Ok, where was I?

Sometime in mid-July I put the breaks on a massive and ridiculously complex edition. Seven months later, here I am shaking off the dust and nervously starting up again. And all I can say to myself is THANK YOU, SARAH BRYANT OF JULY, FOR BEING AN ORGANIZATIONAL GENIUS. That’s right. I am calling myself a genius on my own blog like a total a**hole.* Let me show you why.

This “book” is more accurately described as a case binding PLUS a thick stack of drafting film PLUS a box to contain that stack PLUS a three-flap wrapper with a magnet closure to hold everything together. Here, have a look:

I printed this book in an edition of thirty five copies and was eighteen deep into the binding process when my lumbering, pregnant body flatly refused to stand up for more than four minutes at a time. I had planned to finish the project before the baby was due in August, but that was the foolish pipe dream of an a**hole.* Instead, this is what happened:

This is, without a doubt, the most complicated edition I’ve ever tackled. It’s not the kind of thing a person can put down for seven months and then nonchalantly swan back into. But, here’s the thing, do you see that green file folder? It’s that one on the left, the one that an absolute five star f***ing** genius filled with master components for the entire edition, separated into different packets for different portions of the binding. Do you see it? Let’s have a closer look:

What kind of galloping general of a goddamned genius gathered these master components and spare parts together so meticulously? THIS kind, mofos.

How many components could there possibly be, though? Let me answer that question with the specificity of a f***ing** genius.

Box tray: base, short walls, long wall, paper for box wall, paper for paste down
Box lid: base, short walls, long wall A, long wall B with cuts for cloth tab, cloth tab, cardstock figure underlay #1, cardstock figure underlay #2, cardstock to cover top of lid, book cloth covering, fill for interior of box lid, pastedown for interior of box lid.
Book: two printed sections, endsheets, Japanese spine lining, flange, western spine lining, back board, front board with inset cut out, inset label, lap component and spine stiffener, book cloth covering
Wrapper: board A with metal embedded, wall #1 with inset cut out, board B, wall #2, Board C with magnets embedded, cardstock underlay #1, cardstock underlay #2, fill for panel B, grid pastedown for panel B, wooden corners for panel B, fill for panel C, pastedown for panel C, book cloth covering, book cloth hinges, label for spine

Thanks to this shocking display of foresight, I was able to tease out these folders and get back to work, even on the three flap wrappers, which have been quietly terrifying me since I gave up and took to my bed in July.

Now here I am, making wrappers, assembling and sanding tiny walnut corners, adhering cardstock shapes to boards and covering them with book cloth using foam harvested from an ikea couch, all thanks to the nursery where Milo now spends two days a week. Things are looking good for me to start shipping orders that have been on hold since the summer (sorry, guys, thanks for waiting) and to *gasp* even start taking new ones. (Hey, anybody want to buy a book?)

Milo’s new life at the nursery also marks my return to other parts of working life. Stay tuned for an update about Trace, a new Shift-lab book and set of prints to be exhibited at 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland, Oregon in March. I’ve also updated my workshops page to reflect new weekend courses in London and Brighton, so have a look if you think you’d like to come along!

Ok, over and out, Blog Friends! More soon.

________________________________

*Dear Nanna, I am so sorry I used the word “a**hole” on my blog.
** I am even more sorry that I used the word “f***ing.” I know that is worse.

 

Save