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When we first published The Keeper of Lost Things in 2017, we created what would become an iconic jacket design. One million copies later, and with Ruth on her fourth book, we thought it was a good opportunity to look at relaunching with a brand new cover approach. It was very important to us that this new vision reflected the marvellously rich world of Ruth Hogan’s stories and her larger-than-life characters. Acting on a recommendation from fellow designer Sara Marafini, our Design Manager for all Ruth’s books, Sarah Christie, approached designer Jordan Bolton whose work in miniature seemed to be the perfect marriage of concept and content. We hope you agree that we have produced beautiful jewel like covers which really complement Ruth’s writing.

– Lisa Highton, Publisher, Two Roads

‘Charming’, ‘uplifting’ and ‘joyful’ was the brief I was given, and Jordan excelled. With painstaking care, he made these book jackets come to life, successfully creating the wonderfully unique experience of starting an adventure with Ruth . . .

– Sarah Christie

I started by making a miniature shop window from foamboard and finding the most evocative objects mentioned in each book. Ruth’s world has a particular vintage aesthetic, which meant recreating many of the items from scratch with moulding clay, which I then painted, or by finding pieces and adapting them to fit our vision. To add a personal touch, some of the items actually belonged to Ruth, such as her pink Doc Martens on Madame Burova. All objects were life-sized and photographed individually. I then printed them off as miniature cardboard versions, placed them in the shop window, and photographed them. Once I uploaded these photographs to my computer, I overlaid the original photo of the objects on top so they would have the detail of the life-size objects and give the final cover the impression of being the size of an actual shop window.

Reading fiction is such a unique experience. More so than any other art form, it asks readers to bring your lives and memories to fill in the blanks, to create that little movie playing in your head as you read. It asks you not only to read but to create. The book you are holding was created by the author, by the publishing company, by the cover designer, and by the manufacturer, but it is not finished until it has been read by you, and the story you read will not be the same as any other.

– Jordan Bolton

Follow Jordan Bolton @jordanboltondesign

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