A gift for book-lovers: Kevin Barry and Olivia Smith have created a beautiful arts anthology, Winter Pages
WHILE we now do much of our reading on digital devices, for many, there is still nothing to beat the sheer sensory pleasure of a new book. Bibliophiles’ hearts will leap with joy at Winter Pages, a beautifully produced arts anthology edited by author Kevin Barry and his wife, law academic Olivia Smith. The pale blue cloth-covered, thread-sewn hardback is designed for aesthetic as much as literary appreciation and its production was something the couple, who live in Sligo, had long considered.
“We were talking about it in a very vague way for a long time. The spur was that we’re not very good at shopping and buying Christmas presents. Sometimes you end up buying something that you secretly want yourself. We both love books, not just in terms of content but as beautiful objects. So we decided to see if we could make a beautiful object that we would want for ourselves,” says Smith.
