iBookBinding Podcast

This time we have two guests who work at the same conservation business - The Conservators, Ltd. in London. Ashleigh Brown works in paper and photograph conservation, while Angelina Bakalarou focuses more on paintings and paper conservation.

We discuss many things in this episode. From proper procedures to what makes the conservators cringe. From the early careers of Angelina and Ashleigh to their future plans and goals. And, of course, mold, improper handling of objects, and gloves =)

Watch the video on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIHpv-TJSis

Brought to you by iBookBinding. Bookbinding resources and tutorials: http://www.iBookBinding.com

Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

You can ask our future guests questions on:

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/ibookbinding/

Discord — https://discord.gg/TJY5FeS

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/iBookBinding/

The Conservators on the web:

- Website: https://www.theconservators.org/

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconservators/

00:00 - Beginning

00:51 - Do paper conservators work with books a lot? What else?

02:02 - Washing paper and doing projects from home

03:06 - The average age of materials Angelina and Ashleigh have to work with

04:48 - Georgian and Victorian ephemera

06:33 - Modern approach to conservation of paper and bordering with restoration

09:14 - Ethics of conservation. Changes to the intervention approach compared to the past decades

13:43 - The importance of dust, dirt, and rust

20:29 - Following the protocol and taking as many notes as possible

21:52 - Some examples of recent work

24:50 - Education and first steps to conservation for Angelina and Ashleigh

25:00 - Angelina

33:05 - Ashleigh

43:14 - What happens to the objects when they return after conservation works

45:53 - To use or not to use gloves?

49:40 - Is there any gender disparity and sexism in paper conservation?

55:11 - Having a chance to touch stuff when you are a conservator

57:37 - How the lockdown influence the amount and scope of work for Angelina and Ashleigh

59:39 - Can mold really be removed? (Spoiler: No!)

1:08:09 - Being lost in translation with the professional terminology

1:16:19 - Would there even be a conservation job for Angelina in Greece nowadays?

1:18:43 - Have ever Ashleigh thought about returning to the US?

1:22:41 - What's next for Angelina and Ashleigh in terms of their careers?

1:28:01 - Conservation of plastics

1:30:09 - Why don't people listen to conservators well enough?

We return to Kate Holland to discuss many things related to modern bookbinding. Competitions, the possibility of revival of the craft in the post-covid world, drawing the young generation's attention to book arts, the gap between the traditional bookbinding and book arts, and much more!

Watch the video on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfD-3aQKuIk

Brought to you by iBookBinding. Bookbinding resources and tutorials: http://www.iBookBinding.com

Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

You can ask our future guests questions on:

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/ibookbinding/

Discord — https://discord.gg/TJY5FeS

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/iBookBinding/

Follow Kate Holland:

Website: https://katehollandbooks.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katehollandbook/

00:00 - Beginning

00:11 - There is a certain image of bookbinding propagated by the media

01:51 - Having household names in bookbinding would definitely help to change the perception

03:48 - Contemporary issues and bookbinding

05:57 - Kate has a very exciting project for this year, and diamonds are involved

08:29 - Participating in competitions

09:06 - Inviting the new generation of bookbinders to join the competitions

09:54 - Apprenticeship schemes

11:42 - Having a school of bookbinding in the UK

12:54 - Bookbinding being and not being a nearly extinct craft

13:39 - Professional organizations who work on drawing attention to bookbinding. Friction between the worlds of bookbinding and book arts

16:18 - Revival of bookbinding in the post-covid world

20:20 - Can people access and see design bindings in museums and libraries?

23:53 - Finding time for personal projects

This was intended as another episode of our shorter Bookish Talk podcast. But in the end, we talked for an hour and discussed much more than was initially planned. And we are so happy we had this opportunity!

Kaija Rantakari is a poet, bookbinder, and book artist from Helsinki (Finland). In this episode of the iBookBinding's Podcast, we discuss her artist's books. And try to find that line when an object isn't a book anymore. Is there a line of that sort, anyway?

Kaija shows us several of her bindings, and we discuss many other topics as well, from her studio in a writers' residence in Helsinki to the consequences of a year in lockdown.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j46HRG3A_o

Brought to you by iBookBinding. Bookbinding resources and tutorials: http://www.iBookBinding.com

Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

You can ask our future guests questions on:

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/ibookbinding/

Discord — https://discord.gg/TJY5FeS

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/iBookBinding/

Follow Kaija Rantakari:

- Website: https://www.paperiaarre.com/

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paperiaarre/

00:00 - Beginning

00:57 - What is and what isn't a book?

03:37 - States of a book / Book as a tactile object / Putting yourself into your book

06:11 - How did the global pandemic reflect on Kaija's art

07:27 - Artist's Book: The Tender Vessel

09:38 - #AreYouBookEnough challenge

11:08 - Does a book need text to be a book?

15:34 - Asking the reader to play along when a bookbinder tells them that's a book

17:31 - Being a Finnish poet and trying to reach out to a wider audience

19:15 - Binding your own poetry: Koko meren laajuus (The whole extent of the sea)

25:00 - Parting with the artist's books vs. selling the journals and sketchbooks

27:57 - Being trained as a traditional bookbinder. The divide between the traditional bookbinding and book arts

30:53 - Do you have any feedback on how people use the journals you make and sell online?

32:39 - The studio where Kaija works

35:10 - Kaija just published another book of poetry

38:04 - Artist's Book: Untitled Stockings

46:02 - How do you read a book like that?

53:39 - Artist's book: always not remembering

58:12 - Using mica in bookbinding

59:31 - The importance of a box as a continuation of a book

1:05:27 - When box becomes a book: fingerprints

We already shared two parts of our talk with Dimitris Koutsipetsidis, a bookbinder from Athens (Greece). Earlier, we discussed the things that brought him to making books and then Dimitris showed us some of his bindings. This time Dimitris takes us for a tour of his studio and shows us some of the tools he makes. To buy some of these tools, check the links below!

Watch some more videos with Dimitris Koutsipetsidis: https://www.youtube.com/c/iBookBinding/search?query=Dimitris%20Koutsipetsidis

Listen to this episode on:

- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ibookbinding

- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/ibookbinding-podcast/id1510257102

- Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaWJvb2tiaW5kaW5nLmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Q

Brought to you by iBookBinding. Bookbinding resources and tutorials: http://www.iBookBinding.com

Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

You can ask our future guests questions on:

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/ibookbinding/

Discord — https://discord.gg/TJY5FeS

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/iBookBinding/

Follow Dimitris:

Blog: https://koutsipetsidis.wordpress.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dimitris_bookbinding_corner/

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBookbindersBench

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dimitrisbookbindingcorner/

Tools made by Dimitris:

Blog Tool page: https://koutsipetsidis.wordpress.com/tools-for-bookbinding-εργαλεία-βιβλιοδεσίας

Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBookbindersBench

00:00 - Beginning

00:12 - Workshop tour

00:43 - The Tale of the Four Benches - Tolkien vibes

03:32 - How the previous Dimitris' workshops looked like?

07:09 - Tour: Storage rack for supplies

07:50 - Paring knives

08:13 - The type holder and stylus set Dimitris makes and sells

08:54 - Would Dimitris like to make all of his tools himself?

11:36 - If you had all the time in the world, which tools would you make for yourself right now?

13:42 - Paring knives, once again

15:29 - Backing hammer

15:54 - Tour: Cabinet with lead types

16:17 - Still using the first press Dimitris made for his projects

18:35 - Paper storage

19:11 - Smart storage for thin leather strips

19:39 - Post-It notes all over the place

22:30 - Tour: Collection of marbled paper

28:21 - Projects currently in work

31:26 - More about Tolkien

35:44 - Future project: Animal Farm

36:43 - Dimitris' approach to design bindings

39:19 - Being a part of a tradition

43:24 - Collaborating with your family and members of your creative community

46:52 - Tour: Machining corner of the bindery

48:38 - Wooden and metal dust created during the toolmaking process. Breathing safety

51:19 - A bit more about the tools Dimitris makes and Stepan's opinion on the tools

54:35 - Tour: Drill bits stand

55:41 - Finishing presses Dimitris made (not for sale, unfortunately)

57:37 - Board shear with a fence Dimitris made to improve the accessibility

1:00:00 - Are there plans to create any new tools?

1:02:03 - Special tools' projects

1:02:50 - Animalcula

1:03:52 - The importance of feedback and constant updating of the tools

We return to the design bindings made for the shortlisted books of the Booker Prize in 2020. This time we talk to Lori Sauer about her work with the book Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste (Canongate Books, 2020).

The structure is a version of the crossed structure binding modified by Lori Sauer. Binding covered with stone veneer. In the video, we discuss some technical aspects of this binding, as well as Lori's approach to working with Booker Prize bindings and book structures in general.

To watch this episode on our YouTube channel, please use the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFWCj24PikI

Brought to you by iBookBinding. Bookbinding resources and tutorials: http://www.iBookBinding.com

Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

You can ask our future guests questions on:

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/ibookbinding/

Discord — https://discord.gg/TJY5FeS

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/iBookBinding/

00:00 - Beginning

00:34 - Lori Sauer's method in working with Booker Prize bindings

02:43 - Introducing Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste (Canongate Books, 2020)

05:02 - What was Lori's process in selecting the theme for the binding

06:46 - Modified version of the crossed structure binding

07:52 - Using stone veneer

10:39 - The darkness in the book and stone of the cover

11:20 - Explaining the crossed structure binding

11:47 - Eel skin for the spine

12:37 - Is it hard to work with eel skin?

13:09 - Gold speckles on the cover

14:29 - Iterative design process

16:30 - Why book structures are so important to Lori (even if they are hidden)

18:03 - The most challenging Booker Prize binding Lori had to work on

19:41 - Peculiarities of Lori's style

21:39 - Who influenced Lori's style?

22:55 - Lori's background in art and architecture

25:18 - What is design binding?

27:09 - Not using assistants, Covid, and being not a well-disciplined creator

27:53 - Lori's studio

29:01 - Feedback from Maaza Mengiste (and other authors)

Time for the big news! On the 1st of April, Stepan and his wife Sofya are moving to France. And that's not some April Fool's Day thing =)

This, of course, means that iBookBinding is also moving to France.

The shop will have to be closed for a couple of weeks while all formalities are settled, but other activities at iBookBinding will proceed as usual.

In this video, we discuss some technical issues related to iBookBinding and its move, talk about the aspects of living far away from your homeland and moving countries, and shed some light on some moments of iBookBinding's history.

If you want to know more about how iBookBinding works, learn our approach to developing our Instagram account, or just learn something new about peculiarities of translation of Russian names, join us and listen to this special episode of iBookBinding's podcast!

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZZ9gpO8iL0

Brought to you by iBookBinding. Bookbinding resources and tutorials: http://www.iBookBinding.com

Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

You can ask our future guests questions on:

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/ibookbinding/

Discord — https://discord.gg/TJY5FeS

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/iBookBinding/

00:00 - Beginning

00:09 - Welcoming Stepan's wife Sofya to the show

01:03 - Sofya and Stepan (and iBookBinding) are moving to France

01:39 - Having an artisan and a person with a corporate job in our family

03:42 - Timeline of the move

04:20 - Temporary closing iBookBinding's shop for several weeks starting on the 23rd of March

05:03 - What happens to current orders at the iBookBinding's shop

05:48 - Moving your possessions to a different country for the second time in three years

07:22 - Another lockdown in Paris is happening right at the moment of our move. Temporary housing

10:24 - Where exactly do we plan to settle and all that temporary housing thing

12:05 - Moscow - Leiden - Versailles

15:16 - Finally getting a separate workshop for iBookBinding

16:47 - Filling our living room with iBookBinding's possessions

17:45 - How moving of our stuff to a different country will happen

23:20 - On reusing packaging at iBookBinding

25:48 - Learning the French language vs. Learning the Dutch language

35:20 - Dealing with a language block

45:26 - Even more on language barriers: how Russian names are translated to other languages in the works of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy

53:02 - Sofya's thoughts on Stepan being a bookbinder and following his hobby across the border lines

53:49 - Sofya explains how we bought iBookBinding in 2015 and what it meant to Stepan after the move to the Netherlands

01:01:18 - Sofya's work with iBookBinding's Instagram account

01:07:22 - Processing all requests and messages from the members of our community

01:11:03 - iBookBinding's logo

01:13:11 - Our plans for the nearest future and for the years to come

01:15:27 - Becoming more sustainable - recycling waste of 3d-printing into new tools

01:17:48 - 3d-printing paper packaging

01:18:35 - Lots of plans and not enough time. Having and assistant

01:19:45 - iBookBinding's future as an educational project

01:24:14 - Biggest dream: to start series of bookbinding and book arts workshops for kids in different countries

01:27:23 - French and Spanish versions of iBookBinding's podcast - we need your help!

01:28:31 - What changes are awaiting the shop after it returns

01:29:41 - Free worldwide shipping and Etsy's policies

In the first part of our talk with Dimitris Koutsipetsidis, a bookbinder from Athens (Greece), we discussed the things that brought him to making books. This time we take it one step further and Dimitris shows us some of his bindings and tells us the stories of the making of these books.

To watch all parts of our talk with Dimitris please use the following link: https://www.youtube.com/c/iBookBinding/search?query=Dimitris%20Koutsipetsidis

Brought to you by iBookBinding. Bookbinding resources and tutorials: http://www.iBookBinding.com

Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

You can ask our future guests questions on:

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/ibookbinding/

Discord — https://discord.gg/TJY5FeS

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/iBookBinding/

Follow Dimitris:

Blog: https://koutsipetsidis.wordpress.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dimitris_bookbinding_corner/

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBookbindersBench

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dimitrisbookbindingcorner/

Tools made by Dimitris:

Blog Tool page: https://koutsipetsidis.wordpress.com/tools-for-bookbinding-εργαλεία-βιβλιοδεσίας

Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBookbindersBench

00:00 - Show & Tell: Bindings

00:39 - Shakespeare - Titus Andronicus. A story of obsession

07:29 - How Dimitris feels about this binding now, several years later

10:19 - The second attempt in entering a bookbinding competition

12:44 - A fantasy binding with layers, riddles, and secrets

19:29 - Codex Seraphinianus, Voynich manuscript, unlocking the secrets of books

20:57 - Shakespeare - Hamlet. Using letters as a book cover design tool

27:02 - Dimitris' approach to boxmaking and the ugly box Dimitris made for Titus Andronicus

32:29 - A stage of making a book that Dimitris enjoys the most

35:55 - Traditional and experimental materials

37:40 - Understanding leather

39:02 - Brexit and bookbinding supplies

40:33 - Using eel and frog leather

43:12 - The South Sea Scheme. Finding all the smallest details

We invited a British bookbinder Hannah Brown to discuss two of her projects. The first one is a binding with architectural motifs she made several years ago. The other is a board she recently made for a Designer Bookbinders' project.

Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX3iCxs8zGI

Brought to you by iBookBinding. Bookbinding resources and tutorials: http://www.iBookBinding.com

Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

You can ask our future guests questions on:

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/ibookbinding/

Discord — https://discord.gg/TJY5FeS

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/iBookBinding/

Follow Hannah's projects:

Website: https://han-made.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannah.brown.7169709

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannah_brown_bookbinding/

00:00 - Beginning

00:30 - Architecture and Bookbinding. "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1798."

03:15 - What's a board?

05:01 - From an image to the binding's design, to making a board for Designer Bookbinders

08:24 - The use of embroidery in design bindings

09:44 - What was first for Hannah, embroidery or bookbinding?

10:42 - Embroidery on leather

11:54 - Sewing machine for working with leather

13:47 - Embroidery in the Medieval bookbinding

14:19 - Other bookbinders who do embroidery on their bindings

15:33 - Making wooden boxes for bindings

17:45 - Are there any plans to continue the project in the future?

19:45 - Is it harder to bind a book in an embroidered leather?

23:14 - Using polymer threads

24:24 - Making books that last for centuries

24:58 - Where is the binding now?

Our guest is Dimitris Koutsipetsidis, a bookbinder and toolmaker from Athens, Greece. In the first part of our talk, we discuss his early career and the chain of events that lead him to become a bookbinder.

In the second and third parts, Dimitris will show us some of his bindings and take us for a tour of his workshop: https://www.youtube.com/c/iBookBinding/search?query=Dimitris%20Koutsipetsidis

Brought to you by iBookBinding. Bookbinding resources and tutorials: http://www.iBookBinding.com

Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

You can ask our future guests questions on:

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/ibookbinding/

Discord — https://discord.gg/TJY5FeS

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/iBookBinding/

Follow Dimitris:

Blog: https://koutsipetsidis.wordpress.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dimitris_bookbinding_corner/

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBookbindersBench

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dimitrisbookbindingcorner/

Tools made by Dimitris:

Blog Tool page: https://koutsipetsidis.wordpress.com/tools-for-bookbinding-εργαλεία-βιβλιοδεσίας

Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBookbindersBench

00:00 - Beginning

00:53 - Early career and decision to start making books and bookbinding tools

02:58 - Starting with leatherworking

05:04 - The first bookbinding project

06:07 - How much time did pass before Dimitris felt he had a new profession?

09:40 - Making books while having a solid background in linguistics

11:34 - What about any background in arts? Family collaborations

14:38 - Exploring the Byzantine tradition of decorating bindings

17:11 - Incorporating metal elements in bindings

18:27 - Having or not having your personal style

21:48 - Let's talk about clients and interacting with them

25:27 - The most unusual request from a client

26:28 - The pressure of the Byzantine tradition

36:38 - Teaching bookbinding during Covid-19 pandemic

41:55 - Being overwhelmed with orders during the lockdowns

46:42 - Is there a bookbinders' guild in Greece?

49:26 - What is a typical bookbinding enterprise in Greece?

50:56 - Apprentices and guild members

55:28 - Large trade binderies

1:00:06 - Being an artisan in a global market and globalized world

Kate Holland is a bookbinder from the UK. She was one of the seven bookbinders who worked on the six bindings made for the books shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020. And she was the second person who worked on this binding you saw in the preview (picking up from Derek Hood). In this video, we discuss the peculiarities of the project and some other things as well!

Read more about the bindings on our website: https://www.ibookbinding.com/bookbinding-styles/design-bindings/six-design-bindings-made-for-the-six-titles-shortlisted-for-the-booker-prize/

Listen to this episode on:

- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ibookbinding

- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/ibookbinding-podcast/id1510257102

- Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaWJvb2tiaW5kaW5nLmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Q

Brought to you by iBookBinding. Bookbinding resources and tutorials: http://www.iBookBinding.com

Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

You can ask our future guests questions on:

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/ibookbinding/

Discord — https://discord.gg/TJY5FeS

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/iBookBinding/

Follow Kate Holland:

Website: https://katehollandbooks.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katehollandbook/

00:00 - Beginning

01:16 - About Kate Holland

01:49 - Peculiarity of this Booker Prize project: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

04:45 - Becoming a different binder for a single project

07:05 - Inspiration for the binding design

08:15 - Themes of the book

09:49 - Creating the cover design

15:04 - How was the work process, considering the unusual circumstances?

17:13 - Balancing regular orders, extraordinary projects like the Booker Prize binding, and having a job as a mom

19:39 - Having 2021 fully booked

21:35 - The leap from having a one-person business to having a larger shop and an assistant