Free delivery over £100 · All US tariffs paid · laser-engraved in Somerset · 5.0 from 843 reviews

A Throne of Glass sign hanging on a Sarah J. Maas shelf

◆ Behind the Workshop ◆

Made one at a time
in Somerset.

The signs you see on shelves like this one are cut, sanded, stained, and engraved by laser — the same way every order has been since 2023.

Charlotte at her desk in her candlelit Somerset home library

Charlotte · Somerset

◆ The maker ◆

Hi! I'm Charlotte — and Quill & Tavern is my workshop.

I started cutting wooden book-dividers in 2023 because my own bookshelf was a mess and I couldn't find a single sign on Etsy that didn't look like it was made for a kitchen counter rather than a bookshelf. I made one for myself. Then one for my best friend. By the eighth, I'd ordered a fresh sheet of wood and started taking proper orders.

Two-and-a-half years later, the workshop is a converted outbuilding behind a stone cottage in Somerset — which is to say: it's small, it smells like cedar, and there's almost always a kettle on. Every single sign that ships still passes through my hands at least four times.

If you've read the book a sign's about, I've probably read it too. Message me. I'll over-reply.

Charlotte x

Founder & maker · reachable at [email protected]

◆ How a sign happens ◆

Four steps, by hand.

Every sign goes through the same four stages, in the same order, in the same workshop. No two are exactly identical — the wood grain decides that for us.

Source the wood

Good honest wood, sourced from a single mill in the West Country. We buy 12mm-planed sheets in 1.2m runs — enough for ~80 signs each — and cull anything with knots that'd weaken the engraving.

Cut the cartouche

Each sign starts as a CNC-cut cartouche — same shape across the brand, only the design varies. Edges are then hand-sanded with three grades of paper until they feel right under your thumb.

Burn the design

Laser-engraved to ~0.6mm depth — deep enough to read in shadow, shallow enough that the wood grain still shows through. Custom orders get a final pass by hand to ink the script in food-safe walnut stain.

Seal & pack

Beeswax and food-safe oil — no synthetic varnish. Wrapped in unbleached kraft paper, wax-sealed with a Q&T monogram, posted from the Somerset post office (which is a 12-minute walk from the workshop).

Every sign that leaves the workshop is one I'd be happy to put on my own shelf. If it isn't — it doesn't ship, and it goes back on the bench until it is.

— Charlotte

◆ Why we do it this way ◆

Three rules we don't break.

Always real wood

No MDF, no acrylic, no resin pours. The grain on the back of every sign tells you what tree it came from.

Always made here

Nothing is outsourced, drop-shipped, or print-on-demand. The Somerset workshop is a real place — you can post a letter to it.

Always reachable

Charlotte personally answers every customer message — usually within the hour, never longer than a day.

12,400Signs shippedsince 2023

5.0Average rating843 reviews

38Countriesall DDP

0Mass-produced signsever

◆ Find your shelf ◆

Now — which sign is yours?

160 designs across every shelf in the library. Bundles of three save 10% worldwide.

Browse all 160 designs Or start with your fandom

5.0 average rating

843 five-star reviews on Etsy

All US tariffs paid

DDP shipping, no surprise fees

UK-made in Somerset

Hand-finished, one at a time

We answer within a day

Usually within the hour

Made one at a timein Somerset.