For the last episode of Season 2, of Book Making as an Art Form, before the summer break, I speak with Jordi de Vetten, co-founder of Bring Your Own Book, a collective behind one of Amsterdam's independent book fairs. Since 2021, together with Susu Lee, Augustinas Milkus, and Lies Kelder, the collective has organised book fairs and publishing projects that create space for collaboration, experimentation, and emerging makers.

In our conversation, Jordi reflects on how Bring Your Own Book began as a student initiative at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and gradually grew into a recurring event within Amsterdam's publishing community. We talk about lowering the threshold for participation, organising a self-funded collective, and why publishing is not only about producing books, but also about creating the conditions for people to meet, exchange ideas, and share their work.

Together, we spoke about:

- How Bring Your Own Book grew from a student project into an independent book fair

- Creating accessible spaces for emerging bookmakers and publishers

- What it takes to organise a self-run collective and recurring public events

- Choosing slow, sustainable growth over constant expansion

Sit with us for the last conversation before the summer, and enjoy a wonderful discussion on independent publishing, collective organizing, and why sometimes the most important thing you can publish is a space for others to participate.

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Produced and hosted by Justina Nekrašaitė | ⁠The Book Photographer⁠

Audio productions: ⁠Jasper Drexhage | Drexhage Media ⁠⁠⁠⁠

Design: ⁠Thom Niessink⁠

Recorded at Stedelijk Museum Library

Communication & promotion: Chana Levy

Intern: Chiara Tamborrino

❤️ Season 2 is supported by Pictoright, Het Cultuurfonds and many big-hearted individuals via Voordekunst.

With particular appreciation to our principal supporters:

Ruth Higgins, Luminosity Lab, Eleonoor Jap Sam / Jap Sam Books, Silvia Robertelli, Wilco Art Books Amersfoort, and Marc Gijzen.

In this episode of Book Making as an Art Form, I speak with Jeremy Jansen, a graphic designer based in Haarlem working across book design, exhibition design, and visual identities for cultural institutions.

Alongside his design practice, Jeremy has taught at ArtEZ for over a decade, focusing on image authorship and storytelling through found materials. His work often moves between designing and editing, building new narratives from archives, fragments, and existing imagery. In 2023, he also co-founded Blind Finch Books, a publishing house dedicated to photography-related projects.

In our conversation, Jeremy reflects on finding his own way into books without growing up surrounded by them, how film editing continues to shape his design process, and why intuition often plays a central role in making books.

Together, we spoke about:

• Building concepts from found materials and existing archives
• How rhythm, sequencing, and editing influence book design
• Teaching image authorship and storytelling at ArtEZ
• Google-scanned library books and unexpected beginnings in publishing
• Why books do not need to feel perfect to feel alive

Tune in now for a conversation on intuition, image-making, teaching, and constructing books through rhythm, fragments, and storytelling.

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Produced and hosted by Justina Nekrašaitė | ⁠The Book Photographer⁠

Audio productions: ⁠Drexhage Media ⁠| Jasper Drexhage

Design: ⁠Thom Niessink⁠

Recorded at Stedelijk Museum Library

Communication & promotion: Chana Levy

❤️ Season 2 is supported by Pictoright, Het Cultuurfonds and many big-hearted individuals via Voordekunst.

With particular appreciation to our principal supporters:

Ruth Higgins, Luminosity Lab, Eleonoor Jap Sam / Jap Sam Books, Silvia Robertelli, Wilco Art Books Amersfoort, and Marc Gijzen.

In this episode of Book Making as an Art Form, I speak with Jochem Öfner, Director of Printing at Drukkerij Raddraaier, an Amsterdam-based printing house with roots in activist print culture.

Founded in the late 1970s during the Dutch squatting movement, Drukkerij Raddraaier emerged from a network of independent print shops producing books, posters, pamphlets, and political materials when mainstream printers would not.

In our conversation, Jochem reflects on the radical history of the press, his own journey from wanting to “make the revolution” in Central America to working in print, and how the politics of publishing remain embedded in the act of printing itself.

Together, we spoke about:

1. The activist roots of Drukkerij Raddraaier

2. Freedom of the press before and after the Internet

3. The environmental realities of print and digital publishing

4. Why sustainability in printing is more complex than it seems

5. The importance of keeping independent print production alive

Tune in now for a conversation on activism, sustainability, and the politics of print.

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Produced and hosted by Justina Nekrašaitė | ⁠The Book Photographer⁠

Audio productions: ⁠Drexhage Media ⁠| Jasper Drexhage

Design: ⁠Thom Niessink⁠

Recorded at Stedelijk Museum Library

Communication & promotion: Chana Levy

❤️ Season 2 is supported by Pictoright, Het Cultuurfonds, and many big-hearted individuals via Voordekunst.

With particular appreciation to our principal supporters:

Ruth Higgins, Luminosity Lab, Eleonoor Jap Sam / Jap Sam Books, Silvia Robertelli, Wilco Art Books Amersfoort, and Marc Gijzen.

“The first moment you actually hold it in your hands… the smell of the printer ink comes out, and that’s a unique moment in the history of an object coming to life. When it’s first being opened, it reveals itself.”

In this episode of Book Making as an Art Form, I speak with Minke Vos, publisher of ArtEZ Press at ArtEZ University of the Arts.

For over 20 years, Minke has been working within the institute to develop publications where design and content strengthen one another. Alongside ArtEZ Press, she is also involved in APRIA, a platform for artistic research across text, sound, image, and experimental formats.

In our conversation, Minke reflects on her long-standing role within the institution, the importance of sharing knowledge beyond its walls, and the unique position of publishing between education and the wider public. We also talk about the book as a sensory object, the value of slowness in the process, and how experimentation plays a role in shaping new forms of publishing.

Together, we spoke about:

• Publishing as a bridge between education and the public
• Sharing knowledge from within the institute with the world
• The book as a sensory and performative object
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Tune in now to the conversation on publishing, research, and the life of a book.

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Produced and hosted by Justina Nekrašaitė | ⁠The Book Photographer⁠

Audio productions: ⁠Drexhage Media ⁠| Jasper Drexhage

Design: ⁠Thom Niessink⁠

Recorded at Stedelijk Museum Library

Communication & promotion: Chana Levy

❤️ Season 2 is supported by Pictoright, Het Cultuurfonds and many big-hearted individuals via Voordekunst.

With particular appreciation to our principal supporters:

Ruth Higgins, Luminosity Lab, Eleonoor Jap Sam / Jap Sam Books, Silvia Robertelli, Wilco Art Books Amersfoort, and Marc Gijzen.

Welcome back to the podcast!

In this episode, opening season 2 of Book Making as an Art Form, I speak with graphic designer and publisher Remco van Bladel about books, systems, and cultural memory.

From growing up around a record shop and punk music, to co-founding Onomatopee and Archival Consciousness, Remco reflects on collaboration, the relationship between music and typography, and how publishing can become a tool for archiving knowledge.

The conversation explores how books, archives, and digital systems shape the way culture is produced, organised, and remembered.

Together, we spoke about:

- Growing up around punk music, record sleeves, and drawing

- Bookmaking as collaboration, just like playing in a band

- Translating musical rhythm into typography and design systems

- Building Archival Consciousness and new tools for cultural archives

- Rethinking the book as both publication and archive

Listen now to tune into the discussion about the significance of books outlasting people!

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Produced and hosted by Justina Nekrašaitė | ⁠The Book Photographer⁠

Audio productions: ⁠Drexhage Media ⁠| Jasper Drexhage

Design: ⁠Thom Niessink⁠

Recorded at Stedelijk Museum Library

Communication & promotion: Chana Levy

❤️ Season 2 is supported by Pictoright, Het Cultuurfonds and many big-hearted individuals via Voordekunst.

With particular appreciation to our principal supporters:

Ruth Higgins, Luminosity Lab, Eleonoor Jap Sam / Jap Sam Books, Silvia Robertelli, Wilco Art Books Amersfoort, and Marc Gijzen.

In this last episode of Season 1 of Book Making as an Art Form: exploring the boundaries, I sit down with Michaël Snitker, Amsterdam-based graphic designer working across books, visual identities, and exhibitions for cultural institutions.

Michaël’s practice blends clarity and complexity, modernist traditions and experimentation. Besides commissioned work, he initiates research projects and designs his own publications, often rooted in poetry and language.

In our conversation, we explore:

• Growing up surrounded by art and poetry
• Fluxus as a lasting and intuitive influence
• Working across four pillars
• Trust, collaboration, and play as foundations of creative practice
  

Inspired by the idea of tradition and sabotage, this episode reflects on bookmaking as a practice that balances rules with intuition, precision with imperfection, and legacy with experimentation.

Produced by Justina Nekrašaitė | The Book Photographer

Audio productions: Drexhage Media | Jasper Drexhage

Design: Thom Niessink

Recorded at Huis van het Boek

Supported by Mondriaan Fund, L. van Heek Textiles, Luminosity Lab, Marc Gijzen, n.k.g. publications, Jeremy Jansen, Jesse Presse, Jap Sam Books, Michaël Snitker

In this episode of Book making as an art form: exploring the boundaries, I sit down with Caleb Cain Marcus, creative director of Luminosity Lab, a Brooklyn-based design studio. He is known for making books that are not just objects but experiences.

Shaped by a childhood in the mountains of Colorado and a background in poetry, photography, and printing, Caleb shares his reflections on:

• Looking and curiosity as a lifelong practice
• Moving from poetry and photography into book design
• Why does he produce his books in Europe
• Cultural support, budgets, and the ecosystems around bookmaking

It’s a joyful conversation about attention, emotion, and the power of books.

Produced by Justina Nekrašaitė | The Book Photographer

Audio productions: Drexhage Media | Jasper Drexhage

Design: Thom Niessink

Recorded at Huis van het Boek

Supported by Mondriaan Fund, L. van Heek Textiles, Luminosity Lab, Marc Gijzen, nkg publications, Jeremy Jansen, Jesse Presse, Eleonoor Jap Sam

Croudfunding now: https://www.voordekunst.nl/projecten/20394-podcast-book-making-as-an-art-form

In this episode of Book Making as an Art Form: Exploring the Boundaries, I sit down with Eleonoor Jap Sam, founder of Jap Sam Books a publishing house where books are treated as slow, living objects.

With over two decades of experience, Eleonoor shares her reflections on:

• Curiosity as the heart of being

• The invisible care behind every book

• Sustainability, budgets, and creative freedom

• Balancing leadership, motherhood, and legacy

It's a gentle conversation about what it means to publish with care, stay generous in the process, and see each book as a carrier of knowledge, ideas, and inspiration.

Produced by Justina Nekrašaitė | The Book Photographer

Audio productions: Drexhage Media | Jasper Drexhage

Design: Thom Niessink

Recorded at Huis van het Boek

Supported by Mondriaan Fund, L. van Heek Textiles, Luminosity Lab, Marc Gijzen, nkg publications, Jeremy Jansen, Jesse Presse, Eleonoor Jap Sam

In this new chapter of Book Making as an Art Form: exploring the boundaries, we sit down with Jesse Muller, founder of Jesse Presse, to explore the invisible care that keeps the art book world alive.

Jesse is a distributor, editor, and writer who connects independent publishers with readers, bookshops, and museums across the Netherlands and Belgium.

With nearly 20 years of experience, she reflects on the in-between space of art and entrepreneurship.

This episode is a gentle deep dive into:

• The beginning of Jesse Presse

• The invisible labor of book distribution

• Building artistic ecosystems through care and collaboration

• The dance between artistic vision and commercial reality

• New adventures and a new publishing house in town

Whether you work with books, live surrounded by them, or simply love the quiet power of printed matter, this episode offers a thoughtful pause and a new way to see the life of a book.

This podcast is made possible with the generous support of the Mondriaan Fund, L. van Heek Textiles BV, Marc Gijzen, Nina Glockner, Luminosity Lab and Jesse Presse.

Produced by Justina Nekrasaite l The Book Photographer
Audio productions by Drexhage Media |Jasper Drexhage
Graphic design Thom Niessink
Recorded at Huis van het Boek

In this season finale, before the summer break of Book Making as an Art Form, we sit down with Bruno Devos.

Bruno is publisher, cultural diplomat, and founder of Hopper & Fuchs to explore the poetic and practical realities of independent publishing.

With over 30 years of experience, Bruno shares his journey from working in a print shop to traveling the world with a suitcase full of artist books. This episode is a generous deep dive into:

• Why is a book a home
• The invisible labour of bookmaking
• The blurred lines between publishing, curating, and care
• How fashion and bookmaking unexpectedly overlap
• The fragility (and urgency) of the art book ecosystem

Whether you're a maker, a reader, or simply curious about the lives of books beyond the page, this episode is worth listening to.

This podcast is made possible with the generous support of the Mondriaan Fund, L. van Heek Textiles BV, Marc Gijzen, and Luminosity Lab.