iBookBinding Podcast

Our podcast's guest is Eliane Gomes, a Brazilian/Dutch book restorer and bookbinder, owner of the Nautilus Boekbinderij in Haarlem, Netherlands. I already had several collaborations with her and posted a studio tour on iBookBinding.com: https://wp.me/p7VeMV-5qf

This is the first part of the episode we recorded last week. We discuss how Eliane became a book restorer after a long corporate career and how her work is organized now. We talk about the differences between book repair, restoration, and conservation. And then Eliane shows around her small but very efficient studio!

The video version of this recording is available on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/bu-81ulWb8o

See the timestamps below if you want to skip to some particular part of our talk.

The second part of this episode is dedicated to Q&A and will be uploaded in a couple of days.

Our next guest is Rita Udina, a paper & book conservator. From 1999 she runs a private conservation lab based in Barcelona (Spain). Rita organizes conservation workshops at her studio as well as in other countries and enjoys very much sharing conservation topics, either teaching, attending conferences, or through her blog (in Catalan, Spanish, and English).

You can ask Rita questions either by posting a comment below, by writing to us through any of our social accounts, or via email.

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/

01:55 - Eliane's path to bookbinding

05:02 - Choosing between conservation and restoration

06:31 - Genesis of conservation as a profession after the 1966 flood in Florence

08:08 - Having a "restoration buddy"/mentor

08:40 - Importance of knowing your limits

10:03 - Book repair is not book restoration

10:29 - One of Eliane's restoration exam's projects

11:09 - Using reversible materials

12:59 - Eliane's clientele and the regional distribution

15:18 - What are the boring and routine parts of being a book restorer?

16:33 - Preparing a report and having a plan

18:38 - Fixing a mistake

19:02 - Importance of not underevaluating your work

19:26 - Keeping spreadsheets for calculating your prices

22:29 - Including all expenses into the final price of your work

25:29 - Recording and photographing your projects

=== Workshop Tour ===

30:38 - Workshop Tour

30:48 - 3x4-meter atelier

32:00 - Skylight

32:13 - Drawers and cabinets

33:17 - Boxes and stuff under the workbench

34:25 - Having everything within arm's reach in a small studio

35:18 - Swivel jointed finishing stand by Geert van Daal

36:04 - Using a whiteboard for thoughts and drawings

36:19 - Humidity control, sterilization, and fire safety

=== Some of the Projects ===

37:28 - 16th-century book with doodles and cut-out decorated initials in restoration

39:05 - Company archive / several volumes of corporate scrapbooks

40:02 - Punching cradle from iBookBinding and its place on the wall

41:31 - Large format Dutch limp binding - cash register book

=== Additional Links ===

1966 Flood of Florence conservation measures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_flood_of_the_Arno#Conservation_measures

Swivel jointed finishing stand: http://geertvandaal.nl/images/VerguldklemFolderdef.pdf

http://geertvandaal.nl/

Our guest is Todd Davis, a bookbinder and book repair master from Boston. Todd has chosen bookbinding as his third career some six years ago and has been working in his studio in Lowell, MA, for the past four years. We talk about his path to bookbinding, his study at the North Bennet Street School in Boston. As well as the current state of affairs during the lockdown, and reply to several questions that were sent by the members of our community for the Q&A section of the podcast.

You'll find the table of contents with timestamps below.

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

Our podcast's next guest is Eliane Gomes (@nautilus_books_and_projects), a Brazilian/Dutch book restorer and bookbinder from Haarlem, Netherlands. I already had several collaborations with her and posted a studio tour on iBookBinding.com.

We plan to talk about her past and current projects, important aspects of book restoration, and there will be a workshop tour as well.

If you'd like to ask Eliane some questions, just reply to this email. There will be a giveaway, and this time I'm offering a set of magnetic corner clamps for boxmaking. The person who asks a question that Eliane will like the most will get that set (worldwide shipping covered.)

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

Join us on:

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

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

Discord — https://discord.gg/cxMw7x5

Pinterest — https://ru.pinterest.com/iBookBinding/

00:26 - Beginning of Todd's career in history and software engineering

04:20 - Making a decision to get a real job

06:00 - North Bennet Street School in Boston

06:41 - Getting all bookbindery equipment in one lot

08:45 - Four years in the studio doing bookbinding

09:11 - Sliding into being a full-time bookbinder / Being a student-worker at the North Bennet

10:25 - Having a second source of income as a cushion while shifting to becoming a full-time bookbinder

11:15 - Getting the first large orders for the bindery

11:55 - The lockdown

17:57 - Doing bindery at least some business from home

20:07 - How do the clients react to the delays due to the lockdown

24:16 - Todd's plans on moving forward after the lockdown is lifted

=== A Bit of Show & Tell ===

31:09 - Making round wooden spines for boxes using basswood - tips & tricks

36:26 - 3d-printing round spines with plastic - iBookBinding experience

41:15 - My everlasting internal battle because of producing more plastic tools with 3d-printing

41:43 - 3d-printed papermaking molds from iBookBinding

42:10 - How is the shop doing during the lockdown?

44:00 - Tools for boxmaking and prices on the brass tools

47:46 - Having beer and pizza video chats with co-workers and fellow artisans

=== Q&A ===

50:07 - Q&A begins!

50:56 - Question from Sofia: Which was the hardest restoration Todd has made, and why?

51:16 - Wedding album with laminated pages and masking tape repairs

53:44 - Duct tape Bible

55:44 - Books that Todd wasn't able to repair

57:12 - Question from Sofia: Which materials Todd likes to work with?

57:21 - Back pared onlays

1:01:31 - Question from Justine about the irreversible mistakes

1:06:29 - Book repair, restoration, and conservation

1:08:29 - Being a bookbinder in Lowell vs being bookbinder in Boston

1:10:00 - Safety measures and super-sharp bookbinding tools

1:16:25 - Who would Tood like to see as future guests of the podcast

This is the second part of our talk with Ben Elbel. Here we discuss tutorials created as a part of the Bookbinding Out of the Box project, new book structures, and have a Q&A!

Check below to find the table of contents with timestamps.

You'll find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE7TzQHxK38

In the first part of the podcast, we talked about Ben's path to bookbinding, and he showed his studio.

Our next guest is Todd Davis from the Middlesex Bindery in Massachusetts, United States. You can post your questions to Todd in the comments below.

The next Instagram live stream will be dedicated to trimming book blocks without any expensive equipment. Tune in next Tuesday, 5th of May 2020!

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

Join us on:

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

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

Discord — https://discord.gg/cxMw7x5

Pinterest — https://ru.pinterest.com/iBookBinding/

Follow Ben's projects:

Elbel Libro - https://www.elbel-libro.com/

Bookbinding Out of the Box - https://bookbindingoutofthebox.com/

https://www.instagram.com/bookbindingoutofthebox/

00:08 - Building Bookbinding Out of the Box as a platform for innovative bookbinding for other bookbinders as well

00:48 - Ben's interest in bookbinding structures and innovation

01:07 - On bookbinding being presented by mass media as a medieval craft

02:25 - Moving to Ben's inventions: Pianel binding

03:06 - Question from Sylvie Camia about the Pianel binding tutorial

03:56 - The process of selecting photos for tutorials: they should tell the story on their own even without a text

06:27 - Difficulty of different Ben's tutorials

07:20 - Pianel and piano hinge binding in general

09:43 - Book Arts Fair in Leiden, Netherlands (Boekkunstbeurs,) and Bookbinding Fair in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, this November

=== Q&A ===

10:45 - Question from Karim Shehimi about the Pixel binding structure

13:35 - Question from Hillel about case binding perfect-bound books

14:21 - One of Stepan's first projects: 7 volumes of Harry Potter bound in green leather

18:46 - Double-fan adhesive binding: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=double+fan+adhesive+binding

20:00 - Backing a book block made of single leaves

21:00 - Question from Alan Crawford about finding texts that line the spines of old books

23:47 - How the relationship between materials and labor changed over the centuries

27:07 - Question from Lydia Smith about cheap tools and materials for beginner bookbinders

27:45 - One of the first Ben's leather-bound journals and using jackets and other clothes from thrift stores for bookbinding projects

30:38 - Buying tools on flea markets and making your own cheap tools

33:52 - Being creative when you work without proper tools

35:10 - Using unconventional weights instead of presses: bricks, irons, etc.

38:28 - Question from Lydia Smith about glue for endpapers

39:00 - Using rollers for PVA

40:15 - Dilluting PVA and paste depending on humidity and elevation

41:14 - Question from Helen Wells about using decorative paper for covering books

46:50 - Returning to the question of making books on a low budget - using second-hand cloth

Links and mentions:

Erik Kwakkel - X-RAYS EXPOSE A HIDDEN MEDIEVAL LIBRARY: https://medievalbooks.nl/2015/12/18/x-rays-expose-a-hidden-medieval-library/

Paperbacking silk for binding books by Sage Reynolds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6SgeLid-rg

Ben's video we discussed at the end of the podcast: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-UyBuipgI2/

This is the first part of our talk with Ben Elbel from Elbel Libro bindery and Bookbinding Out of the Box project. We discuss Ben's path to becoming a bookbinder, and then he shows around his studio in Haarlem, Netherlands. Check below to find the table of contents with timestamps.

The video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1vdPIDR-Iw

We announce our new giveaway on this podcast! Listen to it to find out how to get a set of our corner cutting jigs for free (with free worldwide shipping)!

In the second part of the podcast, we will talk about Ben's project and will answer several questions that we received from our community.

Our next guest is Todd Davis from the Middlesex Bindery in Massachusetts, United States. You can post your questions to Todd in the comments below.

The next Instagram live stream will be dedicated to making a basic sewing frame with only the simples tools and materials. Tune in this Tuesday, 28th of April 2020!

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

Join us on:

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

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

Discord — https://discord.gg/cxMw7x5

Pinterest — https://ru.pinterest.com/iBookBinding/

Follow Ben's projects:

Elbel Libro - https://www.elbel-libro.com/

Bookbinding Out of the Box - https://bookbindingoutofthebox.com/

https://www.instagram.com/bookbindingoutofthebox/

00:35 - How to pronounce Ben Elbel's name properly

02:10 - Our first meeting in 2015

04:18 - Ben's Path to bookbinding

07:03 - Father's suggestion to study bookbinding and a year at Centro del bel libro Ascona

=== Apprenticeship ===

13:33 - Looking for an apprenticeship

14:56 - Apprenticeship in Germany at Die Buchmanufaktur

15:38 - Learning to make things fast

16:03 - Usage of PVA

18:09 - Moving to London

19:20 - German traveling apprentices

22:20 - On taking apprentices at Elbel Libro

23:48 - Starting a career in bookbinding with or without education

26:00 - On the importance of learning French binding

=== Workshop Tour ===

29:02 - Workshop tour at Elbel Libro

31:03 - Showroom / Visitor area

35:00 - Ground floor / Workroom / Storage

36:33 - Leather splitting machine in action

40:40 - Storage corner: leather, cloth, cardboard, etc.

44:34 - All the sorts of cardboard Ben has in his studio

45:50 - Superior board: Presspahn and Green Millboard by Conservation By Design (see the links below)

48:05 - Workbench

49:26 - Different heights of mine and Ben's workbenches

Ben Elbel's shop:

Presspahn: https://bookbindingoutofthebox.com/collections/products/products/presspan

Own tutorials: https://bookbindingoutofthebox.com/collections/bookbinding-tutorials

Crisscross binding book: https://bookbindingoutofthebox.com/collections/books-from-others/products/book-crisscross-binding-anne-goy

Edgard Claes's piano hinge binding: https://bookbindingoutofthebox.com/collections/books-from-others/products/book-neue-bucheinbandtechnik-scharnierband-in-pergament-edgard-claes

Links and mentions:

Ben's first teacher at the city archive in Strasbourg: Bernard Santoni

Centro del bel libro Ascona - https://www.cbl-ascona.ch/en/programm/

Regular teachers Ben studied from in Ascona: Edwin Heim (bookbinding), Henrik Roerig (conservation)

Guest teachers Ben had in Ascona: Hedi Kyle, Cor Aerssens

American Academy of Bookbinding - https://www.bookbindingacademy.org/

Die Buchmanufaktur, at the time in Göttingen (Germany), now in Wädenswil (Switzerland)

Shepherds Bookbinders in London, UK - http://www.bookbinding.co.uk/

Book Works in London, UK - https://www.bookworks.org.uk/studio/

Boekkunstbeurs - https://boekkunstbeurs.nl/opening-en/

Green Millboard by Conservation By Design:

https://www.cxdinternational.com/boards/bookbinder-board/

https://www.talasonline.com/Conservation-by-Design-Millboard