I started a Google Group called Binding Books. Feel free to head over there and sign up the page s here:

Book Binding

I’m hoping to make it an active community and have a lot of discussion about book binding.

This is a small watercolor sketcbook I worked on in 2002 and 2003. THe pages are thick HMP made in Nepal. the book was made here as well. I had purchased the book with the intent of rebinding it into something I liked a little more, as I ripped it apart it became apparent that was going to happen, the binders had used some harsh stiff and non flexible glue that was not reversible. It made the whole thing a pain in the bum and I abandoned the project as fast as I started it. Needless to say i simply kept the book the way it was but added a sleeve in the back that allowed the end sheet to slide and allow the book to open. The paper in this thing is thick and stiff, very nice for water color or gouache.

I have again done the horrific thing with this journal and torn out pages. When I worked on this journal I really looked at the journal as a means to an end and not a finished product. Tearing out pages meant nothing, or not much. As such pulling a page out and selling it didn’t bother me at all. I sold many of the pages from this journal on eBay, they averaged about$50 for the 4x6inch pages. Not bad for me at the time as I was very poor and they funded my electric bill and my food bill.

Though I was dirt poor I loved that time I spent as an artist and making money off my art. It was seriously some of the best times of my life. I can only dream of devoting my life to art like I did those 2 summers.

Anyway onto the video, (see a larger version on YouTube.)

Holy Post Mania!!!

This journal is 4.5×6 inches and is swathed in thick 4oz cowhide in a mottled marbled pattern. There are 200 unlined pages hand torn from full sheets of Strathmore 500 series charcoal and pastel paper a 100% cotton fiber, acid-free paper that has a laid pattern. The color of this paper is sand.

The stitching is a simple elegant linking long stitch. In naturally colored Irish linen.

I bought stacks of paper a while ago and never really had the chance to use them, I had them in the boxes they arrived in and couldn’t real see them to think about using them in books. Now that I have a area for sheet storage I can see each of the stacks of full sheets and decide if I want to make a journal with Fabriano watercolor paper, Arches Text wove (just bought 30 sheets) or the assortment of colors of Stonehenge or Strathmore 500 series. I plan on going through my stacks of paper and making a few books.

I’m not sure where this little gem with go- ebay or etsy

Also finished are 2 of the 3 to 4 books that are for a special order. These small sized journals, 4.25×5.5 inches, have Southworth 24lb, 25% cotton paper that is a flecked tan color; they call it Ivory Granite. I think its tan. They are lined as well. 200 pages stitched up with an alternating long stitch. I made the patterns related; each is the inverse of the other. I stitched one in natural unbleached Irish linen and the other black. I think they turned out pretty sweet.

These are both for a custom order, thus I can’t sell them to anyone but the person ordering them… But I would take orders for something similar.

These 3 hedgehogs are interesting. 1 is made with chocolate brown sep hide and the other 2 are made with new leather, a mottled chocolate brown cow hide. Its super stiff and doesn’t require backing (I’ll wax philosophical about this in another post) and makes a damn fine hedgehog. I was particularly impressed with the stiffness of the leather when glued down to the stiff card end sheets I had put on the 2 hedgehogs. It does require some special care when cutting.

In other words, use a SHARP blade! I would also suggest that anyone working with a heavy weight leather like this NOT use their good rotary cutter, it dulls the heck out of it and it’s not worth it I would suggest my favorite tool – the simple box cutter or click knife. (BTW this is 3.5 to 4 oz weighted leather, my usual leather is 1.5oz this is a heavy weight leather.)

Back to the hedgehogs, these are lined 160 pages of 20lb Wausau ivory colored paper. OF course they are stitched in the normal hedgehog way, clamped and glued under pressure. I used the book press to adhere the cover and it was perfectly smooth. The leather is flat and tight to the book block with no evidence of curling or cockling. I love the book press, I he’d never really gotten to put it through it’s paces before I gave it to my Dad to sse if he could make a heavier duty stronger press. I must say that it’s sweet, and I do wish that I had room for both presses, but alas I don’t.

The hedgehog above is the new cow hide with a sheep hide inlaid corner. There are some letters and numbers punched into the edge of the hide here, I’m t sure what they are for, probably something to do with the leather and color, to keep track of it at the tanning factory.
This one is choclate brown sheep hide- super soft and smooth with a hint of darker spots in it.
This is ALL the cow hide, when I ordered it I wasn’t sure of the “marbled” coloring, but seeing it in person really made me realize how cool this mottled brown is, like milk chocolate.

Anyhow 2 will be on etsy and one on eBay or some combination of that.

I also listed my old light duty book press on eBay. I’m hoping it sells for a decent amount, but it may not. Its in great shape and I used it the other day on the current batch of hedgehogs. It provides just enough pressure to evenly press the covers of hedgehogs and keep them flat.

It’s here on eBay, take a gander or make a bid.

Phew! It’s been a crazy couple of days in the Comfortable Shoes Studio. There are a number of new and exiting thing either here or on the horizon! This the first tiem all week I’ve and time to stop and post.

First, last weekend we had a friend move in to stay with u for 4 to 6 months until he can find a place of his own- wow is that a big difference! While it’s nice and all it certainly does changes thing. Secondly, I have applied for a new DayJob, it is with my current company but off the sales floor and dealing with the computer systems with in the store. It’s not an easy job nor is it a hard job, but there is a lot to learn and I do like that. So learning and applying for the new position has required that I give the DayJob a few extra hours of my time, time I can’t really afford to give, but all the same I must.

I’ve been making books here and there, but I’ve been doing all the boring bits; cutting covers and folding paper as time has permitted. After a 10-hour shift at the DayJob I had to the studio and cut a few covers etc…I didn’t realize that I had been actually finishing off books in the short time I’ve been in the studio. 3 days ago I headed to the studio to see on my ready for spines shelf that I had a stack of a dozen books. So I spent Thursday night punching spines and stations in signatures. I can’t remember what day but one day this week I spent gluing up hedgehogs. Finally last night I set to work on stitching p some of the mammoth stack of journals that I had made. I finished 3.

I’ll give each type of journal it’s own post with pictures at that!

I just posted another video to youtube, kind of a cop out though as it’s just a series of stills strung together with music.

I’m starting to hate eBay again. They have raised the low end insertion fee to$0.40 cents and the percentage that they take after that to 3.25%.

I know that this doesn’t seem like a lot but when you add all the fees and paypal fees together it end up being a lot, currently eBay takes something like 10% off the top of EACH journal I sell through them. This is going to to raise their take to close to 11%.

Ebay’s business model seems to be get people hooked and then jack up prices. Rather than to focus on marketing and gaining new customers. A road to new profits shouldn’t be gouging your current stable customer base but to gain new customers- with eBay this could be buyers or sellers; either way they win.

I’m pretty peeved. Not so mu that I’m going to nevr sell on eBay, but enough that etsy is going to see mroe and more of my books and eBay will only see 1 a week now.

I put the 400 page journal up on etsy today (see link to the right) and I’ll be putting the other on ebay tomorrow.

My coworker J’s husband T works for a local press company and has access to a supply of left over papers. Mostly small amounts f paper left over from printing jobs that company has, so it’s odd papers in small-ish amounts. Shortly before Christmas J slipped me a couple of envelopes of papers. I glanced at them and didn’t really have time to sort them or look at them too closely. I noticed some nice colors and nice heavy paper, enough to make a journal in each shade. Good stuff. Today I took the papers down to the studio to take a closer look and put them away with the rest of the paper. The first envelope contained some of my favorite Strathmore papers in some of my favorite colors. The next envelope had the stiff and thick paper. I pulled the stack out and found a nice stiff card stock, with barely perceptible gray dots all over it; another parchment and then what looked like at first a super thick slick white paper with a texture on the back. When I flipped it over it was black, and had a moleskine texture! I think its mole skin. Essentially it’s a heavy white cardstock with a texture black vinyl coating. I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do with it but it will be cool to play with. I think that I’ll be playing with it for personal use, as I’m not sure how much my designs would violate copyright.