...and I keep them all.  I use them in other projects, I use them to "mend" the inside covers of other books when needed and I incorporate them into my classroom (Kindergarten) whenever I can.  Those pages are generally laminated and stored in this great old sheet music cabinet that I have in my house.  My books can be reloaded with paper, at customer request.  I have even created custom journals with books from the collections of customers...their names written in the covers, notes scribbled in the back.  They have been some of the best personalized gifts some people have given.  So, yes, I do disassemble reading material, but at the same time give new life and new purpose to something that was on its last breath.