• About
    • The Binder
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  • Bookbinding Courses – Σεμινάρια βιβλιοδεσίας
  • My Bindings – Οι Βιβλιοδεσίες μου
    • Cloth Bindings – Υφασματόδετες βιβλιοδεσίες
    • Design bindings – Καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία
    • Fine and Classic style Bindings – Βιβλιοδεσία Παραδοσιακού τύπου
    • Why should I bind a book? Γιατί να δέσω ένα βιβλίο;
  • Techniton Politeia – interviews with artisans
  • Tools for bookbinding- Εργαλεία βιβλιοδεσίας

Dimitri's Bookbinding corner

~ BookBinding and Brass handtools – Βιβλιοδεσίες και εργαλεία για τη βιβλιοδεσία

Dimitri's Bookbinding corner

Category Archives: -Articles about bookbinding-‘Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

Articles and thoughts on the craft- ‘Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

Brunelleschi’s Cupola & The Role of Mathematics (in the rise of Science)

12 Saturday Dec 2020

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

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bookbinding, Brunelleschi, buchbinden, encuadernacion, fine binding, Handmade binding, χειροποίητη βιβλιοδεσία, leather binding, leatherbound, reliure, rilegatura

Some years ago I watched a documentary on the construction of the Florence Cathedral, highlighting of course its magnificent dome and the life of its maker, Fillipo Brunelleshi. I encourage anyone with an interest in history, architecture and engineering, or good documentaries in general, to watch it!

The story behind the massive dome and its brilliant maker were most interesting and stayed with me for years so it was not without some excitement when V.G. tasked me to make a binding for a book on the architecture and physics of the dome.

One of the notable features of the dome is its octagonal shape, upon which I based the decoration.

I wanted the design to hint at red chalk, which was often used historically to draw/plan all sorts of things. In order to achieve that I used ink tooling, a technique I came up with inspired by Hannah Brown’s carbon tooling. The resulting effect is quite interesting: a dual-color impression, randomly shifting from one color to another.

Last but not least I tried to match the leather with the color of the roof tiles.

The second binding is more straightforward with a mix of blind and foil tooling on a lovely teal leather.

Both bindings feature hand-sewn silk endbands.

I used my Brass Stylus set, Dot set, Versatile typeholder and tools from Bookbindesigns (Kevin Noakes) for the decoration of these bindings.

This is my last post for 2020, which has been a very strange and difficult year. May 2021 be kinder to us all!
Best wishes for the holiday season and see you folks next year!

Animalcula – a collaboration with George Balojohn for the benefit of Humanity

16 Sunday Aug 2020

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

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bookbinding, bookbinding tool, brass finishing tool, Design binding, χειροποίητη βιβλιοδεσία, Βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετο, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, μαρμαρόκολλα, leather binding, marbled paper

Have you ever heard of Animalcula? I would wager probably not, though many of you owe your existence to them!
The obscure Animalcula and the knowledge surrounding them have remained elusive for more than 250 years, until George Balojohn and yours truly were tasked by Mister C. to prove their existence once and for all by capturing them; Let it never be said that bookbinders don’t contribute to the advancement of science and progress of humanity!

In 1750 a letter was humbly addressed to the Royal Society by Abraham Johnson, in which he claimed:
“It is proved by most incontestable evidence, drawn from Reason and Practice, that a Woman may conceive and be brought to Bed (i.e. become pregnant) without any commerce with Man.”

The reason behind this are Animalcula:
“Small, original, unexpanded minims of existence […] Little Men and Women, exact in all their limbs and linaments, ready to offer themselves little candidates for life whenever they should happen to be imbibed with air or nutriment […]”

According to the scientist these are carried by the West Wind and can impregnate women if they are standing at the right place at the right time. Such a discovery sounded of course preposterous to the decorated scientists at the time, but Dr A. Johnson’s believed so firmly in it that he even suggests of a way to prove the legitimacy of his findings: if the King would prohibit any kind of sexual intimacy between people, if only for a year, people would still  be born. And since no one would dare to disobey the King in such a matter it would be obvious Animalcula exist.

To validate his theory though Dr A. Johnson had to capture some Animalula first. He contrived an invention suitable for the task: a “wonderful cylindrical, catoptrical, rotundo-concavo-convex machine” that functioned by the “nicest Laws of Electricity”, the design of which he intended to publish. Alas, it was not to happen… The prints were never published, the prototype was lost and the knowledge surrounding Animalcula faded into obscurity. Until now that is…

Mister C., an avid book collector and most kind patron of the book arts, managed to locate a copy of that letter. Moved by the unfair treatment of history towards the great scientist and intrigued by curiosity he called two bookbinders and laid upon them an almost impossible task: re-create the contraption and capture enough Animalcula, contributing thusly to the progress of humanity and also clearing Abraham Johnson’s name once and for all.
The bookbinders were George Balojohn and yours truly. I was to make the device and George had the most difficult task, to capture and preserve the Animalcula.

How was I to succeed though without any knowledge of the original design, besides its description and its intended purpose? George was able, after considerable study and research, to provide me with an accurate depiction of the Animalcula. With this as an aid and after months of trial and error, and experiments quite dangerous to my well being – thought knowledge has never been gained without considerable risk, I finally managed to create the necessary device, a fine instrument which, through delicate use and the wonders of electricity, could capture this elusive quantum of life.

The most difficult part was still ahead of us though. George had to capture enough Animalcula and then find a way to preserve them indefinitely for study, so as to prove their existence. To do so he needed a vessel suitable for such a purpose: robust yet functional and ever lasting. Determined he toiled and using the finest materials brought from the other side of the world he created such a vessel out of Dr A. Johnson’s letter – a most fitting tribute to the brilliant forgotten scientist.

A great many months followed as he prepared for the day when the device would be lit up and, guided by his hand, extract Animalcula from the west wind. And that day surely came and one by one the tiny seeds of life were collected. The more he captured the more daunting became each following attempt, since a small mistake could lay waste upon all of his progress. Yet he persevered and through steady and skillful hand the Animalcula where captured and laid upon the binding, forever visible to anyone who would dare raise an eyebrow at the groundbreaking discovery.

And so, through a patron of the arts and the collaboration of two artisans, knowledge previously thought as lost has been reclaimed, brought to light and its validity proven. The only thing remaining is for the Royal Academy to take notice, of which I have absolutely no doubt.

5 sources of book arts content to read during the quarantine

14 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

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book arts, bookarts, bookbinding, bookbinding content, bookbinding how to, bookbinding sources, bookbinding tutorial, Design binding, χειροποίητη βιβλιοδεσία, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, leather binding, restoration

The outbreak of Covid-19 has by now forced most of us to stay home. I won’t really try to comment on the situation as it’s a rather complicated, strange and sad topic. I understand one might feel confused and uninspired amidst all this – I certainly do!

That said this forced and unexpected time-off can be for us bookbinders an opportunity to rest and explore new things and that’s why I’m sharing with you this list of online sources I’ve found useful and interesting over the years. The list is short but with a huge amount of content, to keep you creative and entertained during these times of self-isolation!

Hope you’re all well. Stay safe and wish you a good reading!

The Bonefolder
https://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder/

The bonefolder was a free online book arts journal that run from 2004 to 2012 spanning 14 issues (excluding extras) in total. Each has 50 or so pages on average (last one is 118!) and is filled to the brim with interesting articles, interviews, reviews and tutorials.

Reading Bonefolder has helped me learn a lot, from bookbinders and bookartists, the work of whom has expanded my view on our craft, to experimenting and trying new techniques guided by detailed articles and tutorials.
A good example are my Cicero bindings, the surface gilding on which was achieved by reading James Reid Cunningham’s how-to in Vol 6 No 1.

Although I focused on Bonefolder in particular do take some time to explore Book Arts Web (curated by Peter D. Verheyen) in general, as there is a wealth of bookbinding content to be found there. To quote from the site:
“…the Book Arts Web which features links to a large selection of book arts related sites on the web, including educational opportunities, professional organizations, tutorials, reference materials, and galleries withimages.“

Skin Deep
https://www.hewit.com/skin_deep/

Skin Deep is a binannual newsletter by J. Hewit & Sons with some 48 issues available online. Apart from product and company news they include study oppotunities, recent work from various binders, interesting articles on the treatment of books, history and research, and tutorials.

Here’s a good example: the medieval girdle book by Renate Mesmer.

The Pressbengel Project
https://pressbengel.blogspot.com/

The Pressbengel Project is a blog exploring German bookbinding traditions curated by Peter D. Verheyen.
Among other things you can find tutorials, bookbinding stories and a fish skin challenge!

Guild of Book Workers Journal
https://guildofbookworkers.org/journal

I’ve only recently managed to start reading these and after a couple I’m definitely eager for more!

To quote:
“The Guild of Book Workers Journal is published annually by the Guild of Book Workers and contains articles that address our members’ interests in the arts and crafts of the book, including traditional bookbinding, paper making and decorating, conservation and restoration, calligraphy, the making of artists’ books, and printing. Published continuously since 1962, the GBWJ welcomes submissions from members and nonmembers. All articles are reviewed and meet either peer review or editorial review standards.“

ibookbinding
https://www.ibookbinding.com/

Curated by Stepan Chizov ibookbinding offers a varied bookarts content: news, interviews, study and job opportunities, links and literature on books and bookbinding. It also includes personal bookbinding projects and a shop for the tools Stepan makes.

I would like to focus on the large collection of (digitized) books (almost all of them on bookbinding) they’ve made available for free since 2017. With 105 books to choose from I bet you’ll find a few to keep you some digital company!

ARA event – Educational Screening

16 Monday Dec 2019

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

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ARA Greece, bookbinding, brass finishing tool, Design binding, χειροποίητη βιβλιοδεσία, Βιβλιοδεσία, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, leather binding, Michael Wilcox

I had the pleasure of hosting an ARA event at my bindery!

We had a great time: we got together, ate unhealthy snacks, talked bookbinding stuff and -thanks to master Wilcox- we realized we’ll never be able to do a proper gold tooling!
Are you into bookbinding and live in Greece? Consider becoming a member of our ARA: then you won’t be missing out on awesome events like this and will be able to share your passion about bookbinding with likeminded people!

Michael Wilcox screening 1
Michael Wilcox screening 4
Michael Wilcox screening 6 insta
Michael Wilcox screening 6

To err is human; To fix, divine!

29 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

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Oh, no…!

Though we bookbinders do our best to deliver sound and beautiful bindings there’s always the possibility of things going wrong: a new material might behave in an unexpected way, an accident might occur or -most likely- we’ll make mistakes…

In this case a few months ago, I miscalculated a couple of things and as a result the cover wouldn’t open properly. I had to remove the endpapers, sand very carefully and paste new ones. I went in expecting I’d probably have to rebind the whole thing. Turned out fine in the end.

One of the things I’ve learned through the years is that knowing how to correct your mistakes has great value. Being able to do so without compromising the structure and function of a binding means you don’t have to start over everytime something goes wrong. It’s as much of a skill as learning to do it right in the first place.

Τα χρονικά μιας Συντήρησης – Από την Ελένη Τσετσέκου

30 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

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conservation, Eleni Tsetsekou, συντήρηση, συντήρηση χαρτιού, συντήρηση βιβλίου, Βιβλιοδεσία, Ελένη Τσετσέκου, restoration

Το ακόλουθο άρθρο υπογράφει η Ελένη Τσετσέκου, συντηρήτρια και βιβλιοδέτις.

Όταν μου ζήτησε ο Δημήτρης να του πω την γνώμη μου για κάποια βιβλία που χρειάζονταν συντήρηση ενθουσιάστηκα.  Είναι αυτό το συναίσθημα όταν πιάνεις ένα παλιό βιβλίο, είμαι σίγουρη πως για να παρακολουθείτε αυτό το blog ξέρετε τι εννοώ. Επρόκειτο για τρία βιβλία…
Το πρώτο και παλαιότερο, ήταν σε πολύ καλή κατάσταση. Ντυμένο με περγαμηνή η οποία είχε σκιστεί σε κάποια σημεία, θύμιζε τα βιβλία που βλέπουμε  στις ταινίες. Τα κεφαλάρια του είχαν “λυθεί” από τα τεύχη και δεν ακολουθούσαν το άνοιγμα του βιβλίου. Το υπόλοιπο σώμα του ήταν καλυμμένο με σκόνη και επικαθήσεις αλλά κατά τα άλλα ήταν σε άψογη κατάσταση.  
Παρόλαυτα χρειαζόταν ένα καθαρισμό, στερέωση των ευαίσθητων σημείων της περγαμηνής πάνω στο εξώφυλλο και στήριξη των κεφαλαριών πάνω στα τεύχη. Απλά πράγματα!

Τα άλλα δύο βιβλία δεν ήταν το ίδιο τυχερά: τα καλύμματά τους ήταν σκισμένα – σχεδόν διαλυμένα. Το χαρτί τους, λεπτό και κιτρινισμένο, φαινόταν αρκετά ευαίσθητο στα χέρια μου και κάμποσες σελίδες ήταν σκισμένες. Με μία πρώτη ματιά υποθέσαμε πως και τα δύο αυτά βιβλία είναι πιθανό να μην φέρουν το αρχικό τους δέσιμο.

Στις διπλωμένες σελίδες που περιείχαν σχέδια και πίνακες είχαν γίνει πρόχειρα στερεώσεις με χοντρό χαρτί και μία μάλιστα ήταν κολλημένη με το αγαπημένο υλικό των συντηρητών… το σελοτέιπ. Τα βιβλία αυτά λοιπόν έπρεπε να λυθούν, να καθαριστούν, να πλυθούν (αν τα μελάνια τους το επέτρεπαν), να γίνουν στερεώσεις όπου υπήρχαν σκισίματα και να ραφτούν ξανά.

Σκέφτηκα να ξεκινήσω με τα δύο βιβλία που βρίσκονταν σε παρόμοια κατάσταση και χρειάζονταν την περισσότερη δουλειά. Το πρώτο βήμα ήταν να τα λύσω. Ακούγεται εύκολο, σωστά; Συνήθως είναι… Τα βιβλία αυτά όμως, όπως έχω ήδη αναφέρει, είχαν ξαναραφτεί και η δουλεία που είχε γίνει σε αυτά ήταν αρκετά πρόχειρη ως και κακή θα μπορούσα να πω. Δυσκολευόμουν ιδιαίτερα να βρω την μέση των τευχών προκειμένου να κόψω τις κλωστές ραφής.
Επιπλέον δεν άνοιγαν σωστά καθώς είχαν περαστεί με υπερβολική κόλλα στην ράχη, η οποία είχε εισχωρήσει μέσα στα φύλλα και τα είχε κολλήσει μεταξύ τους. Σε πολλά σημεία αναγκάστηκα να σκίσω το χαρτί (πόνος για έναν συντηρητή) για να μπορέσω να αφαιρέσω την κλωστή καθώς αυτή ήταν κολλημένη πάνω στα φύλλα.
Μία άλλη δυσκολία ήταν πως υπήρχαν αρκετά μονόφυλλα μεταξύ των τευχών οπότε έπρεπε να διπλοτσεκάρω τα φύλλα που θεωρούσα ως τεύχος και να μην αρκούμαι στο απλό μέτρημα των 16 σελίδων που συνήθως αποτελούν τα τεύχη.

Όπως πάλευα λοιπόν να λύσω τα βιβλία -στα όρια της απελπισίας-βλέπω τον Δημήτρη να μπαίνει στο εργαστήριο και να βγαίνει ξανά φορτσάτος με μια σκούπα. Στην αρχή δεν έδωσα σημασία αργότερα όμως κατάλαβα πως μίλαγε με κάποιον οπότε βγήκα και εγώ έξω για να δω αν μπορούσα να βοηθήσω -όχι για κουτσομπολιό, προς θεού!
Ένα μικρό μικρό γατάκι είχε τρυπώσει σε μία μηχανή αυτοκινήτου για να ζεσταθεί και δεν έβγαινε από εκεί με τίποτα. Μετά από αρκετή ώρα καταφέραμε να το πιάσουμε και το βάλαμε σε ένα κουτί με τροφή και νερό ελπίζοντας να μπορέσουμε να εντοπίσουμε την μητέρα του. Δεν τα καταφέραμε. Παίρνοντας αρκετά τηλέφωνα βρήκαμε μία κοπέλα που μπορούσε να το φιλοξενήσει για λίγες μέρες.

Προσπάθησα να συνεχίσω να δουλεύω αλλά ήταν αρκετά δύσκολο καθώς το γατάκι προσπαθούσε συνέχεια να έχει την προσοχή μου με νιαουρίσματα και περίεργους θορύβους μέσα από το κουτί του!
Αφού κατάφερα να λύσω τα βιβλία, προχώρησα στον “στεγνό καθαρισμό του χαρτιού” όπως λέμε στην συντήρηση. Καθαρισμό δηλαδή που γίνεται χωρίς νερό ή κάποιον άλλο διαλύτη, συνήθως με πινέλο, γόμα και νυστέρι αν χρειαστεί. Οι σελίδες είχαν αρκετή σκόνη την οποία αφαίρεσα με ένα μαλακό πινέλο.
 Και εδώ είχαμε απρόσκλητους επισκέπτες, λιγότερο χαριτωμένους και ευτυχώς όχι ζωντανούς… Κάναμε μια μικρή φωτογράφιση και σε αυτούς!

Αποφάσισα να μην αφαιρέσω τις στερεώσεις που είχαν γίνει με χοντρό χαρτί στις διπλωμένες σελίδες αλλά το σελοτέιπ έπρεπε να φύγει!

Για καλή μου τύχη είχε μειωθεί αρκετά η συγκολλητική του ιδιότητα και με αργές κινήσεις με μια λεπτή σπάτουλα κατάφερα να το αφαιρέσω χωρίς απώλειες.

Για την αφαίρεση κάποιων  λεκέδων στις πρώτες και τελευταίες σελίδες χρησιμοποίησα γόμα, σε κάποιους με επιτυχία σε άλλους όχι. Σε αυτό το σημείο ήθελα να προχωρήσω στον υγρό καθαρισμό ορισμένων σελίδων οι οποίες ήταν ιδιαίτερα κιτρινισμένες και λεκιασμένες (λόγω περιορισμένου χρόνου δεν μπορούσα να το κάνω σε όλες τις σελίδες και των δύο βιβλίων και εκ των πραγμάτων δεν χρειαζόταν).
 Προτού όμως βρέξω αυτές τις σελίδες έπρεπε να είμαι σίγουρη πως τα μελάνια τους δεν διαλύονταν στο νερό και πως το χαρτί θα άντεχε να βραχεί. Αυτό το είδα βάζοντας μια σταγόνα νερό πάνω σε δυο τρία γράμματα από διαφορετικές σελίδες. Στο ένα βιβλίο το μελάνι έβγαινε λίγο όπως σκούπιζα τις σταγόνες οπότε σίγουρα δεν μπορούσα να το βρέξω. Στο άλλο δεν παρατήρησα να επηρεάζεται το μελάνι οπότε αποφάσισα να προχωρήσω με τον καθαρισμό.

Οι σελίδες ήταν αρκετά ευαίσθητες για να τις βυθίσω στο νερό οπότε αποφάσισα να τις ψεκάσω. Χρησιμοποίησα αερογράφο. Το νερό που στράγγιζα από τις σελίδες έβγαινε αρκετά κίτρινο.

Στην συνέχεια τις ψέκαζα με πολύ αραιωμένη μεθυλοκυτταρίνη, μία αρχειακή κόλλα η οποία χρησιμοποιείται κατά κόρων στην συντήρηση χαρτιού και δυναμώνει κατά κάποιο τρόπο το χαρτί.

Άφησα τις σελίδες να στεγνώσουν υπό πίεση ενώ παράλληλα προχώρησα σε στερεώσεις σκισιμάτων με ιαπωνικό χαρτί.

Το αποτέλεσμα μετά τον υγρό καθαρισμό.

Το ιαπωνικό χαρτί κόβεται – ή μάλλον σκίζεται- με ένα βρεγμένο πινέλο στις διαστάσεις που χρειαζόμαστε. Με αυτό τον τρόπο το κομμάτι που κόβουμε έχει ίνες στις άκρες του και κολλάει χωρίς να δημιουργεί “σκαλοπάτι” στο χαρτί που στερεώνουμε.

Στερέωση στην σελίδα απ’ όπου  αφαίρεσα το σελοτέιπ. Το ιαπωνικό χαρτί εδώ είναι ιδιαίτερα λεπτό προκειμένου να μην κρύβει το κείμενο και έχει μπει και από τις δύο όψεις της σελίδας και μεγαλύτερη αντοχή. Τα φύλλα έμειναν υπό πίεση μετά τις στερεώσεις.
Αφού σιγουρευτήκαμε πως τα φύλλα και τα τεύχη ήταν στην σωστή σειρά, έπρεπε να ανοιχτούν οπές στις οποίες θα γινόταν η καινούρια πια ραφή. Από εδώ και πέρα ανέλαβε ο Δημήτρης ενώ εγώ συνέχισα με το πρώτο βιβλίο που σας ανέφερα, που ήταν καλυμμένο με περγαμηνή.
Ξεκίνησα τον καθαρισμό με πινέλο, βγήκε αρκετή σκόνη και συνέχισα με γόμα σε κάποιους λεκέδες.

Ορισμένες σελίδες είχαν μουτζούρες από κάποιο παιδάκι το οποίο δεν είχε βρει μάλλον άλλο χαρτί για να ζωγραφίσει. Σε κάποιους λιπαρούς λεκέδες επέμεινα με νυστέρι με αρκετή επιτυχία.

Η στερέωση της περγαμηνής στα ευαίσθητα σημεία έγινε με Klucel G. Είναι σημαντικό η περγαμηνή να μην βραχεί με νερό διότι δημιουργεί κυματισμούς και αλλάζει διαστάσεις.

Σημείωση: Στη φωτό δεξιά η πάνω λωρίδα αφορά ένα από τα 2 πρώτα βιβλία. Η μεσαία και κάτω λωρίδα ανήκουν στο βιβλίο δεμένο με περγαμηνή.
Το τελευταίο βήμα ήταν ραφή των κεφαλαριών πάνω στα τεύχη. Χρησιμοποίησα λεπτή βαμβακερή κλωστή και πέρασα γύρω από τον πυρήνα του κεφαλαριού και μέσα από τα τεύχη. Προσπάθησα η κλωστή μου να έρχεται πάνω από την ανοιχτόχρωμη κλωστή του κεφαλαριού με σταθερές αποστάσεις για να μην ενοχλεί στο μάτι.

Ελπίζω να κατάφερα να σας μεταφέρω τα βήματα συντήρησης που ακολουθήσαμε!

ΥΓ – Για όσους αναρωτιέστε για το γατάκι βρήκε οικογένεια και μεγαλώνει ευτυχισμένο!

Ημέρες Βιβλιοδετείων – Πρόσκληση σε ένα χειροτεχνικό περίπατο!

01 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

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Το εργαστήριο μου συμμετέχει στην δράση με τίτλο “Ημέρες βιβλιοδετείων” που διοργανώνει η ARA Ελλάδος και η οποία θα πραγματοποιηθεί στις 10 & 11 Νοεμβρίου 2018 στις 11.00 – 18.00. Κύριος στόχος της δράσης είναι τα Εργαστήρια Βιβλιοδεσίας να ανοίξουν τις πόρτες τους στο κοινό και να μοιραστούν μαζί του τα μυστικά της Τέχνης της Βιβλιοδεσίας.

Εγώ και οι συνάδελφοι βιβλιοδέτες σας προσκαλούμε να επισκεφτείτε τα εργαστήρια μας ώστε να γνωριστούμε και να μιλήσουμε για τα βιβλία και την τέχνη που τα προστατεύει και τα ομορφαίνει.

Eleni Tsetsekou

Στα πλαίσια της δράσης θα φιλοξενείται στο εργαστήριο η συντηρήτρια και βιβλιοδέτρια Ελένη Τσετσέκου.

Θα παρουσιαστούν τα εξής στάδια:
– Πριόνισμα του βιβλίου
– Ράψιμο σε τεζάκι
– Ράψιμο κεφαλαριών
– Ρεφελάρισμα
– Χρύσωμα

Η επίδειξη των σταδίων αυτών θα γίνει/επαναληφθεί τις ακόλουθες ώρες:
11:00 – 12:00 – 13:00 – 14:00 – 15:00 – 16:00 – 17:00
(Το εργαστήριο θα παραμείνει ανοικτό έως τις 18:00, ωστόσο η τελευταία επανάληψη θα πραγματοποιηθεί στις 17:00).

Για να μπορέσετε να παρακολουθήσετε όλα τα στάδια και για λόγους διευκόλυνσης δικής μας θα σας παρακαλούσαμε να ρυθμίσετε την επίσκεψη σας ώστε να είστε στο εργαστήριο λίγο πριν από τις ώρες που αναφέρθηκαν παραπάνω.

Θα χαρούμε να σας υποδεχτούμε!

ΥΓ – Σας προτείνουμε να επισκεφτείτε/εγγραφείτε την σελίδα της ARA Greece στο facebook η οποία αναρτά συχνά υλικό βιβλιοδετικού -και όχι μόνο!- ενδιαφέροντος.

Inspiring Bindings II

17 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

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artist book, book arts, bookbinding, Design binding, Inspiring Bindings, Βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετο, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, leather binding

Welcome to another post about Inspiring Bindings, a series devoted to bindings I consider unique examples of our our craft, on the basis of technical excellence, originality of design and overall creative approach.

If you are new to this series I recommend visiting the initial post as well, which features even more wonderful bindings.

Please keep in mind that the selection of binders represents only personal taste, it is in no way a criticism or exclusive towards other bookbinders. On the same note, the order by which they are presented is random. Last but not least, the bindings included in the post aren’t necessarily my personal favorites from those binders but simply works I consider representative of their creators.

Hope that you’ll enjoy these wonderful bindings as much as I do and feel encouraged to learn more about the selected artisans.
Feel free to share your thoughts and favorites as well!

Rene Leys, bound by Louise Bescond
http://www.louisebescond.eu/

Bescond’s bindings are a sensational combination of creative surface gilding, bold exploration of the color spectrum and intense textures that one can almost feel through the pictures.

The Indomitable Servant – bound by Mel Jefferson
http://www.meljefferson.com/TheIndomitableServant/index.html

The visual simplicity of this binding is just brilliant. For what is more its clamshell box is one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen.

Whistler, bound by Haein Song
http://haeinsong.com/

Haein’s work has a strong focus on minimal and elegant designs. Another interesting aspect is her creativeness with endleaves, which play an integral role in the visual character of her bindings.

Water – bound by George Kirkpatrick
http://georgekirkpatrick.co.uk/

One of the most ingenious bindings I’ve ever seen.

The Monkey King – bound by Huhu Hu

Jin Hu or, as most people have come to know her, Huhu Hu, is a fellow binder located in the far east. She is self-taught to a great extent and her work has been continuously evolving over the years, presenting us with wonderful creations along the way.
Visit her interview at the blog’s Techniton Politeia section for a more comprehensive look at her work.

Kelmscott Chaucer – bound by Hannah brown
http://han-made-bookbinding.tumblr.com/

Binding a copy of the Chaucer, considered by some the most beautiful book ever printed, is a privilege only a precious few binders will experience. Hannah is now amongst them.
Visit the link to see the steps involved in the creation of her marvelous copy, layed out in 8 image-rich posts.The Wasteland – bound by Philip Smith
http://www.philipsmithbookart.com/

Philip Smith is the Hieronymus Bosch of bookbinders!
His bindings often feature spectacular sculpted/3D covers, extensive and intricate onlay compositions and haunting imagery.
Amongst his work are impressive sets of bindings designed to function as one continuous piece of art. He has also cotributed to the craft through various innovations.La Fontaine – Bound by Juan A. Fernandez Argenta.
http://juanfdezargenta.blogspot.com/

One of my favorite bookbinders!
Structurally inventive and endlessly creative, Juan seems to me like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, only instead of children he lures letters: they dance playfully on his covers or arrange themselves in robust lines and structures, adopting colors and shapes in a way that looks effortless and natural – as if they were always so.

Voyage towards the North Pole – Bound by Robert Wu
https://www.studiorobertwu.com/

Apart from impressive reliure d’art, Wu also specialises in marbling and adorable miniature bindings.
“I am a hopeless romantic. To me, LESS IS LESS and it’s BORING!“
In the recent interview Wu shares his thoughts on the many facets of Reliure d’Art, and more, in a bold and charming fashion!

Revelation by Thomas Parker Williams
https://www.thomasparkerwilliams.com/artist_books.htm

Not usually into artist books but Parker’s Rotary Structure is quite the treat; smart, elegant and beautiful! Have a look at the rest of his work, lots of interesting ideas wonderfully executed.

Till next time!

Techniton Politeia – Interview with Samuel Feinstein Part 2

25 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία, -Uncategorized

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bookbinding, Design binding, Βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετο, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, leather binding, Samuel Feinstein

Welcome to Part 2 of our interview with Samuel Feinstein.
You can read Part 1 here.

Which would you say are the projects/bindings that have intrigued you the most and why? This applies to commissions you’ve received but can also be extended to the work of other fellow binders that caught your interest.

  I’ll share two of my favorite commissioned pieces and a quick binding that I did on the side:
  Into This World, a poem by Natalie Goldberg, illustrated by Clare Dunne and printed by Sialia Rieke, is a binding that was able to be somewhat emotional. I wanted to capture the femininity of the poem & illustrations in the design, as well as the strength of spirit necessary it takes to become one with the world, dying with grace: “let us die/ gracefully/ into this world”.  I also wanted to convey the sovereignty of nature over our lives, and that it will be here when we are gone, beautiful as ever.  The waxing and waning moon is at once an expression of nature itself interacting (drawing the waves up) within the world, a physical representation of the constant change in the world, as well as a metaphor for the progression of the human life.  It is also meant to strike a chord with the overall tone of femininity. The death explored in this poem is not about the pain that often comes before death, but rather a celebration of the transformation of the body and the spirit in its continuation of being a part of this world, in a different form: “…let us […] not hold on/not even to the/ moon/ tipped as it will/ be tonight/ and beckoning/ wildly in the sea”.

  My binding on Paul Needham’s “Twelve Centuries of Bookbindings” was a fun and somewhat technical binding because it allowed me to make a statement about the history of bookbinding. Often the history of bookbinding is more correctly the history of book decoration and -even more correctly- it is most often the history of gold-tooled bookbindings. The time period covered in those twelve centuries was 400-1600, so there’s not too much time in there for gold tooled bindings, however, they constituted more plates than blind tooled bindings. So with the binding I let the gold do what it normally does—draw attention away from blind tooling in a very stark way.
   I don’t really have any opportunity to address politics in my work. With the kind of work that I do, it just doesn’t come up. And with the political realm being as divisive as it is, I imagine it could put people off. I’ll do my best to make this paragraph as non-controversial as I can. I chose to do a binding on a book written by Bernie Sanders. He’s not a new politician, and none of the policies that he supports and is pushing for are new ideas. This book follows his campaign trail and puts forth the ideals he ran on: income equality, health care for all, higher education as a human right, racial justice, environmental justice, criminal justice reform, immigration reform, getting money out of politics, truth, love, compassion, and solidarity, among many others–and their implementation. All of these are pressing issues in society and need to be addressed in a moral manner, not limiting the rights of people to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (the stated goal of the country I live in).
   I chose to do a utilitarian binding on this: no gold, nothing flashy, a simple arts-and-crafts design tooled in blind, with an off-cut piece of leather, done quickly but with elegance. The endpapers are plain, they don’t need to be fancy. “A Future to Believe In” was Bernie’s campaign message, and “The Struggle Continues” is the progressive answer to any election, any vote, or any compromise, win or lose–the struggle continues.

   There are a number of bookbinders, current and past, who I look up to, but none moreso than the Spanish bookbinder Emilio Brugalla. His work ranges from historical to contemporary, always tooled magnificently and the ability to work in any style fairly seamlessly reflects what I attempt to do in my work. He said, “El corazón del libro nunca deja de latir.” I’m not a spiritual person by any stretch of the imagination, but there is something living and beautiful within a book that the right binding can be resonate with that causes an intangible sense of wonder, and truly the heart of the book never stops beating.

Your bindings are excellently tooled, a fact I’ve seen mentioned within the bookbinding community. You also offer finishing services and teach courses on tooling and gold-finishing. Given your focus on the specific aspect of the craft, what would you consider the hardest part in mastering tooling and why? 

  The only claim I make is that I am a competent finisher. Because I am not a master, my speculation is that the hardest part in mastering finishing is achieving a level of mastery with all styles of finishing and sustain that for quite some time. This also includes 1. Having the range of tools and type needed for this, and, more difficult, 2. Having the work coming through your shop to sustain your finishing practice week by week. Since I spend a decent amount of time forwarding, that’s time away from the finishing stove, and teaching, while still finishing, is more instruction than actual finishing.  I hope one day to become a master, but it’ll take a lot more time.

  For those starting out, finishing is not an easily won skill. It is among the most difficult aspects of creating a fine binding. Instruction is one aspect of learning finishing, the other is understanding how each impression needs to feel to be successful — that second part I am either not skilled enough with words to describe, or it is a conversation that needs to happen between the leather and the tool in your hand, incapable of being expressed by words. You will make mistakes. You will “waste” gold, or, more correctly, it will take more gold than you feel comfortable using to develop your hand skills. You will likely ruin a binding or two so that you have to re-do it, even if you have been fastidiously practicing on plaquettes. These are all part of the learning process and should not be interpreted as failures, but as necessary steps to being able to tool a binding well.

Is there a specific philosophy behind the way you run your bookbinding classes? How do you approach tool-finishing as a teaching subject?

   I take a very systematic approach to teaching finishing. Make sure that you align yourself squarely to the edge of your bench. Make sure you tool your lines perpendicular to your bench’s edge, and rotate the book you are tooling on rather than pivoting your body. Heat the tool, cool it, polish it, tool. These are a few of the things that I repeat over and over during the course of my workshops. My intro classes start with straight lines. I’ll demonstrate the process, have the students try their hand at is, and then demonstrate again, have the students practice, and demonstrate again so that the students can see the process again and focus on a new aspect of the process or notice something that they were doing wrong. It’s rigorous and intense.

The workshops that I teach are often five-day workshops, though I’ll teach two-day workshops as well. We use high quality materials, as these give the best results with unpracticed hands, and it’s easier to know what the issues are when the materials are reliable. Within every class there is a range of previous finishing experience, and not everyone learns at the same rate, so I address this by giving each student as much one-on-one time as I can. This allows those with more experience to move forward and be challenged and those with no experience learn enough to go off on their own. As I mention above, finishing is among the most difficult aspects of fine bookbinding and, for me, the more people that are doing it, and doing it well, the better.
I’m in the process of making the first of what I hope will be a number of instructional videos on finishing, since access to that kind of information is somewhat limited. The first will be the core of what my five-day class is, blind tooling and gold tooling with synthetic glaire and gold leaf. If that goes well, I will move on to cover some of the other aspects of finishing that could benefit from instruction: titling, tooling with egg-glaire, tooled-edge onlays, to name a few.

  As artisans we have to deal with misconceptions about our craft on a regular basis. People for example are often used to seeing intricate decorations on bindings, most notably in films and series, which makes it difficult to explain the level of skill and experience required to produce such a result.
  What can you tell us on the subject of misinformation regarding bookbinding? How -if at all- has it affected you so far and what can a craftsman do to tackle it effectively?

  As bookbinders, one of our most important roles is to teach others about bookbinding, whether they be clients, prospective clients, someone you happen to bump into and start a conversation with. In the past, one way to address this was to print out a list of each and every step to let people know what the steps were and how many of them there are (I’m referring to the “The bookbinders case unfolded” broadside that lists all of the steps in bookbinding, dated between 1669 and 1695). I’ve had instances where the desired date of completion was ten days or so, and that answer is always, “It would be especially rare that you would find any hand bookbinder with that short of a promised turn around. Most binders you will find will have projects they are already working on, and a more realistic baseline for turnaround starts around six weeks to three months.” Now, that’s not true across the board, depending on work flow, the speed that a binder works at, or if it’s a job you can slip in between other jobs. It’s always best to over budget time and get a binding to someone earlier than you estimated than to miss a deadline.
  People will always have misconceptions about things they’re ignorant of, just like in every other facet of life. If they simply do not know that a fine binding will take a few months at the earliest, it is good to let them know how long a binding takes, keeping in mind the projects that need to be completed before starting a new one. There’s no positive result from being elitist, condescending, or dismissive, regardless of how much time goes into building up our hand skills. An authentic and genuine conversation, along with showing examples of work, goes a long way.

  Last but not least: can you share a small piece of bookbinding wisdom that you’ve unlocked through personal experience?
 
  The bit of wisdom I’ll share here is a branch off of something that I heard often as a student: do the kind of work that you want to do. If you take in a bible repair project, then people will know you do that as part of your work. This applies to everything: repair, restoration, conservation, editions, fine bindings, design bindings, and so on. What I have learned is this: If someone doesn’t know that you exist, they cannot commission a binding from you. It’s a simple enough thought, but for me it has been the thing that keeps work coming to my bench. As a previously very shy person, it was a small hurdle to overcome, but it’s part of the process of being a bookbinder. Put in the hours you need to produce salable work and then make sure the people who seek out that work know you and your work.

You can read more interviews with craftspeople here.


Techniton Politeia – Interview with Samuel Feinstein Part 1

18 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by koutsipetsidis in -Articles about bookbinding-'Αρθρα σε σχέση με την βιβλιοδεσία

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Artisan Interview, bookbinding, Design binding, Βιβλιοδεσία, δερματόδετο, καλλιτεχνική βιβλιοδεσία, leather binding, Samuel Feinstein

Welcome to another Technition Politeia post, this time with Samuel Feinstein.
You can read part 2 of the interview here.

Due to its size this interview will be posted in two parts.

Samuel Feinstein is a private practice bookbinder specializing in fine bindings, gold finishing, rounded spine clamshell boxes, and new bindings in period style. He trained at the North Bennet Street School in Boston under Jeff Altepeter and Martha Kearsley, graduating in 2012. He lives and works in Chicago, and his work can be seen at: http://www.samuelfeinsteinbookbinding.com/

According to our guest:
” What most appeals to me is the work itself. It keeps my hands and mind focused and draws me in, day after day. It takes me through the history and imaginations of what I work on, and allows me to express myself through my hands. As a binder, my intention is to create bindings that are pleasing to the senses and the mind, and it is the challenge of it that inspired me. As an instructor, I do what I can to further the practice of hand-tooling, especially using gold leaf, which is applied to both historical and contemporary works. “

Samuel’s portfolio boasts an impressive array of design and period bindings – diversity is key word. With a style balancing gracefully between modern and classic I doubt anyone will not find a binding from Samuel’s work that speaks to them.

I would like to deeply thank Samuel for taking the time and effort to give me this interview.
  Every artisan has an origin story, some more unique and unexpected than others. Yours is such a story – one I believe many people would also consider quite motivational. Would you kindly share with us a few words about it? Also, why was bookbinding your choice?

  It’s a long story so I’ll try to keep it short. At the time of this writing it has been nearly ten years since I was involved in an accident while riding my bike on the way to class. I was studying Classics (ancient Greek and Latin) and English literature. I was bruised here and there, my right wrist was broken from the impact of the van, and I suffered a brain injury from hitting the pavement. The head injury keeps me in constant pain to this day. “Chronic, intractable, post-traumatic headaches with migrainous features” is the diagnosis I was given. For a little while I attempted to keep up with the work in my classes and some passions on the side, but ultimately the kind of cognition that I was trying to retain ended up just causing more pain.
    I’ve always been the kind of person who needs to be productive, and not being able to do what I was used to led me to a very low point. I had enjoyed visual arts since I was a kid, had done creative writing in my later teens, and was always interested in books as a vessel for information. Books and art were an integral influence on the kind of mind I developed, so I was searching for what I could possibly do with my life and interests. I stumbled across the North Bennet Street School’s website, saw that they had a program in bookbinding, and everything just clicked. I could still work with books, but using my hands instead of my head. Nothing else I came across spoke to me, and bookbinding became the one thing that I could really focus on, often times literally.
  I began teaching myself, and unsurprisingly, the results were rough at best. The first time I applied to the North Bennet Street School I was not accepted, so the next year was spent, in my good hours, making successively improving bindings, and researching the history of bookbinding through the collection at the Newberry Library in Chicago. The following year I was accepted and by then I knew that fine bindings were something that I would focus on in my free time at school.
  One thing the accident gave me which I would not have otherwise gotten was less productive hours in my day, which taught me to focus my time on learning the specialized aspect of bookbinding that most interested me, and I spent as much time as I could in my days learning that, not allowing myself to get distracted. I still have the headaches every second of every day (though you wouldn’t know it if you met me, I’m a rather cheery person), and it’s unlikely they’ll ever go away, but you do the best you can with what you have.

  People, both from Greece (where I live) and abroad, ask me from time to time how to begin bookbinding, if there is a place where they can learn the craft. Being able to attend courses at an established institution offering structured programs and thoroughly equipped workshops, under the guidance of experienced craftsmen, is significant: it allows one to explore and develop his/her skills and build a strong foundation upon which to further progress.
  Although there isn’t a bookbinding academy here anymore, the one that existed has been closed for many years, teaching institutions devoted entirely or partially to bookbinding can be found in many countries around the world. The North Bennet Street School, where you attended a two-year program, is one such institution.
  What can you tell us about NBSS? What are your memories from training at a well known center for handcrafts and what would you consider the most important stepping stone it provided?

   A traditional trade apprenticeship is seven years. The North Bennet program is two years. Granted, the first year or so of an apprenticeship could consist of sweeping up after everyone else, but my point is that you do not have enough time to learn everything that interests you, and you also need to focus on what you believe to be the best path to employment after you graduate, bearing in mind that certain kinds of work will likely be unsalable because you haven’t had the time to achieve continuity of skill. However, unless you are able to secure an apprenticeship, it’s likely that programs like the North Bennet Street School as straightforward as it gets with foundational bookbinding education.
  As far as I know, the US does not have any bookbinding programs like the North Bennet Street School. There are book arts programs that cover many aspect of bookmaking; there are book arts centers, schools, and institutions where workshops bookbinding are offered, as well as private lessons with established binders, but none of these are multiple year programs, bench-oriented, and focused on craft the way North Bennet is. You start off learning paper grain and folding sections, and you end up having made a great number of structures, variations on those structures, many kinds of repair and conservation techniques and treatments, fine bindings, historical structures, and develop a broad range of traditional bookbinding skills which can be applied in whichever way you decide to utilize your hand skills. Graduates from the school have found work in conservation labs as technicians and conservators, in private practice doing repair and conservation work, fine bookbinding, edition work, make artist books, and some teach in addition to doing these. I attended the program from 2010 to 2012. Some of my most nostalgic memories are the moments where the room, noises, and people all drift away and I’m left there with the only things in existence: me, my tool, and the book that I’m tooling. It was a rather often occurrence.
  As a stepping stone, here in the US, the North Bennet Street School has a reputation for training highly skilled bookbinders, and I used that as much as I possibly could, networking within the bookbinding field, getting to know as many people as I could. I spent a fair amount of time in the school’s library poring through exhibition catalogs, articles, and so on so that when I was introduced to someone new, there was a fairly good chance that I had heard of them before. I would go to as many events as possible, doing as much as I could to become familiar with people who might eventually become clients. As well, North Bennet offers a small business class for students in the final year of their program. This was extremely beneficial for me, since I began my private practice after graduating, and it’s very important to have a good idea of the business side of things when you want to make bookbinding your career.

Short courses and seminars is another way to gain new skills or hone existing ones.You’ve attended many seminars offered by distinguished bookbinders and craftspeople. Can you note a few things from those seminars that made a significant contribution to your progress as an artisan? 

For me, most of the short courses or seminars that I have taken that directly correlate with the work that I do now were taken after having some experience doing them, which I either taught myself or learned during my time at NBSS. By the time I took a class with Monique Lallier, I was already familiar with all of the steps of doing a fine binding, so I was able to note how her process was different than others I had seen or done, and I was able to focus on the two things I most needed help with then: headcaps and corners, and wanted to learn edge-to-edge doublures. Even though I only took one class with her, I still think about the way she looks at a binding when she is examining it, and do my less experienced version of it when I am examining my own bindings.
  While at NBSS, we learned knife making and sharpening from Jeff Peachey, who comes by to teach each year. The discipline he teaches in keeping your tools in proper shape is something I implement and will always be grateful for. There’s nothing like a well maintained tool to do just exactly what you need it to, and learning the significance of this helps instill a discipline and practice that carries on into every aspect of bookbinding.

   On to your work – your bindings are frequently a harmonious blend between classic and modern elements. Binders often try such a combination but a balanced result is difficult to attain. Where do you draw inspiration for your designs and how do you proceed with creating them?

With my fine bindings, I draw from within the book. I see a book’s binding as a part of the book as a whole: the author, illustrator, illustrator, printer, paper-maker, time period, place of publication (for older books) and so on have already made an impact on the book, so my goal is to make a binding that is harmonious with the rest; something that emulates some of the ideas, feelings, imagery, etc. of what is in the book. Instead of making an artistic statement with my designs, I prefer to speak through craft. It’s not controversial to say that the history of bookbinding flows through my veins as I design. That history has made its impact on each and every book created, even if the book is a revolt against the history of the book. As such my designs tend to be more representational—I am less interested in making an artistic statement and more interested in creating something that will be aesthetically pleasing.

  With just a few exceptions, I always have the design completely finished before beginning any work. I take my time with each project in the design phase. I’ll read the book, take in the illustrations, jot down some thoughts, scribble out some design ideas, and so on while working on other books. My design phase tends to take a while, but after that is done, the binding work itself is mere execution. I’ll still evaluate the binding at each stage, making sure the physical object works as well as the idea in my head, but it’s rare for me to change course once after I begin. Then I’ll make a clamshell box for it, make sure I’ve got a write up of technical aspects as well as design, and ship it off to the client. I don’t think there is anything unique about my process.

Producing high quality bindings includes numerous stages and a lot of planning ahead. What part of the process would you consider most important and why?

It’s hard to pinpoint one as the most important, since each step for me is woven together. The obvious option is the design. As I said above, the design is complete before I start any work at all. This means I’ve already spent a while with the book, gave ideas time to gestate, and have a good idea of what direction to go with the book.

The budget does play a role in a binding’s design. Working within the construct (not limitations) of the budget for each project, the different ways of interpreting a book, or expressing an idea are explored to create a unique binding that does for you what you want it to and does for the client what they want it to. At this point, I make up boards and plan out everything: leather choice, endpapers, leather hinge or paper pastedown, edge decoration, sewing structure, headbands, secondary board attachment if needed, decorative techniques, what finishing tools will be needed, etc. Once the binding is started I’ll evaluate it at each stage of forwarding, and will carry the binding to completion.

(Note by the interviewer – Please observe the outline in the photo above. Every number indicates a detail that has to be tooled individually with a separate tool. The overall result requires many hundreds of actions that require extreme precision – and all for a very small area of the binding…)

End of Part 1, stay tuned for part 2.

You can read more interviews with craftspeople here.

 

 

 

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