Fine Binding

France France France ... here I come ... even twice this week :) Lille is on my agenda for Tuesday and Paris for the weekend ... could be worse :) So with France in my head, today a binding method called Franse Binding (French Binding) in Dutch. The exact English verb is not easy to find, perhaps Fine Binding - if someone can help me with it .....?

Binding method
The Fine Binding method has been in use since the 18th century. For bookbinders this is one of the most beautiful ways to create a book. You can recognize this method by the spine cover, which is not attached to the spine and the visible lack of the board edge. If there are raised bands, they are most of the time false, the headband, on the other hand, is always hand embroidered, so not false at all.
The advantage of the unattached spine cover is that the precious decoration of the spine - usually gold leaf - is protected, because the spine cover doesn't move when one opens the book and therefore it will keep its shape.

In practise
A lot of bookbinding skills are required to make a beautiful correct Fine Binding. Somewhere at the internet I read that an experienced bookbinder works for at least twelve hours at this binding. The steps in making such a book are:
- folding the sections and endpapers
- glue, trim, round, abpress and glue the book block
- creating the covers
- board lacing
- embroider headband
- prepare the cover material
- tie up for the fake raised bands
- apply flush joint
As you can see making such a book is a lot of work and therefore almost priceless. Since we don't have the habit of using gold leaf at the covers and spines of our books, one of the biggest advantages of the Fine Binding became superfluous. Of course it is fun to maintain the craft is this bookbinding method, so I made one ... once .. but learned a lot of it and I can use some of the tricks a learned for other books or possible new ways to bind books ...

Another Guestbook

Guestbooks are not exclusively connected to weddings ... they also fit well on other occasions, such as an official opening of a foundation. One of the board members of Stichting Zorg en Onderwijs Nu wanted to give her foundation a present that would last for a long time and that was also a present for the kids they represent. Together we developed a guestbook with blank pages of thick off-white paper, suitable for writing or drawing. It had to be a sturdy book that could withstand some rough handling.

The foundation's logo is brightly colored and was an excellent starting point for the cover.
I bound the book in a traditional sturdy multi-section-case-binding, with the advantage of lying flat when opened. To accentuate the bright colors, I used red yarn for the sewing. For extra strenght the corners of the book have been provided with an extra layer book binders linen.

I love making personalized guestbooks! It is always a pleasure to develop a unique book together with a client. There are so many opportunities to give or use a book that has been made for that particular situation. Every person or occasion has it own story, and that is what makes it interesting: Matching the product with the occasion according to the wishes of the client. 

 

A beautiful second life for books

... wow ... Swedish bookbinder gives old books a beautiful second life!

Cecilia Levy, graphic designer, bookbinder and paper artist makes makes stunning objects of second hand books. Instead of creating books she tears books apart and cuts the pages into small pieces. Those pieces are reassembled in new dreamy delicate objects, such as teacups, bowls, eggs or boots. Some of these products are off-white, others show text, or text details ... just take a look ...

Prien's Personalized Guestbook

Spring and the beginning of the summer means Wedding Season ... so I am and have been quite busy making wedding booklets and guestbooks. As you already know it has been quite hectic, so I haven't show you much of my work lately, but I didn't want you to miss out on this special one.

In June Jan & Inge asked for a personalized guestbook for their special day. In close consultation we designed a beautiful A4 guestbook. Both the inside and the outside have been personalized. The book contains 70 pages with 204 squares for personal messages and some nice doodles at the bottom. These small drawings from Jan & Inge reflect their lives and personality. The doodles of the bikes have been chosen for the cover as well.

The book has been bound  in a multi-section case-binding, so it is strong and durable. It method also has the advantage of lying flat when opened, so it is easy to write in. The sections are sewn together and case-bound into a hard cloth-covered board-based case, with endpapers used to attach the book block to the case.

This is just one of the countless opportunities. You can always contact me if you have specific wishes or ideas for a special book.

Japanese Patterns

Japan - land of the rising sun - inspires me in so many ways. When I visited Kyoto and Tokyo I bought a lot of beautiful Japanese paper, with all kinds of patterns. These patterns can be found everywhere; as decoration in temples, at fabrics, pottery and porcelain, paper and a thousand other things. But where do these patterns come from? What do they mean? 

Seigaiha or Seikaiha

A wave design made of the arches of concentric circles placed upon one another so that only the upper portion of each set of circles is visible.
The four arcs are meant to be the four oceans (north, south, east and west) surrounding Japans islands. The calm waves symbolize our days repeating calmly and peacefully forever.
It was used in China to depict the sea on ancient maps. In Japan this pattern was used to decorate temples, halls and gates from the 16th century.

Shippo Tsunagi

This pattern is an abastract shippo tsunagi. Shippo means 'seven kinds of treasuries' and tsunagi means 'with interrelated objects'. The diamond shape can be associated with a sparkle, that is connected to a jewel or treasure.
The pattern comes originally from China.

Same Kommon

Same Kommon means Shark Skin Pattern. Sharkskin-like semicircles are placed one of the top of another. Fabric with this pattern is believed as protecting from evil or illness. Traditionally, the bride will bring a new Same-komon Kimono with her.
In the Edo period, each feudal lord had his specific pattern of kamishimo (samurai cloth) and the Kishu family owned the Same Kommon pattern.

Gyougi

Giyougi is a derivative of the Same Kommon pattern. It is also derived from the Edo period. Characteristic of this pattern is the diagonal allignment of the dots.
The komon patterns were made by forcing rice paste throught a stencil of tiny dots, then dying the surrounding fabric, so the dots stay white. In the early Edo period komon were commonly white on indigo. 

Matsuba

Matsuba means pine needles from the matsu, the evergreen pine. This tree is considered to be a symbol of longevity and principles.

Of course this is just a small selection of Japanese patterns, there are many more I'd like to show you! Coming weeks I will be working on some new booklets, using these fabulous papers I bought in Japan. Check out my blog every now and then for an update an sneak peek ...

If you have any additions or corrections, please don't hesitate to react!

New Studio and Swan Market Antwerpen

Sorry sorry sorry for my long absence! It's been crazy over here!

Especially the period around Whitsun was very very busy. On Whit Sunday I was at the Utrechtse Fabriek in Utrecht. Going to a market always means working extremely hard the week before. You have to supplement your stock, decide what you will show at the market, iron your tablecloths and a million other things that always come in mind last minute.
The Utrechtse Fabriek was a nice cozy market, with friendly visitors and fellow exhibitors. Unfortunately it was such a beautiful day, that is was a bit too warm to stroll around in the sun. I guess a lot of people chose the beach that day ...

The next day, Whit Monday, was even warmer ... and that was the day I choose to move my gear to my new studio. It was also the day we discovered that I had collected a lot of stuff and machinery. So it was quite a heavy day ... that almost started with a ticket for parking on the sidewalk. After a long long intense conversation with a city guard I wriggled out of it ... but it was close ...  Since I had so many things, large things, we had to drive four times and in the afternoon there was this major event in the city called Roparun ... which meant a huge traffic jam ... but at the end of this long, warm day everything was in my new office!

The weeks after that were filled with tidying and finding my way in this lovely new workspace. In between I had a lot of nice assignments ... photos will follow on the blog later on. First more about my new office: It's super centrally, literally in the middle of the city, which gives an enormous vibe! I share my workspace with Kim from Papiermonsters. She makes amazing stuff as you can see at her website: http://www.papiermonsters.nl/
Together with Karin from Lecarpentier, Quirine from QS Grafisch Ontwerp, Monice from Monice Janson and Olga from Ontwerpkeuken we share an office. I am so glad to be here and to work here!!

This week is partly devoted to the preparations for the Swan Market in Antwerpen. Prien was already there in May and that was such a wonderful day! The weather was perfect, the people were very friendly and the entire atmosphere was truly that of a festival! I am looking forward to Sunday! Hopefully the weather will cooperate! At the moment the weather reports contradict each other ... and when it will rain that day, I won't go .. because my booklets can't handle the moist ... so my fingers are crossed and I hope to see you in sunny Antwerp this Sunday!!

Utrechtse Fabriek 8 juni 2014

Next Sunday, Prien will be at the Utrechtse Fabriek in the Griftpark in Utrecht. This creative and relaxed outdoor market offers a wide range of unique products. There will be 55 webshops presenting their finest products, you can attend workshops and there is enough space to enjoy a nice picnic :)

Hopefully it will be a sunny summerday! Hope to see you next week! Until that time I am working very hard to replenish my stock :)

Japanese Prints

Wow, so simple and sooo beautiful ... Japanese prints, and I am not the only one who is impressed by this imagery, for centuries Japanese art inspired artists all over the world. The exhibition 'Verstilde schoonheid op Japanse prenten' (Tranquil Beauty on Japanese Prints) at Centre Céramique in Maastricht shows the influence of those wood prints on European artists.

In 1851 the Japanese borders were opened and Japan participated in the World Exhibition in London in 1862. Japanese products were exported all over the world, and Japan and its products and art became super fashionable. Japonism even became an art movement for a while. Especially impressionist artists were influenced by Japanese prints, such as Manet, Monet and Van Gogh. The American artist Bertha Lum made beautiful woodcut prints based on Japanese themes:

Woodblock Printing
Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries, but was only widely adopted in Japan during the Edo-period (1603-1867) were it was used to create the ukiyo-e. The production was fairly simple, but also very precise. A number of persons was involved in the process, like the designer, the woodcut artist and the printer. First a sketch was drawn on Washi-paper. This sheet was put on the wooden block and everything outside the lines was cut away, so the image was mirrored. Every colour had it's own wooden block, so colorful images were more expensive. The wooden blocks were pressed on damp paper and the printer used a 'baren' to rub the ink in the paper. An early form of mass production.

Ukiyo-e
The Edo-period has been named after the city Edo (Tokyo). Because the entourage and the military top were required to live close to the Shogun, Edo became a very wealthy city, with a flourishing cultural live. Teahouses, restaurants, gambling houses, bathhouses, theaters and brothels were the symbols of this rich and fleeting (ukiyo) world. Artists were inspired by this new world, and a new art movement was born: Ukiyo-e, means image of the fleeting world.


Shin Hanga
Early twentieth century the ukiyo-e was restored by artists such as Goyo, Kotondo, Kiyoshi, Shinsui Ito and Shiro Kasamatsu. Characteristic is the reference to classic images, but with a modern twist. For example, the modern women (moga) don't look down, the just look you in the eye ... the courtesans at the antique ukiyo-e always looked down. Kasamatsu was one of the most respected of the Shin Hanga artists, his specialty was landscapes:

This was just a very very short resume of Japanese woodblock print art. Since I am extremely fascinated by the Japanese culture and Japanese art the coming weeks I will blog about Japanese patterns, artists and bookbinding. Hope to see you on my Japanese tour :)

Wooden Books

In the vast maze of information once in a while something stands out. Last week my eye was caught by a beautiful wooden book. In the monthly magazine of the National Library of Australia I read an item about 'Old, Rare and Beautiful Books on Indonesia', because my eyes were triggered by a colorful illustration of fish. Since I am taking an illustration class these days, illustrations have my special attention :)

But the next page contained even a bigger surprise; a book made of bark. The library owns two Batak bark books of uncertain age. The Batak people of northern Sumatra had their own script, which is seen in tree-bark manuscripts created by magicians and healers for their rituals, oracles and medical recipes.
The book is very simple, it is accordion shaped and it looks like only one side has been described. The picture is a bit grotesque, because the size of the booklet is actually very small; 8 x 6 x 1 cm (folded). A very handy, small notebook :)

Bark is not the only thing used to write on in earlier times, Indonesians also used to write on palm-leaf. The examples in the Australian library are not of great age, as writings on such fragile material do not survive well in the tropics. The acquired manuscripts are copies, believed to date from the nineteenth or twentieth century.

These books reminded me of the birch bark I brought back home from Norway last summer. It is still somewhere deep down in my closet ... time to make my own bark book :) Perhaps to write down some modern oracles :)

Of course I also want to show the image that first triggered my attention, the beautiful illustration of fish.

4 May - Remembrance Day

May 4th, a day to remember ... a day for remembrance. This day commemorates all civilians and members of armed forces of The Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since the outbreak of World War II. In Rotterdam mayor Aboutaleb together with prime minister Rutte were present at the Remembrance Ceremony in Crooswijk. Under the leadership of the ZangExpress, children of the Bavokring sang a song and handed over poems they wrote about Remembrance Day.

Prien has been commisioned by the ZangExpress to bind those poems into a booklet. It was such a nice assignment. The poems were really beautiful, some made me think, other made me laugh. I gathered some lines that stood out (in Dutch):

Vrijheid is vrij zijn
Vrijheid is blij zijn
vrijheid is voor ieder één
-----------------
Vrijheid is vrij zijn van de oorlog
iedereen mag vrij zijn
of je nou: turks, marokaans, afrikaans
antilliaans, surinaams, of chinees bent.
-----------------
We zijn nu vrij
dat maakt iedereen
blij. Zo moet het zijn.
-----------------
Ik heb een wens
voor de vrede. De mensen hebben
voor elkaar respect.
-----------------
Zonder vrijheid geen blijheid
gelukkig is de oorlog voorbij
-----------------
Voor al die mensen die ons hebben gered
wij allemaal vinden jullie een held
-----------------
Hitler hij deed erge dingen voor mensen
en hij droeg geen lenzen. Als hij dat zag
moest hij zien wat hij met de menshijd deed

Thank you very much for your poems and stories: Nurya, Cairo & Rohit, Dilda, Bafode & Jaden, Esmagül, Aymane & Volkan, Rana, Sara, Imane, Vanadil, Ilyas, Jamel, Bilal, Oguzhan, Moga,Thijmen, Kayra, Trishana.