The idea to make the Brass Band Sticks originated from a fellow bookbinder who had muscle strain after decades of work, telling me she had trouble using band nippers due to the hand pressure required. Band sticks immediately came to mind.
Wooden band sticks have been around for a very long time. They’re an easy to make tool that helps form the leather around raised spine bands.
However they have some significant drawbacks. Wood contains natural oils which are in some cases likely to stain leather. The groove can widen through continuous use, eventually rendering the band stick useless. Most importantly though, it loses its smoothness and as a result the edges become coarse and eventually produce splinters which will scar leather.
Enter the Brass Band Stick
Enter the Made from a bookbinder for bookbinders, the Brass Band Stick is an updated version of the old-timey tool, one that is more robust, precise, friendly to leather and comfortable to use.
The Brass Band stick offers:
– A clean raised band As it will never stain leather, in contrast with wood.
– Smooth edges The edges are carefully finished by hand to be smooth enough to produce a great result, but not polished, so the tool retains some necessary grip over the leather to help form the leather crisply over the spine band. And of course, it will never become coarse or scar your binding.
– A lifetime of precisionAs brass is a material far more robust than wood, the groove will retain its width through a lifetime of use and produce a neat result each and every time.
Comparison with Band Nippers
Band Nippers work for all sizes, so why should you prefer the Band Sticks? Each tool has its strengths. Band Nippers work for any raised band width but require adjusting, applying pressure constantly and cost more due to their complexity. Band Sticks are easier to use, have a fixed width which allows repeatable precision and cost less. In the end it comes down to preference and way of working.
The Brass Band sticks are ideal for:
– Big binderies with high volume of work. – Bookbinding projects that involve doing a number of identical books on a regular basis. – Binders or bookbinding enthusiasts that have tendinitis or reduced hand strength (injury or age related) and have trouble using band nippers. – Anyone preferring the ease of use this tool offers!
The tool comes on a comfortable wooden handle, smoothly finished with oil and wax.
Current available groove widths are: 4mm, 5mm, 6mm and 7mm. The groove has a depth of 5mm. Custom sizes available upon request. Please take the leather’s thickness around the band into account as well when deciding which width you want!
Pricelist: – 60 euros for one Brass Band Stick. – 110 euros for a pair. – 210 for all four.
Εφέτος το εργαστήριο θα προσφέρει την δυνατότητα βιβλιοδετικής μαθητείας σε περιορισμένο αριθμό (έως 2) ατόμων.
Επιθυμώ να δώσω την ευκαιρία σε κάποιον/α που ενδιαφέρεται για την τέχνη αυτή να την γνωρίσει σε βάθος μέσα από ιδιαίτερα μαθήματα και πρακτική εξάσκηση, όπως επίσης και την δυνατότητα να συμμετέχει στο μέλλον σε τρέχοντα projects του εργαστηρίου ως βοηθός. Ελπίδα μου είναι πως η βιβλιοδεσία θα τους συνοδεύει έπειτα σαν δημιουργική δραστηριότητα ή, ιδανικά, θα θελήσουν να την ακολουθήσουν επαγγελματικά.
Υπάρχουν πολλοί λόγοι για να θελήσετε να ασχοληθείτε με την βιβλιοδεσία. Διαθέτει παράδοση χιλιετιών και ρίζες σε διαφορετικούς πολιτισμούς και αποτελεί ένα αμάλγαμα τεχνών. Στο δέσιμο ενός βιβλίου εμπλέκονται εξίσου τα χέρια (αφού δουλεύει κανείς με εργαλεία και υλικά), το μυαλό (μέσω της δημιουργικής σκέψης, είτε αυτό έχει να κάνει με φαντασία είτε με πρακτική επίλυση προβλημάτων/προκλήσεων) αλλά και η ψυχή (αφού επιτρέπει την καλλιτεχνική έκφραση). Είναι μια τέχνη που αποσκοπεί να δημιουργήσει κάτι όμορφο το οποίο αντέχει στο χρόνο. Τέλος, οι ικανότητες/τεχνικές που κατακτά κανείς μαθαίνοντας βιβλιοδεσία μπορούν να χρησιμοποιηθούν για την κατασκευή πολλών άλλων πραγμάτων.
Συνεχίστε να διαβάζετε παρακάτω για πληροφορίες και προϋποθέσεις σχετικά με την μαθητεία.
ΜΑΘΗΤΕΙΑ
Περιεχόμενο: Θα ξεκινήσουμε με την διδασκαλία της Ραφτής Πανόδετης Βιβλιοδεσίας και έπειτα Δερματόδετης βιβλιοδεσίας σε μορφή ιδιαιτέρων. Ενδιάμεσα στα μαθήματα θα υπάρχουν μέρες πρακτικής άσκησης για εμπέδωση και εφαρμογή των τεχνικών σε βιβλία του μαθητευόμενου.
Διάρκεια: 200 ώρες, εκ των οποίων οι 50-60 είναι ώρες μαθημάτων και οι 150 είναι ώρες πρακτικής. Η διεξαγωγή τους θα γίνει σε βάθος 8 μηνών (Οκτώβρης – Μάιος)
Κόστος: το συνολικό κόστος είναι 850 ευρώ, με 15% έκπτωση για φοιτητές. Παρέχονται όλα τα υλικά και εργαλεία. Για την κατοχύρωση θέσης απαιτείται προκαταβολή 200 ευρώ, τα υπόλοιπα θα δοθούν σε μηνιαίες δόσεις.
Καθόλη την διάρκεια της μαθητείας θα έχετε στην διάθεση σας τον χώρο του εργαστηρίου καθώς και τα υλικά/εργαλεία που είναι απαραίτητα για εξάσκηση, και των οποίων η έλλειψη ή αδυναμία απόκτησης λόγω κόστους αποτελεί συχνά εμπόδιο για να μπορέσει κανείς να γνωρίσει καλά την βιβλιοδεσία.
Θα έχετε επίσης την συνεχή βοήθεια και καθοδήγηση μου ώστε να κατακτήσετε τις απαραίτητες τεχνικές γνώσεις για να φτιάχνετε λειτουργικές, όμορφες και ανθεκτικές βιβλιοδεσίες, είτε αυτές είναι κλασικού χαρακτήρα είτε “καλλιτεχνικού”, αλλά και στο να εξερευνήσετε τις ιδέες σας ώστε να μπορέσετε να εκφραστείτε δημιουργικά.
Με το κλείσιμο αυτού του πρώτου κύκλου θα γίνει μια συνολική εκτίμηση της πορείας του μαθητευόμενου και θα συζητηθεί η προοπτική της συνέχισης σε πιο σύνθετες μορφές βιβλιοδεσίας και η παραμονή στο εργαστήριο υπό την ιδιότητα του βοηθού.
Ηλικίες: Η μαθητεία αφορά άτομα από 17 (να έχουν ολοκληρώσει τις σχολικές σπουδές) μέχρι 30+ ετών, προτεραιότητα ωστόσο θα δοθεί σε νεαρότερες ηλικίες.
Είναι σημαντικό να έχετε κατά νου πως η εν λόγω μαθητεία διαφέρει αρκετά από ένα οποιοδήποτε σεμινάριο δημιουργικής απασχόλησης στο οποίο συμμετέχουμε για να δούμε πως φτιάχνεται κάτι, αλλά κυρίως για να περάσουμε καλά. Η μαθητεία αποσκοπεί στην κατάκτηση (σε μικρό ή μεγάλο βαθμό) μιας τέχνης και συνεπώς κρατάει καιρό, θέτει στόχους και εμπεριέχει αξιολόγηση του μαθητευόμενου. Είναι μια μορφή σπουδών, με ό,τι αυτό συνεπάγεται.
Επιπλέον, η μαθητεία προϋποθέτει κάποιες δεσμεύσεις πρακτικού χαρακτήρα από μέρους των ενδιαφερομένων προκειμένου να είναι εφικτή, όπως επίσης και κάποια χαρακτηριστικά για να μπορέσει κανείς να λειτουργήσει μέσα στα πλαίσια της αλλά και του εργαστηρίου.
Προϋποθέσεις:
– Θα πρέπει να είστε πρόθυμοι να αφοσιωθείτε στην διαδικασία αυτή σε βάθος χρόνου. Αυτό προϋποθέτει επίσης πως δεν έχετε πλάνα να μεταβείτε στο εξωτερικό για (μακρόχρονες) σπουδές ή εργασία για τα επόμενα χρόνια.
– Θα πρέπει να είστε μόνιμοι κάτοικοι Αθηνών.
– Θα πρέπει να έχετε την δυνατότητα να έρχεστε στο εργαστήριο (πλησίον Εθνικής Άμυνας) τουλάχιστον 2 φορές την εβδομάδα, μια για διδασκαλία και άλλη μια-δυο για εξάσκηση, ενδεχομένως και παραπάνω.
Προφίλ μαθητευόμενου:
Λόγω της φύσης της μαθητείας σαν διαδικασία αλλά και της βιβλιοδεσίας σαν τέχνη γενικότερα, είναι σημαντικό να διαθέτει κανείς υπομονή, επιμονή, μεθοδικότητα, προσοχή στην λεπτομέρεια και μια υγιή δόση τελειομανίας. Και βεβαίως δημιουργικότητα.
Επίσης να του/της αρέσουν τα βιβλία – δεν νοείται να θέλετε να ασχοληθείτε με την βιβλιοδεσία και να μην αγαπάτε το διάβασμα!
Ευπρόσδεκτες (αλλά όχι απαραίτητες) οι γνώσεις/ικανότητες σχεδίου και γενικά η οποιαδήποτε εξοικείωση με χειροτεχνία.
The bindery is a mysterious place. It is where the human intellect and psyche are encased in a three-dimensional artifact that is functional, long lasting and beautiful: the (bound) book.
If we just go by the aforementioned description, omitting the word “book”, then one would reasonably assume binderies are where some kind of wizard or alchemist practice their mystical arts.
Yet within a bindery you will not find smoking cauldrons and dark crystals but simple tools (and machines) that have been used and improved over endless generations, and yet through them something incredible is achieved. We might not realize it due to how common they’ve become, but books are extraordinary pieces of technology: proof of our capacity to collect, transform and use all sorts of materials to create conveniently sized arks of humanity’s thoughts, that don’t require power to function and can last for thousands of years. As Arthur C. Clarke said: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” …
Here I must make a shout-out to Maria Siorba, the talented photographer behind this photoshoot.
I am a (very) camera shy person. For what’s more I had a somewhat-vague-somewhat-specific idea of the feeling I wanted to be captured – and that idea had to be translated in two different versions, one of them for a future project. Maria not only made me feel at ease and even excited about the photoshoot but she also showed interest in my ideas and helped me explore them. This is the 2nd time we’ve worked together and I wholeheartedly recommend getting in touch with her for your project.
Mighty Queen Nefertiti went to see the court sculptor for a new bust.
The sculptor Thutmosis was old and wise and the Queen found him examining a block of black basalt.
“Can you make me immortal?” asked she, to which the sculptor replied, “No, I cannot, my Queen, for only the Gods are immortal”.
“Can you make me perfect?” asked she, to which the sculptor replied, “No, I cannot, my Queen, for these hands belong to an imperfect man and thus cannot create perfection”.
“Of what use are you to me then?” wondered she, to which the sculptor replied, “I can give you beauty, my Queen, and that surpasses both immortality and perfection, for even immortals covet beauty and it defines perfection”.
Seeking Beauty
What is beauty? Defining its nature is one of the oldest and most persistently pursued endeavors of the human mind. We’ve yet to reach a conclusive definition and most likely never will, which is strange for something that governs our life in all its facets, one way or another.
I was commissioned to bind the memoirs of an aesthetic surgeon and in them he writes poignantly on the matter:
“ Countless mathematicians and philosophers attempt to quantitate true beauty and define perfect proportion. While they have succeeded to some degree, pointing to repetition of forms and ratios in the natural world as proof of their theories, there exists something unquantifiable about beauty. For me, it always comes back to the moment in the museum in Paris when I knew I stood before something beautiful. If beauty could be completely and entirely described, then an understanding of beauty would be something that anyone could obtain through study. We all know that’s not the case.”
What follows is a long journey into the creation of this binding and the worlds/thoughts of the surgeon and bookbinder behind it. If that, dear reader, sounds like something you’d enjoy carry on, and maybe pour a glass or two as we’ll be here for a while…
A Surgeon and a Bookbinder
We discussed a lot with Miss V., the person behind this project, and while I had a few ideas from the get go, which managed to find their ways into the finished bindings, they were mostly concepts without yet a solid canvas to bind them into a cohesive whole.
The commission involved two identical bindings and since one was intended as a gift to the very author of the book I decided to get to know him better. As I read his memoirs, I was surprised to find parallels between our professions, more than I’d expect, ranging from the superficial to the essential. This intrigued me: I felt I was looking at a strange mirror, seeing a distorted reflection of myself…
On a first level, the bookbinder and the surgeon use some similar tools (scalpel and various other cutting instruments) and work with the same basic material, leather, although obviously in different forms. Their work has to not only look good but function properly too: a stiff book joint that doesn’t open, or a stiff face, do not make for a happy client (although it may be argued the latter is more frustrating than the former). They both have to be very precise in their work, fusing over details less than half a mm in size, and must pay great attention to detail. Both fields require a balance between a skilled and steady hand and a good perception of aesthetics. The result is either lifeless or inspired but poorly made, if one of the two is lacking. The ideal surgeon and bookbinder are both an artisan and an artist.
On a deeper level, both seek to produce something beautiful. Some will probably argue that the most important pursuit of bookbinding is to protect and preserve the text, and they’d be 100% right, but I doubt it would have become such a vast and complex craft/art if it was only restrained to its technical purpose.
On this note, I couldn’t help but share this quote where the author draws an analogy between books and his field of work – although he probably didn’t expect it would apply to his memoirs one day: “ We are all drawn to beautiful book covers: there’s a part of us all that looks to cover art to tell us something about what is inside.”
What intrigued me the most though were the similarities between the author and me. Although there are parallels it’s also true that his profession, work and world in general, differ a great deal from mine. Yet there were certain parts which resonated deeply with me.
A good example is his words on perfectionism: “ But the great ones (surgeons) are awakened by challenge and driven by a chronic dissatisfaction with anything that could be better. ” I highly doubt I’ll ever be considered one of the great ones and I’m not implying that here – it is, after all, a title that’s always bestowed by others upon one’s person, as the author does here. That said, perfectionism has been an incredible driving force but also an occasional plague for me – I’ve talked about it and the effect it has had on me as an artisan in quite a few of my posts.
Here’s another one: “ Aesthetic surgery is the perfect place for me. There is an intersection of art, science, and medicine that can’t be found in any other field. ” Upon reading this I said to myself “Yes, exactly!”.
Bookbinding is an incredible amalgam of crafts and arts, unmatched (feel free to argue with me on this one) in the number and variety of craft fields it encompasses. No other craft comes close to it and it is this vastness and depth that I have fell in love with, as it makes every part of me come alive: it is about encasing the human intellect and psyche in a three-dimensional artifact and making sure it is functional, long lasting and beautiful. Sounds like something a wizard would say describing his art, doesn’t it…?
But the part which resonated with me the most was his recollections of Paris, and more specifically coming face to face with masterpieces of art:
“Paris was an incredible setting for expanding my horizons. I spent my time immersed in a culture that gave rise to some of the most beautiful art in the world and spent hours in the most celebrated museums. I was charged. Anyone who appreciates art knows the moment in a gallery or museum when perception of the sound of the floorboards or the knocking sound of your shoes on concrete gives way to the tidal wave of visual stimulation bestowed by a painting or sculpture. It shakes you. It isn’t just your eyes, but a feeling. You just know, with something beyond your eyes and brain, that what you are looking at is beautiful and meaningful and true. That feeling has the same force as the one that brings people to tears at symphonies and causes riots after Avant guard plays. As a young man in Paris, I experienced that over, and over, and over again. Standing feet away from perfect human forms released from marble,the abstract and yet completely controlled paintings of Seraut, and the luminous pastel forms of Degas, it clicked. The nebulous appreciation for art that had permeated my childhood coalesced and became a central part of who I am.”
The feeling he describes is something very familiar to me and I’ve had the pleasure to experience it in many cases. None of it however prepared me for my trip to Rome…
Rome was sublime. I never imagined such an immense scale of art and beauty -magnificent art that ranges from fragments of the ancient past to enormous masterpieces of the renaissance and beyond- could exist in one place in the world. It was simply too much to absorb and I’m still trying to process it.
Perhaps the most characteristic single instance was in Palazzo Massimo, which I highly recommend spending the time to explore.
Here I must note that I had the huge privilege to be almost entirely alone there during my visit, as it was during “off-season” (as much as it can be in Rome) and while the pandemic was still in almost full effect. This allowed me and my partner to have entire floors, sometimes entire museums, to ourselves, making the experience deeply personal. It was as if all of this art and beauty was created and collected there just for us…
Anyway, back to Palazzo Massimo. While it contains some extraordinary pieces of art, like the breathtaking sculpture of the Wrestler, it was something entirely different that stood out for me. At the 3rd floor of the museum are on display, excellently preserved, the interior walls and paintings of a Roman villa. Among them was a room portraying a garden. Viewing it in the serenity of absolute silence and solitude, I was moved. There was something in that artificial garden, it’s hard to put in words, as if this unknown painter was so in control of his skills, so confident and at the same time so humble and close to what he was depicting, making it seem completely effortless and full of life, as if he could do anything with his art. He could bring forth the mysteries of existence but instead created this garden, which felt in some ways more real than the real thing. I was almost in tears.
It also brought to mind what Picasso (supposedly) said after seeing the Altamira cave paintings “We’ve invented nothing”…
Capturing Beauty
It was this trip to Rome that gave me the inspiration I needed for the design, which is somewhat of an irony since I was asked by a couple of people if I believed it could find its way into my work and, having a hard time digesting the excess of excellence I came in touch with, I remember thinking to myself the unlikeliness of such a possibility.
In his memoirs the author writes: “ Standing feet away from perfect human forms released from marble […]” and “In many ways I consider myself a sculptor, and my medium human cartilage, bone, and tissue.”
I knew there was something I could -no, not could, should!- work with there. But I couldn’t come up with something. After returning from Rome, and while I was trying to convince my ideas to work in unison, I kept thinking about the trip. I remembered my visit to the Vatican museums. The first stop was their great collection of Egyptian antiquities, among which were artifacts and statues made of black basalt. Suddenly, something clicked. A concept began to emerge, my up-until-now random ideas gravitating towards it.
An important part of the design I came up with was to surface-gilt the back cover with a foil that would make it look like dark granite or basalt. This was a technique I was familiar with and I also did various tests, which looked great in person. However, when I went on to apply it on the bindings themselves disaster struck: for some reason beyond the result was “clotted” and didn’t look at all like the test boards, although the materials and the process was exactly the same.
Hmm, this felt familiar… Fortunately, I am not the binder I was 10 years ago. This disaster forced me to rethink the design and the final piece of the puzzle was revealed: I decided to use a material I bought a while back and had been itching to use, a paper with a stone texture. Why didn’t you think of it in the first place, I hear you ask? I’ve no idea, tunnel vision I guess. The point is abandoning the surface-gilding technique and introducing this paper freed me and eventually led to a much more nuanced design.
One of the reasons I immensely enjoyed working on this project was how well it lended itself to my beloved play on symbolism. As you might have seen in my South Sea Scheme or Hamlet binding, I like to create layers of meaning, some of which point inwards and some outwards, by playing with the three elements interacting with each other: the book’s content, the thoughts it creates and lastly the binding, the physical object, itself.
However in this case the concept of layers took on a much more literal meaning as well, a nod to the topic at hand. Books have layers, just like human bodies. And just as is the case with people those layers take on a metaphorical sense as you peel deeper: Books and People are more than the sum of their parts.
I tried to incorporate the aspect of layers in different ways. First by actually taking off a piece of leather/skin from the face on the front cover, “unveiling” that way what lies beneath. The cover itself is a layer and when you open it you are once more left facing the tissue underneath, but bigger/closer now. The endpapers are followed by a section of two papers that differ in hue and texture, to add tactility but mostly to simulate a transition from one layer to another into the human body. And finally, we reach a paper in the color and texture of bone upon which the thoughts of the author are laid.
The layer concept, as described above, also doubles as a play to the authors quote on being a sculptor with human cartilage, bone, and tissue being his medium.
The cases could be considered as adding a final extra layer over the bindings.
Moving on to the covers themselves, which I named Pre-operation side and Goddess side respectively in my mind.
The Pre-op side features, with some artistic license, surgical markings inspired by Langer lines, which normally depict skin tension.
The detail that stands out the most on this side, in fact one of the core elements of the design in general, is the incredible marbled paper that Daniela from Papiers Prina managed to create, custom made for this project, which was also used for the endpapers. I had the idea of such a paper in my mind long before the design began taking shape and so a lot of it was created around this paper. I needed something that would bring the image of human muscle, tissue and blood veins in mind, while being artistic and interesting to look at – beautiful but also slightly disturbing. It was, as requests go, very specific and at the same time quite vague.
Daniela’s paper surpassed my wildest expectations. It was extremely difficult to make, as it was triple-marbled and required a great amount of experimentation and precision to achieve the intended result and have all the layers show through each other in the right way. In the end though her skills, meticulousness and artistic perception allowed her, through the strange mix of chaos and order that is marbling, to create the most unique marbled paper I’ve ever owned and used.
I wanted the Goddess side to have a transcending quality to it. To be a beautiful face but also one that isn’t exactly real. Gone are the anatomical lines and the jawline indicating a face contour, the skin and tissue underneath: a black stone with intense texture, abstract lines and gold accents has taken their place. Its shape, the shape of the face now, is not anymore bound by the restraints of human anatomy. The straight colorless hair has turned to golden ornaments. A vibrant electric blue emanates from the eye, capturing the light in every move of the cover.
This is the desired image of ourselves, beauty itself. The disparity between the two faces is huge, yet they exist on opposing sides of the same book and if one would flip the covers open in a 180 degree angle (ideally don’t though!) they could gaze onto each other…
The eye, lips and nose of the Goddess side were traced over an astonishing face, that of Queen Nefertiti, as seen through the famous bust.
The title, running down on the bindings spine between the two covers, underlines how the surgeon is the intermediator between us and our desired image of ourselves. The letters of the title are each tooled in two colors: gold and a silvery black, inspired by the gold-black stripes on King Tut’s sarcophagus.
For the headbands I went with a red leather core held in place by golden silk threads, the idea being to resemble exposed veins.
It’s a happy coincidence that this is the first binding I’ve put some sort of personal insignia on – something that’s been long overdue. The symbol you see represents a monogram of K and D, my initials.
The story of Nefertiti and Thutmosis (“calligraphy” on papyrus by Marianna Koutsipetsidis) originally came to me as a nice extra touch. However, in the end it became what really brought everything together: the idea behind the design, the source of its inspiration, the style of the bookcase, the book’s content and my thoughts during the whole binding process.
I’m a storyteller at heart and, to me at least, this short story is the most important part of this project and why it’s possibly my most “artistic” work yet. Binding the book and making a case for it, no matter how special, is simply a transformation process through my skills, it’s still taking X and using it to make Y. The short story represents the transition from transformation to emergence, creating something entirely new, that also grants meaning to my design. It’s the core, the life-giving heart of it all.
I always considered myself a craftsman and not really an artist when it comes to bookbinding – the artistic side of me usually being just a sprinkle on the cake. That’s why this project, for the reason mentioned above, felt like a birth of sorts, as if entering a new realm where strange and exciting things happen.
Who knows, if I manage to stay here long enough I might even find Thutmosis somewhere, patiently revealing a face hidden in stone…
Epilogue
Before signing off I’d like to express my gratitude for G.V., the person who commissioned this project. By giving me freedom, patience, helpful pointers, trust and last but not least a decent budget, she made it stress-free and allowed me to immerse myself in it, to explore, experiment and finally produce something that speaks of the creative in me as much as, I believe, speaks of the book’s content.
Here’s two of my recent bindings, Blake’s Prophetic Books in two rather large volumes.
Though it’s not apparent, the tooling is in (dark) purple. I used ink tooling (here are a couple of examples: one and two), a technique I’ve invented based on carbon tooling, the idea being for purple to contrast the vibrant green.
However in retrospect I believe I could have done it differently (regular blind tooling perhaps): the color is barely noticeable and also doesn’t take advantage of the lovely gradient effect that you can achieve by using two different colors. Overall though I’m pleased with the end result.
The lovely marbled paper I used is from Papiers Prina. Recently bought a few marbled papers from her and I must say I’m in love with them: vibrant colors in balanced combinations and the patterns are delicate and beautiful.
Daniela is also very helpful and a pleasure to work with. For what is more she was able to accommodate a custom request I had (needed one of her designs in different colors) in a fairly short time! Make sure to add her to your marbled paper supplier list (site/online shop and Instagram account) – can’t recommend her enough!
Last but not least I’ve used my Brass Band Nippers, Versatile Typeholder and Dot set to make these bindings. If you’d like to add them to your tool collection you can contact me directly (mail at the top right column) or head over to my Etsy shop.
Stowing the tins in her tent, pitched inside the Olympic stadium, Laila climbs to the roof and watches the sun fall past the horizon. Hundreds of feet below, the city’s constellations of streetlights start blinking into existence. … There are no humans left in London, but the city hums with activity, a hollow approximation of organic civilization.
Folks, there’s romance and there’s romance, and then there’s story-set-in-post-apocalyptic-world-for-our-wedding-book kind of romance – which honestly makes making everything else weak and vanilla by comparison.
Mister W. wanted a special binding for a story he wrote and will be displayed at his wedding. I happen to be a sucker for post-apocalypse themed stories and Mister W’s story was a small gem of a novel, so I went a bit beyond the original plan to do this project justice.
(Check my bindery’s Instagram account for a video presentation of this binding!)
My design was based on the excerpt at the beginning of the post. I wanted to capture a glimpse of Laila’s view of the city: alive and yet non-living, beautiful but at the same time cold and distant.
I used a map diagram to blind tool the outline of a central London area. Then I used metallic foils to inhabit it with the hundreds of machines, like driverless cars, drones, billboards, etc lighting up and moving about.
Since machines are optimized for efficiency I imagined they always arrange themselves in certain ways, move or settle in formations, and thus I created a number of “secret” rules I followed regarding the size, placement, number and color of dots. The result is a chaotic order, incomprehensible to us and seemingly random, but perfectly ordinary for the machines.
I also made a custom slipcase featuring an important element of the story.
I’ve had lots of fun making this one. Let it be put on record it’s among my top favorite bindings I’ve made and I’ll be really sad to part with it.
Last but not least, A6 size is amazing for design bindings. Everything feels/ looks neat and interesting! Dear clients, more A6s please.
After 10 years or so I’ve been working as a bookbinder I realized at some point my work is almost exclusively comprised of design bindings. Equal parts chance and choice have led to this: I just happened to have more clients asking for simple design bindings initially, I focused more on them since I liked it and in turn they attracted more work of the same kind.
So, what’s wrong with that? Nothing really, I love doing design work! However constantly trying to come up with creative ideas and ways to implement those can be draining… Classic decorations require a fraction of the inspiration and there’s endless reference material at hand to rely on concerning the design. As such they involve a lot less stress and it’s easier to be satisfied by the end-result, at least from the creator’s point of view.
It’s actually funny because most of my colleagues here in Greece are burdened with non-design work and often yearn for more artistic commissions! Nonetheless it seems there can be too much of a good thing and I found myself on the opposite side, longing for the day a client with a taste for more classic work would appear.
Enter V.G., a bibliophile with a wide range of interests, who got in touch and delivered salvation to my bookbinding soul! V.G. wants a series of books bound in classic manner and these two are the first I’ve completed.
Strange Tales features one of my old time favorite marbled papers, byArzanartin Venice. What really sets it apart though is its decoration, which was achieved with two stamping inks of different color. I first saw a similar technique used byHannah Brown(have you readher interviews?), who was most helpful in sharing some information and advice, though she uses carbon leaf instead.
Here’s what I did: 1) Cold press the handtool for the first impression. 2) Blind tool (hot). 3) Then cover the tool’s face with ink from the inkpad and stamp the tooled impressions (cold). I did this 2-3 times (with the first color) depending on how well the ink was transferred and the tone I wanted to achieve. 4) Blind tool again – this helps the ink set. 5) Repeat step 3 with a different ink. 6) Blind tool a final time.
As you can see this requires a great deal more time compared to foil. The result is interesting though as the decoration has a gradient look, shifting from blue to purple.
If you want to try this make sure to do tests first, as some ink colors end up looking quite dark depending on the leather you’re using, or don’t mix well together.
El Tarot is a peculiar book, filled with strange artwork. Its oddness is reflected by its unusual shape which is – you guessed it – that of a Tarot card. I’ve never bound a book as tall and narrow and I assumed it would bug me but I actually found it very enjoyable to work with! There’s something oddly satisfying handling a door-shaped book, can’t put my finger on it.
Given that I went for a simple decoration I thought to add some spark and luxury through genuine gold leaf. I’m very happy with how it turned out, it reminds me of some old volumes I’ve seen in libraries and I believe it’s my first binding to achieve this look-feel so well.
Since the binding is so classic but the book is quite quirky I wanted to include a quirky element in the binding as well. The endbands were the perfect candidate, being too narrow for a traditional handsewn style. I played around a bit and the result is this curiosity, both covered in leather and handsewn with silk thread. Fitting!
Binding a book is often like a journey. One must traverse hills and valleys, cross bridges and reach unexpected turns, experience joys and struggles. So imagine binding a book that is about such a journey –literally- and happens to be one of your favorites… Isn’t that a treat for an artisan!
Watership Down is the story of a group of wild rabbits, Hazel and his companions, searching for a new home. It’s a journey with “small” heroes going through big adventures and overcoming obstacles relying on their camaraderie, wisdom, cleverness and courage, learning and maturing on the way.
There’s really no simple way to describe how lovely it is.
It was born from a story Adams used to tell to his daughters. When he first tried to publish it the manuscript was rejected multiple times (!), the reason being “older children wouldn’t like it because it is about rabbits, which they consider babyish; and younger children wouldn’t like it because it is written in an adult style”. Boy, were they wrong…!
It is now considered a classic and has been loved by people of all ages for generations.
One of those people is C.B. who contacted me with a desire to have her favorite story bound in a beautiful volume, a heirloom to be someday given to another lover of Adams’ story. This quickly became a personal challenge too: I love Watership Down and have a soft spot for lapines.
Finding a proper copy (one printed in folios) took a while and we ended up using the wonderful edition by Oneworld Modern Classics, with illustrations by Aldo Galli.
I own this edition and I fully recommend it for its excellent design, print quality and lovely numerous illustrations.
I talked a lot with C.B. regarding the design and we agreed on a concept. The idea was to produce a dreamy landscape that would represent the story’s downs when it comes to shapes but at also the heroes’ struggles and hopes when it comes to colors. The golden yew tree symbolizes their destination, a perfect home. It appears to be far away and yet within reach.
My sister Marianna, passionate about bunnies and talented comic artist, was called in to help since I can’t draw if my life depended on it. What you see before you is her version of the concept I and C.B. came up with. She also assisted greatly in the layout of colors because I happen to suck big time at that too!
C.B. had two main requirements: to include a yew tree (from Fiver and his vision) and use a gradient effect on the sky region of the cover to simulate the coming of dawn. The rest of the colors would be based on that.
I’ve made three bindings in the past using this effect in a random manner. This time however I had to be much more precise as the effect had to have a direction and go through specific hues in certain intervals, which should also blend effectively.
I used an airbrush and aniline dye as I wanted the color to penetrate the leather instead of just sitting on the surface (as would be the case with acrylics). This caused some problems since the aniline dampens/darkens the leather surface when applied and it takes several hours before you can see the actual color, which meant I had to do the airbrushing in sessions, taking several days for each test batch.
After the tests I prepared the piece for the covers and filled with confidence I… botched it! After another botched attempt I was able to achieve something very similar to the image I’ve been provided as reference. However when preparing it for pasting on the covers I noticed the color smudged a bit when handled. This baffled me as I had sealed the colors properly with a dye fix and also applied a light finish to further protect them from the handling required to cover the binding. I’ve done all these in the past plus the tests specifically for Watership Down and never faced this problem.
It was barely noticeable; with very careful handling I could’ve have probably gone through with the covering and end up with very few/small imperfections. My main concern was what would happen after that, with the book being read time and again as the years go by. I didn’t feel ok with such a prospect, so the gradient was abandoned.
This meant the entire color layout had to be rearranged. To give C.B. a sense of the design in color and help her choose I scanned leather scraps and then Marianna photoshoped them in place, coming up with several different versions. The binding ended up being a mix between those. Another important aspect of the design was it being comprised of many different colors, to enhance the sense of distance – plus the different grains and finishes make the binding more interesting on a visual and tactile level. To do this the pieces must overlap by cutting the edges at an angle. It’s easier said than done though: too steep of a bevel and there won’t be sufficient overlap and thus a good bond between the leathers, too gradual and the leather on the underside will show. It was my first time doing this and I had to do many (Many) tests to get it right. When designing the starry sky I had two choices: random vs specific. I’m not good at improvisation when it comes to designs, plus you only have one go with a French leather binding, so I decided to use an actual star chart.
However that is not all: these are the stars and constellations the story’s heroes would see, and the way they’d see them, when travelling from Sandleford Warren to Watership Down! They are depicted realistically (at least as much as possible) regarding their relative position and brightness, the only difference being I added and removed a few to avoid empty or overcrowded spaces.
I took the liberty to use late June as the date, which was the time I made the design. That way I could discreetly blend something from my (crafting) journey with that of Hazel and his companions! The stars were originally tooled in (genuine) silver leaf. However it’s been many years since I used silver and I had forgotten how quickly it can tarnish, resulting in a dimmer shine that affected the entire design. To rectify this I ordered some palladium leafs and retooled each and every star.
I felt that the title would look a bit out of place but didn’t want to leave the spine without an indication of the book’s identity/story. So I came up with an imaginary constellation, that of Elahrairah, to act as the book’s title in the absence of one and to guide the heroes to their destination! I used genuine 22k gold leaf to tool these specific stars.
The upper endband’s main color is a light green, interchanged sporadically with yellow and bordeaux, representing a grass field with blooming patches; an ideal place for Silflay! The lower endband features the same colors but reversed in frequency. The endbands were made with the original concept/colors for the covers in mind. However by the time the design had to change the spine was lined and it wasn’t possible to change them without starting the binding anew and so I kept them.
The leather clamshell box features an element from a rejected design, which was an underground view of the burrows and the rabbits.
Since the binding itself has a lot of decorative details I decided to go really simple with the bookcase. That way binding and box compliment each other, plus the transition from simple to intricate feels more natural.
To spice it up a bit I made recesses and modeled the leather on/in them to give some depth to the burrow. I trust you Watership Down fans will easily recognize the scene it represents…! [No spoilers! Be respectful to the rest of the (potential) W.D. readers!]
Last but not least I used the amazing Aubergine designby Jemma Lewis for endpapers!
Before closing this post here’s a lovely photo of the binding with its new owner!
I feel grateful and privileged to work with people who are kind, passionate about their books, full of ideas, collaborative and patient, and C.B. has certainly been one of them. Thank you!
Hope you enjoyed reading about the making of Watership Down. See you next year & Best wishes for 2020!
After 10 years of working as a bookbinder I finally got me a board shear! Ain’t she a beauty? (correct answer: Yes, yes she is.)
It’s been a long time needed. Sure, after so much practice with an olfa cutter I can practically split atoms in a straight line or a perfect 90 degree angle, but it can get a bit tiring spending many hours per week hand-cutting boards and what have you when it could take seconds, be effortless, accurate and instantly repeatable.
I really got that “I need a board shear in my life” feeling particularly whenever I had to make laminated boards; which is often, and they feature 3 layers… For what is more cutting things straight by hand is a struggle, especially if it involves many small pieces that must fit together accurately. The clamshell boxes I’ve made in the past 2 years constantly pointed to this essential piece of equipment missing from the bindery.
Fortunately I became the owner of this lovely shear (thank you A. for prompting me to go ahead with the purchase despite the change in circumstances) a very hot summer day couple of weeks ago.
Bringing it to the bindery, and since it was already in pieces (my bindery is a basement so we had to disassemble it to get it in), it was thought best to give it a good cleaning: after all I’d only have to do this once and it would accentuate the fact the shear has a new home. Upon removing some of the old paint though, which turned to be 50% paint – 50% solidified grime, I discovered to my dismay there was rust underneath several places. I couldn’t just clean it a bit, paint it and call it a day – didn’t feel right for something that may accompany me for a lifetime.
So I went all the way: I removed each and every piece to the smallest bolt and flange; I removed the old paint almost entirely until I was left with the bare cast iron; I removed all the rust I could and converted with chemicals what was left in hard to reach places; And finally I repainted everything, double coating exposed pieces or large surfaces.
I must say, in all modesty, that the process bestowed great wisdom -and several muscle strains- upon me, so I’d like to provide a few tips, equal parts of advice and warning, for those brave, optimistic, or unlucky enough to restore a shear on their own. To own one in need of restoration I assume you live some place without a supplier properly set up to offer or arrange this (my case), or you bought one cheaply enough to not be deterred from its state.
Here’s my tips on the restoration of a board shear.
Don’t do it! Seriously don’t. Pay someone else to do it for you instead – that is of course if you can afford it. Professionals will do a much better and thorough job by sand blasting, repairing (if needed) and then electrostatic-coating your shear and save you from a lot of trouble as well. Is that doubt I sense forming in your mind? Keep reading then…
There will be Dust. There’s dust and then there’s Dust. Like when you sand some board corner to smooth it out and cough a little compared to everything being black because of paint and rust particles having ingrained themselves so deeply in your skin pores that you feel them clogging your soul.
Here are a few pictures to understand what I’m talking about. And this is nothing compared to the whole picture: there was dust stuck on the ceiling, and pretty much everywhere, and it took me 2 full days of scrubbing and cleaning to get the bindery back to a decent state.
If you somehow still want/have to go ahead and remove the old paint and rust then absolutely do this OUTSIDE. If that’s not an option then use some small room/space where you can separate the board shear from the rest of the bindery. If such a space is available but not in your bindery it’s still worth it to clean the shear there and go through the trouble of moving it two times.
If that’s not an option either then carefully isolate the board shear using plastic sheets. Be-VERY-thorough, I cannot stress this enough: make Dexter look sloppy with his covering.
A few additional tips regarding the plastic sheets: – Use thick ones for the floor, you’ll thank me later. I did, but unfortunately not for the entire “restoration area”. – Make sure there are no gaps where the plastic sheets hang from the ceiling or touch the floor. The sheets should overlap at some points: that way they part easily when you have to move in/out and prevent dust from escaping by naturally adhering one to another by static charge. – Don’t neglect to cover the ceiling with plastic sheets too. I did: some 6-8 hours of ceiling scrubbing can really make you ponder on your life choices…
Even doing all the above will not ensure the absence of dust outside the secluded space. Moving about will also unavoidably carry a lot of it on the floor.
It still costs Even though it will be much cheaper compared to a full professional restoration, doing it yourself is not exactly cheap: I had to spend about 150 euros (approx 165$) for lots of sandpaper rolls in a few different grits, several wire and scotch brushes for the sanders, paint, disposable latex gloves and several pairs of nitrile gloves, rust converter fluid, brushes, plastic sheets, scraping chisels, mineral spirits, WD-40 cans, sponges and scotch cloth, surgeons masks, plastic masks and a few other things I don’t currently recall. Keep in mind that I already own two different types of sanders, a very handy drill and a workhorse of a jewelry polishing machine capable of some hard work, all of which proved useful.
It’s hard work I’m not talking about the ability to do something tiring for hours on end – which you will. I’m referring to doing something very tiring with the added bonuses of breathing and being covered in dust, holding a sander in place that violently shakes your arms every other second when it meets a ridge or a corner (and there are many), having to hear its racket constantly, carrying around heavy cast iron parts and working in uncomfortable positions.
If you have respiratory, skin, muscle or nerve issues, back or neck pains, then it would probably be best to avoid the whole thing. If you can’t however, be prepared to wear a dust mask, safety glasses, plastic face shield and noise-cancelling headphones non-stop for many days.
It’ll take a while – ask for help It took me 5 days to remove paint and rust, sanding and painting and 2 days to clean up. The week mentioned above was not without assistance: I knew this was going to be a lot and had significant help for 2 days. If you have someone willing to lend a hand don’t hesitate to kindly ask, it will make a huge difference. Consider hiring some help if no friend or relative is available.
Here’s a photo of my charming assistant who, unlike me, was not willing to get intimately acquainted with the dust – hence the full cover. Guess who doesn’t have dust in their skin pores several days later…
Hope this was helpful, or intimidating enough to prove helpful! My heart goes out to all the people toiling without a board shear for too long: may your crafting life be graced with a mechanical companion soon! Now you know, use that knowledge wisely when the times comes…
Before closing I would like to thankKostas Boudouris, a fellow binder, for lending a hand in moving and assembling the shear.
A huge thanks goes toGeorge Balojohn, also a fellow binder, who helped a great deal: he evaluated the working condition of the shear and was willing to labor with me for many hours in disassembling, moving and assembling the shear back together after it was restored.
Both are friendly and knowledgeable chaps, don’t hesitate to get in touch with them for your binding needs or if you’re an amateur with lots of questions!
Band nippers are used to adjust the leather tightly around the spine bands when covering the binding. An essential tool for every bookbinder.
Introducing Brass Band nippers II The Brass Band Nippers offered by Dimitri’s Bookbinding corner have found home in binderies located in over a dozen different countries around the world and have received much praise for their design and functionality by professional binders and bookbinding enthusiasts alike.
Not stopping there and in my effort to provide the bookbinding community with useful and long lasting tools I have redesigned the brass band nippers and their manufacturing methods using feedback, personal experience and the aspects that made them popular to offer you an improved version.
The current version can be used for bands up to 13mm thickness.
– Made by hand & machine Each Brass Band Nipper is made entirely by hand and finished to produce smooth jaw edges suitable for fine bookbinding work. However, introducing precision machinery in various stages of the production process has resulted in more even and smooth surfaces and -most importantly- better function.
– Solid Brass As with the previous version the tool is made from solid brass, a timeless metal used in many bookbinding tools. Brass doesn’t rust and won’t stain your book spine.
– Robust The tool now has an additional 20% of mass compared to its predecessor. Made to last, it will accompany you for a life-time.
– Practical design A simple and efficient spring at the top facilitates use by spring-back action.
PRICE – 145 euros
How do I order? α) Just sent me an email at koutsipetsidis@gmail.com or leave a comment here. (Support small businesses by shopping directly from them!) b) Or head over to my ETSY SHOP.
Karen Hanmer “These are the best band nippers I have used. The handles are shorter than on other nippers I have used. They fit well into my medium-sized hands, and give me better leverage so do not require as much strength. The angle and finish on the jaws are just right. Crisp but not sharp, smooth but not slippery.”
Sue Durrant “These band nippers are superb. The tension on the spring is perfect – it keeps them aligned so as you move between bands they easily maintain the correct jaw opening. The softness of the brass jaw is so much kinder on the leather (the steel ones available from most larger suppliers can, in my experience, cut and damage the leather). I would not hesitate to recommend these to any bookbinder wanting the finest tools. A tool made by a bookbinder for bookbinders. Thank you.“
Elizabeth McHugh “These are awesome. Super smooth, easy to handle. I’m very happy with these. Well worth the money.“
Before closing this post here’s a lovely photo of the binding with its new owner!
Dimitri's Bookbinding corner 