aug blog
Somehow we're halfway through August here and I'm feeling perpetually lost in the cycle of days. With school reopening soon and the uncertainty of all of that I've been trying to keep in mind that I have to be ready for sudden changes which makes putting my energy into things pretty challenging. In the time I've had to think about the business over the past few months I've struggled a lot with how I can manage my time better so I can make time for pieces of myself that I've neglected like my art practice for example as well as running the business. For the past few years I've just allowed myself family time and work time with little room for the other necessary and nourishing stuff that make me tick.
In thinking about how to manage all this I realized something that's... kind of funny: I am not a bookbinder. At least not in the classical sense. And I'm not trying to self depreciate and yes, I can make a book and even a really nice one but I don't have the depth of information around materials or history or the level of craft that I see actual bookbinders have. I love books and I love seeing people using books and writing and drawing and taking notes and I love making practical books for people to organize themselves with. But am I a "bookbinder"? I don't actually think so! I got this sweet new coil binder recently and flirted with doing my whole product line stuff in coil and was like "No you can't do that, it's cheating" or some bullshit but along with this new realization there came a letting go of having to hand craft every aspect of everything. When it comes to the product line stuff like day planners and birthday books, I really like the idea of putting more energy into the design and look than the actual construction. And on top of that, coil bound books are actually way easier to use and are cheaper to make which means more accessible all around. I really love the idea of having a less expensive, sweetly designed and super practical product line and at the other end one off, highly crafted fancier books, like photo albums and sketchbooks. So like, yes still make sweet fancy pants books but have that be more separate from product line construction... I'm working on it. Am I rambling, yes i am! Here's a few I've done up so far. Need to refresh my lino cut selection, so that is also in the works:
One more thing- $47 was donated last month to the African Nova Scotian Freedom School from July's sales! Thanks to everyone who placed an order.
