Gratitude, duh

This guy is The Best

Aside from images of medieval serfs in ugly hats making glue out of horses, or Micky and those psychotic brooms, I had only the vaguest idea of what an apprenticeship was when I embarked upon mine. I knew my responsibilities would involve washing brushes, sweeping, cutting, sewing, tiny tasks of manual labor and probably the occasional errand that would take me out of the bindery and into the wilds of Brooklyn. I wasn't so sure what I'd be learning though. I mean, "bookbinding," of course, but I was comfortable with the basics (or thought I was) and entered into this open and enthusiastic about learning whatever the boss decided to teach me.

I've been assistant teaching an introductory bookbinding course, and it has been a hugely important experience. It's much harder than I had anticipated, more interesting than I had hoped. It wasn't until I had to explain a particular technique five hundred times in an hour or try to figure how to correct a student's gigantic error without making said student cry that I realized how truly difficult teaching is. And that realization was accompanied by another realization - that my boss Gavin Dovey of Paper Dragon Books is a frickin' rockstar. I mean, aside from being an exceptional craftsman, which he undoubtedly is, it's the patience, the generosity of time, the willingness to share his craft with this enthusiastic but admittedly bumbling chick who interrupts his work almost constantly and, lets be honest, really only gives back in the form of a clean floor and dust-free presses and the occasional granola bar that is humbling and inspiring.

Lest this come off as an attempt at brown-nosed blogging, I'll confess to spending the first few months vascilating between frustration and absolute fear of the guy. I had spent the previous four years working with a gaggle of kindly, gentle, mild-mannered knitter ladies, and was ill-prepared for directness, for critique, for frenetic energy. But I've figured it out, pretty much, and now that the fear has subsided, I am truly in awe of the generosity he has shown me.

I am thankful for so much in my life right now, for my family, my friends, all the lovely and warm things in my life. Yay Thanksgiving, right?! So many great things! But I wanted to express particular gratitude for this opportunity I've been given, to learn these skills and to grow in this craft. Thanks, Gavin, for making me your apprentice, and for teaching me so much.

Super Sharp Knives

The frightening entrance to the awesome place I went today.

Today was just an excellent day at the bindery. I felt a solid sense of accomplishment, like if I were magically transported back to the family dinner table of my childhood and my mom asked me "What did you learn today, dear?" I could say "I learned how to sharpen a paring knife! And how to get to the Tools for Woodworking shop which is in the middle of the most barren, desolate part of Brooklyn that it still has cobblestones and probably tumbleweeds but it was raining and I'd assume that tumbleweeds are hindered by puddles. But also, this knife! It is so sharp!"


The shop, actually called Tools for Working Wood, is a spooky and kind of magical, and is staffed by kindly and flannel-wearing men who have a near-encyclopedic knowledge of basically everything in there. I'm starting to do some leather work with my books and the boss and I have been working on turning a semi-busted, rough-edged slab of metal into a finely honed instrument. It was taking way longer than was practical or sane, so the boss sent me down to pick up some things and to see if I could pick up any insider info. And I did! They assured me that the fastest way to get a paring knife super-sharp - instead of using a series of blocks that can wear down and get warped and may not give you a straight edge on your blade - is to use a series of adhesive sandpaper adhered to a flat surface, and to use it with sharpening stone oil. I was tempted to keep this a secret. I need at least one magic trick, right? But it's just TOO EXCITING! I had been working on a dang sharpening stone until my hands were bleeding in a dozen places, and not only did the Pressure Sensitive Adhesive work quickly and easily, I endured not a single injury.

The guys at the store assured me that this is a method advocated by Jeff Peachy, who I am quickly learning is basically a legend in the book world. He's a conservator who is known for the conservation tools he invents, manufactures and repairs, but now I know him as the tool-sharpening god and also a man who runs an awesome blog. So interesting! I've been swimming through it all night - totally worth a look.

Pencil Porn

This video is just lovely. Made by animator dropbear for the band Hundson, it uses 920 pencils and 1525 images, as helpfully explained in this equally super behind-the-scenes video. Enjoy! (via Boingboing,)

In Which I Make Books With Adorable People

I'm pretty sure my cousins are the cutest people in the whole entire world and they are also exceptionally generous, by humoring me as I bumbled through I did an evening of basic book instruction. They each made one five-hole pamphlet stitch book with a wrap-around cover and a handful hardback ones where I had sewed the text-block previously and they did some jazzy things to the covers and slapped 'em on. It was so much fun! The most fun I've had binding in a while. And they were geniuses at it! I was shocked when they got the five hole pamphlet stitch down the very first try. Just geniuses.

Gorgeous Paper Sculptures

These very cool paper sculptures are by artist Calvin Nicholls. His website is definitely worth a look, as he describes his process with enthusiasm and a little slideshow. Love it! (Via Craftzine)