Metallic Waxed Linen Thread

     
     Okay So I have a bit of a bookbinding thread fetish. I have tried many different brands and colors. I do believe it was Patsy Stone who said "You can never have too many Gloves, Hats, & Shoes". Well in my world one can never have too enough  Paper, tools, & thread!
    Most of the time I use18/3 un-waxed Irish Linen thread and custom dye it to match my project. Up until now metallic thread has only been a dream. I have found a rather brilliant product called Gilder's Paste. This lovely stuff is like waxy metallic shoe polish. It is amazing for "gilding" waxed thread. Just pull the thread through the paste and wham bam Metallic thread! You do have to let it dry for 60 or so minutes, unless you want everything you own metallic. I haven't tried it yet, but the Gilders paste would probably work well to gild text blocks. Currently I am working on a book with Cordovan Leather and a red/gold metallic thread. I will post some pics when it's done.

    ~ Eric

Secret no more - The Secret Belgian Binding

So I have seen many examples of the Secret Belgian binding online. After much searching I found some very readable instructions here. Thank you to whomever did this tutorial...good job!
  From what little info I could find, the Secret Belgian binding was re-discovered in 1986. It is composed of 2 covers and a spine that are woven together. The signatures are sewing to the inner weave.

 Here is an example of what is "should" look like.. Boy do I LOVE Dennis Yuen's work

Book Artist: Cailun/ Dennis Yuen

  Instead of trying to re-invent the wheel please follow the this link for the tutorial. After reading it as carefully as I could and following the directions as well as any male can, I do however have some observations.


  1) Do not use tape to hold your covers together while stitching... Tape and paper are never  friends. I  tried to use painters tape (which I do use a lot of in my studio). Even after sticking it to my shirt a few times to take down the adhesive a bit, it still pulled up and tore my paper.... FAIL....
  2) The instructions to not call for an odd number of sewing stations... keep your number odd. Believe me you will be happier
  3) Unlike some bindings, tension is key. Your signatures and cover need to be tight!

 I took some pics of my process. Please be kind, it was my first time.

First 3 stations sewn. Please forgive the horrible photograph (Warning: they don't get any better)

Inside cover completely sewn.  I'm a bit embarrassed of the cheap paper and the nylon thread I used

Please try this binding out. It really is quiet beautiful. I can see a lot of variations using beads or decorative threads that would be next to impossible of most bindings.

   ~Eric

Bibliogami

 I found these online .. cool as hell. The artist is Denise Kiggan. Her work can be found here

This Is Where We Live

This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

Welcome to our city - to our world - of books. This is where we live.

A film for 4th Estate Publishers' 25th Anniversary. Produced by Apt Studio and Asylum Films.

The film was produced in stop-motion over 3 weeks in Autumn 2008. Each scene was shot on a home-made dolly by an insane bunch of animators; you can see time-lapse films of each sequence being prepared and shot in our other films.




London Set Build Timelapse from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

  The word really should be made from Paper, books, scissors, and a glue gun.
     ~Eric