Today Today Today! Alt Title: My Brain is a TV

Roundhouse! Roundhouse! Party Time! Excellent! Woo woo woo woo!

This post is fully not approved by Wayne and Garth. As I mentioned to someone the other day, this movie is on an eternal loop in my subconscious due to the fact that I watched the hell out of it from age 10-13. YES.

Back to the point, which is this:

Today and tomorrow at 181 Roundhouse Mews in Yaletown Vancouver, I will be waiting for you to come and fondle my books. How often do you get an invitation like that? Even if you have absolutely no intention of buying anything, please come for a visit. After all it is a SHOW and sale, so I want to do some major show and tell. It is kind of a hard gig to spend so much time making things in a vacuum - it is so cool when my books see the light of day and get to interact with human beings other than myself. 

This book wants to be loved by you. Just you, and nobody else but you.

Here is a cool view of another of the skeleton series books - I like how the book 'spine' is aligned with the anatomical vertebral column / 'spine'. Osteology nerds unite!

I hope to see you in person at Roundhouse! Come and give me a high five, you will not regret it. I have been told I am a world-class high fiver. See for yourself and be the judge.

Deets:
Roundhouse Urban Artisan's JURIED craft fair (that means that every person who glues google eyes to rocks is not going to be vending here. Quality, people!)
181 Roundhouse Mews. Yaletown. Vancouver
$1 Admission buys you sweet access to handmade love and a ticket to win a fresh pile of handmade goodness donated by artisans.
Hours are 10-5 both days

COME ON DOWN!

Oops I seem to be missing the best part: 

That is more like it. RIP, Bob. 

This is also acceptable.

Extra credit: My Dad is convinced we are related to Drew Carey based on the following details:

1. Our last name is also Carey.
2. We have family roots in Ohio (Cleveland Rocks!)
3.We share the same body type.
4. Dad wishes he could dance like Drew Carey.

When reading this post, please note that it is 7:30 am and I have been sleep deprived all week getting ready for this show. The filter is off like gloves in a hockey fight. Consider yourself JERSEYED.


xo
Laura

Show and Sale this Weekend!

Hi Friends,

Sorry I have been totally AWOL. I promise that it is for the greater good.
I recently was offered a full-time job that I could not pass up. With a long commute every day and books to make after work, I have not prioritized my time as well as I could have.

However, if you are in the Vancouver area you should come visit me at the Roundhouse Urban Artisan's show and sale this weekend. Come see what I have been up to!

Location:

Roundhouse Community Centre
181 Roundhouse Mews
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2W3
Canada

HERE IS ALL THE Roundhouse INFO! 

I hope to see you there! 

Things I Miss From Days of Yore

Remember using card catalogues at the library? I cannot say that I miss that. I remember going to school with a girl who took extreme pleasure in messing up the order of the cards in our little library. I imagine she was the only kid who was ever banned from her elementary school library.
Looking back she was some kind of proto-anarchist who was probably trying to take down "the man". Or "the woman", as was actually the case. The thing is that our elementary school librarian was one of the meanest people I have ever met. I will just call her Mrs. V. She was a real pill. Nonetheless, my love of books persevered.

What I DO miss about libraries is the old due date cards. I am a nerd for ephemera, especially when it contains the handwriting of people I do not know. So I was very stoked to find this!

Property of the Miskatonic University Library Orne Special Collections

It got me thinking about how to incorporate this into my own home library. I have been bad with lending books and then losing track of them over the years. I want to stop that from happening again, and the solution hit me like a ton of books. (As I prefer books to bricks).

Why not use library sign-out / due date cards in my own books? Turns out they are not hard to find online. Bonus: They are totally cheap. Or even free!

You can use this free template from the lovely folks at Love vs. Design. It seems to have a little owl image embedded, but it seems that all the cool kids on Etsy are loosing their shit about owls these days. Impress your friends!
RIGHT HERE

Well what about those little envelopes? How do you get a hold of those? Look no further than Mel Stampz's blog where she provides the templates for OVER 100 KINDS OF ENVELOPES. FREE. Yeah, that's right. FREE.
RIGHT HERE

Have fun!
xo
Laura

The Internet is Cool. Bonus Exclamation Point Madness!

As I am a bit of a technophobe and quite late to the blogging game, I find myself continuously amazed by the fact that people all over the world can read this. 

Thank you to all my fellow Canadians! You are my main source of readership. Yay!

Hello and thank you to all you folks in the United States, Russia, Germany, Malysia, Netherlands, Australia, France, Brazil and Denmark who are also reading this! Amazing. 

Book lovers unite! 

Here are some nice hot shots of books as my token of appreciation for you. 

xo 

Laura 

False and True Medieval Bindings

Are you among the many who love the look of raised bands on book spines? This is usually a feature of Medieval books, although the technique is still used in contemporary bookbinding.

There are multiple ways to achieve this look.
The traditional method is called sewing on raised cords (or one of the many variations of that name, like pack-sewn bindings or double-pack when there are two cords creating each raised area on the spine. The photos below are of double-pack as there two cords side by side at each station that are sewn together.

When you look close up you can see something surprising - I had always assumed that with double-pack stitching it was necessary to loop around the two cords in a figure 8 to hold them securely. It appears that it is possible to bind this way by using a straight loop that encompasses both cords.

The point is, how the heck do you do that? This is one of the times when big league tools are handy. Particularly a sewing frame. This is a frame that allows you to stretch and hold the cords taught while adding and sewing the book sections.

The following 4 videos are in Italian (which I do not speak), but you can easily get the gist of the information. This is why I love well photographed or well-shot videos of masters at work - the craft transcends language.

First we fold and tear the paper into signatures. Then we set up the sewing frame using 'keys' that hold the string (cords) into place. Then add the signatures one at a time and start assembling the book. Note that this bookbinder is not using particularly heavy cord, and that a more pronounced banded profile can be achieved with thicker cord secured in the sewing frame.

       

Are you still there? Okay let's wrap this up and get on to finishing. 

Okay, now what? These steps leave you with a naked bookstack or textblock. How do you finish the binding? Beware, this uploader thought you may also like Thievery Corporation as much as he does. Prepare to hear his music in the background. 

In terms of sewing the cords, another variation is to saw deeper v-shaped channels into the bookspine, and lay the cords into the little troughs (also called kerfs, 'cause arts love synonyms). This creates a flat (or flatter- more like  a 1/4 round) profile on the spine. This allows for a very strong bind that will likely outlast the leather binding. As is the case with this sweet book below. Never look down your nose at a ruined binding, as this is one of the most valuable sources of binding information. How often do you get to see a great artwork with the technical steps exposed? Rarely. 

Sorry this next shot is mega blurry. I want to show you how different the profile is on this baby. Smooth!

So what about this false binding thing? It is a bit of a misnomer as the book really is bound, but does not actually need to be sewn on to cords. The raised bands are created on a separate spine piece and the book is assembled in more of a case bind style. 

For some reason I am not able to show this video on my blog. 

SO PLEASE CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR MIND BLOWN.

Have fun! 

xo

Laura 

Codex Gigas

Are you familiar with the Codex Gigas? It is the world's largest Medieval manuscript. This is one amazing text and an even more unbelievable bind. Not to mention the element of mystery and possible deals with the Devil involved. Curious? Here is a view of the cover.

Image property of Stockholm National Library

Looking good so far, am I right? Well it gets better. In this case there is so, so much more to love. 

For one thing, it is insanely gigantic. Remember that this is a Medieval manuscript made by hand. Debatably by a single human being.

Image property of Stockholm National Library

Are you salivating for more info? It is actually possible for one person to have created this book? Would you like to watch a sensationalized and slightly trashy documentary on the subject? This is still a very informative and exciting piece of drama-cumentary film.  You are in luck.

WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY HERE.

Curiouser and curiouser?

HERE IS THE WORLD DIGITAL LIBRARY LINK.

This is where you can browse through the manuscript page by page in exquisitely detailed photographs.
Enjoy!

xo
Laura

Medieval Bookbinding with Atelier Pigmenta Peregrinae

Today while doing my near-daily round of YouTube searching for bookbinding videos that will reveal new tidbits, I came across this gem. Brought to us by Atelier Pigmenta Peregrina (video remains their property).

Are you a fan of Medieval binding? This is a nice cross-section of the process. Bonus footage of textblocks in Medieval style. I know I really tend to focus on the structural elements of books, but I do have an appreciation for the guts. I actually gained a new appreciation of book contents this past weekend during an amazing chance encounter that I will tell you all about shortly. In the meantime enjoy this amazing work! 

Want to see more?  YOU CAN FIND THE PIGMENTA PEREGRINAE BLOG HERE.
xo
Laura