The Project

The inspiration for hobo arona came when spent a frozen February inside the now defunct Hibberds Books. The idea of hobo arona was born upon 1. finding a book titled The Happy Hypocrite and wishing it were her journal and 2. lamenting that her favorite bookshop was closing because no one valued these little treasures, except as sold-by-the-foot decoration.

Creating these one-of-a-kind journals became a way to make this forgotten about pieces of art a functional part of daily life.

Using the finest materials, recycled, acid-free papers, hand-mixed neural pH glues and more, hobo arona rescues the neatest and cheekiest books from collections around the globe (Argentina, New Orleans, Philadelphia and New York), supporting neighborhood used books stores and recycling once-loved treasures into cathartic art for everyday.

Our Philosphy
Beyond repurposing forgotten treasures into functional art for daily life hobo arona is committed to staying green and to giving back.
We use partially recycled papers where possible and try to squeeze every once out of our materials, using the outsides of books, using our extra papers for "scrap" -books and making art and stationery with the book insides. You'll even notice our commitment when it comes time to tear open your packages!

And Importanty:

For every New Orleans book you purchase, that is a book hobo arona bought in the Crescent City, we donate a ortion of the profits to : Sweet Home New Orleans : and we are working towards partnering with a writing program to provide paper supplies to needy schools.

The Hobo
Thats not her real name. She grew up in the Philadelphia area, being Quakerly and driving too fast. After graduating college with a major in archaelogy and four assorted also semi useless minors and moving into a cute little brownstone in the Rittenhouse area, she booked some major music venues in the city did grad work in entirely differnt stuff (evolutionary psychology and social neuroscience) and learned bookbinding and other paper arts to start hobo arona.

So what do i get witn an order?
You will get a one of a kind, hand made creation! Your piece will look and feel and smell just like an old book...after all, it is an old book! but the insides will be blank.

Every piece comes with a small, well researched history of the book or author with tantalizing tidbits for your information and cocktail party prowess. Included in this information will be the publication date if available (and it nearly always is).

Photo albums come with photo corners to transform the pieces into lovely and unique memory vaults for your lovely and unique memories.

What does Hob Arona make, Exactly?
Hobo Arona makes hand made one of a kind journals, albums, sketchbooks and more. Each piece is unique thanks to its rescue, that is, we find the most beautiful books and carefully remove their insides, replacing the original story with your blank pages.
Your journal, album, sketchbook will look like the book it was; only you will know what's really inside! And as a present to you, not only do we keep it in the neatest orginal book pages as your new front and end pages, but we also add a note from Hobo Arona herself!

How many pages do they have in them?
Each piece is unique and so is the number of pages. We use SMALL to refer to books with about 10 to 30 pages (most small books have about 25 pages), MEDIUM to refer to books with 30-50 pages, LARGE to refer to books with 50 to 70 pages and EXTRA LARGE to refer to books with over 70 pages. These are all approximations. If you would like more information about any particular book, just email us and ask!

How do you decide the prices?
Prices are decided and based on 1) how old and rare the book itself is and 2) how much time and materials it took to make it.

What is the difference between journals, photo albums and sketchbooks?
ook itself is and 2) how much time and materials it took to make We know you are creative enough to appropriate our pieces for whatever uses you might have, so we will let you decide what you want. If you do want to transform your Hobo Arona piece into an album, simply choose "Photo Album Extras" option, and we will send your photo corners with your order.

What materials does Hobo Arona use? What about the paper on the inside?
We sew and bind the folia by hand, and only use the finest threads, linens and glue. Our papers are partially recycled and acid free. They will stand up to the rigorous Sharpie use, too.
Our pieces typically come with bright or antique blank pages. Hand lined paper and papers nearly any color can also be requested via email with your order for a small free or with any custom order.

What you get!

Where can I find these journals?
Right now, we are just online, at fairs and in the verly lovely Mew Gallery at the intersection of 9th and Christian Streets in Philadelphia's Italian Market Area.

What is the return policy?
If for any reason you do not like your creation, we will refund your money minus shipping cost. Costume orders, however, are not returnable.

Lets talk about shipping...
Every book is wrapped in tissue and sent to you via priority media mail, typically arriving at your doorstep in one or two weeks from the time of your order. If you would like international or expedited shipping, please contact us, and we will get your package where it needs to go! we are also able to gift wrap packages in tissue at no extra fee. Please feel free to contact us if your purchase is a gift and you would like it wrapped.

any more questons? feel free to contact us!
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