I was given the sad news today that one of my favorite papers, Lana Royal, is no longer produced (for many months now). My stash ran out and I wanted to grab a few sheets to replenish while I was at Talas. I use (used) it for everything, it was my favorite paper for printmaking and cards. So soft, so smooth, so bright... The Lana mill, over 400 years old, is reportedly only making one kind of paper now.

I used Lana Royal for my albums as well (nod to Barbara Mauriello for introducing me to the paper in her Making Models class in 2002). I'm on the hunt for a replacement.

Truth be told I have not done anything with those lined (aka ruled) paper text blocks (scroll down to see one bound in green silk bookcloth). I plan to practice some headbanding with them soon. So if you want one custom it's not too late. I'll try to post a pic of them - and dimensions of everything, in general.

I'm on to this other book which is in the press for another 12 hours or so. Probably longer. It's on the large side and I was happy it fit into the press. I think I had to fold it against the grain but it was a dented freebie text block (starting as a pad of graph paper) and I'm fine with the book not wanting to sit closed. I lucked out with the earlier book, the pad for that one happened to have a short grain.

In another class with Susan she shared a bit from the previous day's New York Times where good craftsmanship was said to embody patience and love of materials.

Above are silk headband threads. My twin spools of chocolate- and toffee-colored threads served me well, but when the cardboard core starting showing I decided to splash out on headband threads in every color they have at Talas right now. I figured it would be a nice collection to have. It's always a treat when the thread box comes out in a class, it's almost like a box of crayola crayons. So now I'm ready to wild out on headbands... or simply be prepared. I'm sure I'll spend a fair bit of time playing with the spools themselves, arranging and re-arranging them.

A nice piece on a friend's work in Fine Books & Collections magazine. I actually gave Richard a tiny bit of assistance binding some of the Bill of Rights books in 2002.

I will be away from the bindery (completely) and the computer (for the most part) for the next ten days. I will be pleased to answer any inquiries upon my return.

After a bit of a hiatus from bookbinding instruction I was back at the Center for Book Arts over the weekend for Susan Mills' Coptic Binding class. For years I had wanted to take that class but it always seemed to coincide with a wedding or something. At last, secrets of stitch holders and micro-forging revealed. (I made my way through a modified Coptic binding in 2002 with some help from Keith Smith's book and Susan when I caught her at the Center.)

Above is one of four books I made over the two days of class. I was going to post a picture of all four of them together because they're all so different in terms of design but I want to work a little more with the other three books. This one is finished though. It's the only cover I've made using binder's board but no adhesive. The papers are folded and wrapped around the board, making for a nice hardcover non-adhesive binding. I'm partial to non-adhesive bindings. The structure (this manner of wrapping papers around the boards that is, not the ancient Coptic structure) is attributed to Betty Lou Chaika.

Below is another of the books, a softcover version in the works. Now finished save cover embellishment, I may take it to a Béatrice Coron class someday.