Waveland studio is in the Waveland Park neighborhood of Des Moines, Iowa. The name not only refers to the neighborhood, but also to the midwest prairie with its waving grains and rolling hills. Waveland studio produces one-of-a-kind books and small editioned artists books.

Occasionally, a series of related one-of-a-kind books will emerge from a single idea. The studio also welcomes commissions to create books for special events such as weddings, receptions, travel, guest books, baby books and so forth. Feel free to contact us with your ideas and desires--we'll be happy to help.

We also carry a special line of equipment and supplies. Check out our collapsable wooden sewing cradle, Japanese screw punch accessories, needle books and original paste paper designs.

Peggy Johnston is the proprietor of Waveland Studio. Paper has been the common denominator in an art career spanning 30 plus years. She has printed, pulped, poured, painted, pasted, sculpted, woven, cast, and sewn paper. Peggy's love of paper and fascination with containers came together when she started making books. Although mostly functional in the sense of being containers for thought, her books are art objects. She enjoys seeking out unusual materials and devising non-traditional structures to create artist's books with sculptural forms. Peggy numbers each book inside the back cover near her logo mark. Without the numbers, it would be difficult to keep track of all her creations--she's up to book number 1250 and hasn't run out of ideas yet!

Peggy is active in the book arts community. She exhibits her books in local and national shows. She attends seminars and workshops whenever possible, continuing to hone her binding expertise. Peggy regularly teaches classes at the Des Moines Art Center and as a visiting artist in the schools. She also conducts seminars and workshops. (click here for classes) Her 15 Books in a Box and Fantastic Folds are very popular with graphic designers. With her degree in Art Education, she is comfortable working with adults, gifted and talented students, at-risk students in high school, and young students as well. She enjoys working with the teachers to design special interdisciplinary projects.

Recently, Peggy was instrumental in founding The Prairie Book Collaborative, a group dedicated to the book in all its forms. The group is working on their first project, a collaboration of work by the founding members of the group.