A book made personal

This customized copy of Catholic Poems: Virtues for Every Young Soul shows added personalized pages and a redesigned back. The standard 79-page edition does not include these changes. Final options and specifications are confirmed for each bespoke order.

What we have made

That copy was commissioned for a child's First Holy Communion. It has a premium designed note, a ribbon marker, a new design set into the back of the book, and a message printed inside. No foiling. The restraint was the point, because the book was for a child and it needed to look like something she would still want at thirty.

We have also made a single collector's copy of The Last Don's Mistress, a historical memoir, with gold foiling on the title, a red vegan leather interior, a red ribbon, and a bespoke design set inside the dust jacket. One copy, made for one reader.

Two commissions, at opposite ends of what a book can be for. One a sacrament, quiet and restrained. One a collector's piece of a mafia memoir. Each was judged on its own terms, which is the only way this work can be done.

What the clients said

“World class.”

“Beyond our expectations.”

Both books were made and shipped from the United Kingdom, and both clients waited for them. Neither regretted the wait.

Why commission a book

A gift chosen from a shelf was made for everybody. A commissioned book was made for one person, once, and it carries that on every page they open for the rest of their life.

There is also the plain fact of permanence. Flowers die, vouchers expire, and most gifts are gone within a year. A book with someone's name printed inside it gets shelved, kept, and handed on. Books are forever.

And it can be got right. Most personalization services offer a name on a cover in a font you did not choose. A commission means the materials, the design, the message and the shape of the object are all decided for this book and this person.

Who makes it

Trumpet is a private publisher. Not a printer taking an order, and not a gift service adding a name to a cover.

Susan Pavan, M.A.Journ., spent thirty years in media as a journalist and a stylist. That is an unusual pairing to bring to a single commissioned book. The journalist decides what a book is for and what belongs in it. The stylist decides how it should look and feel in the hand, which materials suit the occasion, and when a thing is finished.

She is creative director on every commission, working with the house art team, and signs off the final design before it is printed. You will be dealing with her throughout.

It is why a Trumpet bespoke copy is considered rather than decorated, and why we will sometimes tell you to leave the foiling off. A book is not a gift item. It shapes the character of the person who reads it, and a book made for one person is an experience before it is an object.

You are commissioning a publisher, which is a thing most people never get to do.

How it works

Bespoke editions begin with a conversation. Tell us the title, the occasion, the details you want to make your own, and where the finished book needs to go. We will discuss materials, personalization, production, and delivery before you commit.

Every copy is made to order. Design approval, production timing, and delivery depend on the edition and destination, so we confirm the details for your request rather than promise one timeline for every book.

For....

A legacy, a birthday, a christening, a First Communion, a graduation, a retirement, an engagement, a wedding, an anniversary, or a shelf somebody will inherit. We also offer Corporate, B2B & Legacy Branding bespoke editions.

Start your inquiry

Bespoke commissions are quoted individually, once we know the title, the occasion, and what you want the book to be. Share the details below and we will reply with the next steps.