Procession of the Night Theatre

Making a book for the author is a special thing. Easily one of my favorite parts of the job. However, to have the author actually work on their own book is priceless. 

Jay came out for a visit to see their publisher and spend time in residence at the Celestial Arts Education Library (CAELi). Once we connected we immediately knew we wanted to work together in the bindery. I walked them through the process of bookbinding and essentially conducted a shortened version of my Introduction to Bookbinding class I teach with Arbutus Folk School.

It was a lot of fun introducing Jay to the bindery and letting them work with my tools. A particular favorite of mine is the Challenge Paper Cutter (Guillotine). It’s a 70-year old artifact that is operated by hand, whereas its modern counterparts are all automated. It does take a bit to get used to, especially if you’ve never operated one before, but the results transform the book completely!

Before Jay left we discussed expanding the project into a 28-edition series, each with their own sigil designed by Jay. So, they drafted the first sigil for their personal copy and I took the opportunity to begin working with a custom tool set I’d commissioned from a bookbinder in Greece. The tools allow a bookbinder to perform “free-hand tooling” in silver or gold (or any metallic foil). This was my first venture into this decoration technique and we are both happy with how it came out.