No, I can't

I challenged myself to make 14 books in 14 days (and if I was successful, I would rent this new space near my house), even if they were simple - they had to be simple, actually, by definition quick books can't be too complicated - but I forgot about a few things. Let me see if I can list them.

1. Family
2. Life
3. Work

There, that wasn't so difficult, was it? I got extremely busy with family and life and that spilled over into work - which isn't book binding - and the end result was a happy time for all. But only the one book - The Animal/Insect Mash-up Supremo Book - bound but three (two diaries, one 'artsy') in various stages of dismemberment. I mean, development. 

Plus! Plus, I backed my own cloth with paper so now I can use my own book cloth. I watched the video on Cailun.info and read the discussion on the LiveJournal Handmade Book Community,then set about using very thin Chinese paper on the back of a Japanese cloth remnant. It worked nicely. 

I'm pleased with the results.

I also found an art gallery online thing from Italy. tuttolibri from the designboom website. With such books as the one pictured here (from the designboom website, which you really should check out when you have the time, say, at work.)

Now, I'm off to make a book - a diary, I hope - which I will make with no pressure about time or competition.

Besides, the nifty space I would have used as a workshop/sales outlet has been rented to someone quicker than I at making decisions that cost me money. Thanks for reading.

Book One - The Animal/Insect Mash-up Supremo

This is The Animal/Insect Mash-up Supremo Book of 9/9/08 the first, maybe, in a series of 14 books for September. 

Why Animal/Insect? Because the contents, some of which can be seen in the photo below, are names of animals and insects in Japanese and English; With! Sample sentences. The first Japanese word is the first part of the Japanese word for animal (動物) whereas the second, in red, word is insect in Japanese.

Why Mash-Up Supremo? Because Mash has four letters, just like the word I really wanted to use but won't because this is a family-oriented artsy foober blog. Why is this book all mashed-up? I screwed up the sewing THREE TIMES! And that's a lot of repair work. Plus, there's a hidden secret! Yes! Here's the secret: Look at the thread for the binding. Looks like a Chinese-style stab binding, right? It is! But the line running parallel to the edge is not as it seems. One section of this thread is actually.... Drawn on with a pen! Why? Art! (And this book was supremely mashed-up.) 

But here you can see the interior of said Supremo book: First, the Japanese kanji for the animal or insect, then the pronunciation, then a sample sentence, and finally, the English equivalent. There are 18 animals or insects altogether but on this page is Fox (狐 - kitsune) and Cat (猫 - neko) with the sample sentence of Fox being, "Crazy like a 狐." And that for Cat being "A 猫 has nine lives."

Thanks for reading. 

New Space?

I have an opportunity to rent a new space for my workshop. It costs very little, is centrally located, has trees lining the street, and a fairly busy street it is, too. Plus, it's so close to home I can walk. In fact, it is so close to home that if I forget anything, I can walk back home and get it.

The main question is, should I? Right now I spend zero for my space which, admittedly, is a desk in a room but anything over zero is still more expensive than zero, right? On the other hand, if I have a space I must pay for then maybe I will be more serious (ha!) - make that, more determined - to become an at least locally known bookmaker.

Therefore, I will challenge myself to make a book a day for two weeks. If I make 14 books in 14 days, then I will rent the space and set about doing even more for my bookmaking career (not that it's exactly putting a dent in the universe now.). An interesting challenge and I'd better hop to it because to day is:

Day One!