Episodes
Wednesday Jun 08, 2016
Episode 137: More Japanese Stab Bindings. Or Chinese.
Wednesday Jun 08, 2016
Wednesday Jun 08, 2016
- Kutani-yaki (a colorful style of pottery),
- Wajima-nuri (a black & white style of lacquerware),
- Kaga-Yuzen (fabric dyeing),
- Washi (paper),
- Wagashi (Japanese-style sweets),
- Kinpaku (gold-leaf painting), and
- Matsudaira Sadanobu a politician who may have named Kanazawa's famous garden, Kenrokuen, Kenrokuen.
Sunday Jun 30, 2013
Episode 108: Travel Plus
Sunday Jun 30, 2013
Sunday Jun 30, 2013
I don't know what it is but whenever I travel, be it by train or car, I find the need to sew a book. Train travel is the best as I have the comfort of not having to watch where I'm going but I still get to my destination relatively unscathed.
Last weekend, I spent two days in a small town out of my normal town. On Friday, I printed out two books and on Saturday, after I circumnavigated the small town afoot, I sewed one. On Sunday, when I was recuperating from a two-hour hike around a forested hilly peninsula, I sewed the other one.
Both are B6 (nicely pocket-size) ~ B5 folded in half ~ lined notebooks with page numbers and small Japanese-English translations (製本 (seihon) ~ bookbinding) on the upper outside corners of each page. I used my usual link stitch to sew them together and used black thread on one and white on the other. Each book is about 192 pages ~ 12 signatures of four sheets each.
Now, I have many, many naked books that need covers. Well, at least six or seven. I'm aiming at experimenting with design printed on book cloth for most of these. Titles on the cover seem to make the book more.... real? Titles on the spine might even make them more saleable? One can only hope.
Tuesday Sep 04, 2012
Episode 88: Naked Books and A New Novel
Tuesday Sep 04, 2012
Tuesday Sep 04, 2012
Naked Books
Last weekend I was taught, I didn't learn it yet, three-needle coptic binding. It seems to require less thread. Is that possible? And it looks complicated but it really isn't once you get started. Previously in the year I learned two-needle coptic binding which is a third easier than three-needle binding. In the last couple of days I sewed three books using either two- or three-needle coptic binding. On the left you can see the three books. From the Top we have: Blank Notebook with about 180 pages, A5 in size (pocketbook), all white pages. In the Middle we have: An Odd Assortment of papers, about 180 pages, all A5 in size. The papers are leftovers, misprints, and test prints from my 2013 Diary/Calendar book. Rather than throw them all away, I decided to upcycle them into a memo pad. On the bottom we have: a 2013 Diary A5 in size, about 140 pages, with a bookmark (more on this when it's finished.) These three books will probably be casebound either today or tomorrow, I hope. Here are the front of the three books. From the left are the 2013 Diary, the Blank Notebook, and the Odd Assortment memo pad. The logo on the Odd Assortment is a test print for the 2013 Diary's last page. The 2013 Diary has a tail, as you can see, which is actually a bookmark. All of these fit in your back pocket. Not at once. Unless you have extra deep pockets.A New Novel
In the past few years I have written a few (5) novels, all love stories. Two are available on Smashwords.Com.
The first one is The Venetian Slime Woman: A Biological Love Story. It's about an EPA water specialist who stumbles into and feels compelled to protect a strange unearthly woman from the Department of Homeland Security.
Homeland Security wants to capture her, experiment on her, and find out what makes her tick. Why? Because she is of a species that grows from slime mould and learns by osmosis. In theory, they can never die. If a human touches the mould before it evolves into a human-like form, they die. If Homeland Security gets her, the Venetian Slime Woman will die.
It takes place in Venice, Seattle, the American midwest, and St. Augustine, Florida.
The reason I'm talking about it here is that I have bound a couple of copies. Smashwords.com is a good place to find and buy ebooks for your Kindle, iPad, or computer. If you like one of my books you can order a real copy - casebound or coptic - from me.
Next week: Tristram's Printer: A Typographical Love Story.
Monday Aug 20, 2012
Episode 86: The βιβλίο Book
Monday Aug 20, 2012
Monday Aug 20, 2012
Here is a finished book about the people and events responsible for how books look now. A simple book, not an in-depth treatise on typography and the like. It includes Cai Lun (inventor of paper), Bi Sheng (inventor of movable type), Choe Yun-Ui (inventor of movable metal type), the Abbasid Caliphate (responsible for spreading papermaking from China to the West), and Gutenberg, Griffo, Manutius, Garamond, plus the Aztec and Mayan codices. The book has 9 signatures of five sheets each for 180 pages but they are not bound one on top of the other. There are two parts to this book: left and right. Four are on the left side while five signatures are on the right side. The book has two fronts that open out like double doors. It only has one back, however. I used coptic binding to hold everything together. The reason behind that was coptic binding tends to open better than casebinding. Plus, coptic is older. (I didn't use papyrus, although it is mentioned early in the book; with pictures!). Yellow paper was used as endpapers. The original idea of the double book is that the content on the left side would complement the content on the right side. For example, there might be a picture of Nicolas Jenson on the right and a short paragraph about him on the left. Or a Mayan codex on the left with Diego de Landa pictured on the right (they're connected). For the most part, this was done. But towards the latter part of the book, the sides took a random approach. Indeed, the two books can be read independently from each other. Also included in the book are lined pages for note taking, if one so desires. While a good idea when I first thought of it, upon reflection, writing in a book of this rigidity and structure is a bit difficult to do. Possible, but not as easy as I at first thought. However, there are plenty of pages if someone wants to scribble away. Below on the left you can see two pictures. On the left is paper money first printed in China in 1215. On the right is a picture of the four Mayan codices that Diego de Landa didn't destroy. The picture on the right is attempting to show the coptic binding. I used a fairly thick, unwaxed, hemp thread from Nepal that was a bear to thread through the needle and kept kinking up something terrible. But the color (a mix of red and blue) matched the green book cloth I used on the cover.
Thursday Jun 07, 2012
Episode 81: This is a Slip Case?
Thursday Jun 07, 2012
Thursday Jun 07, 2012
Clamshell boxes and slipcases. Dresses for books. Both are fun to include in the price of a handmade book but one causes a considerable amount of stress and frustration - at least for me it does - while the other, uh, doesn't. After struggling through two clamshell boxes (you can hear about it, if you wish, below), I made a slipcase. Compared to the clamshell box, slipcases slip together much more easily. Nothing moves, for one. And I can visualize the completed box much easily. In fact, I made my first slipcase in less than an hour. The first clamshell took me maybe a grueling four hours.
The cover paper is the same as on the last clamshell box I made but without the small wavy design. I used the same paper with the Line 'Em Up, Dano book (Episode 76.) I like to use it because it's free. You can't go wrong with free. I like to practice with material that doesn't cost anything - I hope I don't run out before I perfect Something, eh? If I screw up anything I'm making with free material I don't feel as upset, frustrated, and depressed as when I use my own hard-earned cash for store-bought material. I'd better get better at making stuff soon, eh.
The book in the slipcase was made some time ago. But still in this century. It has Japanese-style paper which was probably designed in another century. It's rough to the touch plus has the neat design. The book has ten signatures of four sheets each for about 160 pages. The first sheet of paper in each section is green while the rest are your regular white so the spine looks mostly green. It is coptic stitched with black thread with five stations which means it can open quite wide and you can use the entire page, if you feel so inclined. It also has red endpapers just to spice things up a bit and to increase the colorfulness of it. As if the cover paper wasn't colorful enough. It's A5 (81/2" by 6") in size. It's a blank notebook.
If you want, you can ask me for it. Just email tedorigawa.bookmakers@gmail.com with Line 'Em Up, Dano! in the subject line and I'll send it to you With the Slipcase! Won't that be cool? The first request I get gets it.
This week we have music with our audio. The tune - not the entire song but just a couple of bits - is called Overland Blues and it's by the Yoshida Brothers who play the shamisen and are quite popular in Japan. And elsewhere, it seems. To listen to the entire song, click the link below. With the music, the drama is longer than usual. It's a little over four minutes long instead of the usual two or three. Is that right? I think so. Enjoy. Music:Yoshida Brothers "Overland Blues" (mp3) from "Best of Yoshida Brothers - Tsugaru Shamisen" (Domo Records)
Buy at iTunes Music Store More On This AlbumSunday May 27, 2012
Episode 80: Skewered Clamshell
Sunday May 27, 2012
Sunday May 27, 2012
Today we have two creations in one. First, a B6-sized (7" by 5") blank notebook: Skewered. I used a coptic stitch with six stations. The cover paper is washi (link goes to The Japanese Paper Place) with small leaves embedded in it. I glued six thin bamboo skewers - usually used for yakitori - onto the book board before putting the cover paper on so the cover has a rough and raised look about it. The endpapers are red to offset the paleness of the rest of the book. The book has five sections of four sheets each for 80 pages.
The second creation is the clamshell box Skewered comes in. First, it has the same book cloth as the lined notebook in Episode 76. This is my second clamshell box and, except for a minor problem with gluing, it went much better than the first one (seen and heard down there in Episode 78). Using book cloth makes for a stronger hinge area, that's for sure. I had intended for the design to be on the front but neglected to watch what I was doing, so now it's on the back with a blank front. Oh, well.
The thing I liked about this clamshell box is that it fit the first time I closed it. No fiddling about for adjustments. Well, not much. I didn't have to cut or pare down edges in order to make it fit like I did with the Yellow Clamshell Box. This indicates either better measuring or blind luck. I hope it's not blind luck.
My next box will be a slip case. Books in Japan traditionally came in slipcases which showed the spine to the viewer but they are now reserved for the more expensive books like dictionaries and one-volume encyclopedias. I'm going to try it to see if I like it enough to include it with books I make. Plus I'll continue trying to improve my clamshell box creation skills.
Monday Feb 14, 2011
Episode 62: Setsubun Book
Monday Feb 14, 2011
Monday Feb 14, 2011
With ten signatures of four sheets (folios?) each, the Setsubun Book comes in at a handy 160 pages. It's A5 in size. The first folio of each signature is green, which sort of accents the cover's green. The thread is black, which accents the cover, too, I believe. The cover is a very tactile - a bit rough - paper I found in a local shop. The book has red endpapers that accent nothing but definitely give a sense of adventure when you open the book for the first time.
This is the first coptic binding I have sewn in five months and I think I did a fairly good job of it. So good, in fact, that I'm putting it up for sale. For $12.34 US. It comes with a string attached, however. You have to tell me how it holds up over the time you have it.
But what is Setsubun and why is this book named as such? Setsubun is a part of the spring festival in Japan. It's traditionally considered the beginning of Spring and is February 3rd. On Setsubun people throw roasted soybeans (福豆 - fuku mame = luck beans) in two directions: out of their house and into their house. While throwing the beans out of their house, people yell "Oni ha soto!" (Devil - or demons - out!) and while throwing beans into their house, people yell "Fuku wa uchi!" (Fortune in! 福 - fuku = fortune).
This book was completed on February 3rd, therefore it was saddled with the name Setsubun Book. A wonderful addition to anyone who wants a blank notebook for drawing, notes, doodling, or having around the house.
Don't forget to look at our other books for sale on the For Sale page: A B6-sized blank notebook (moleskine-esque) for $12.34 and two Original Novels in one convenient book.
Tedorigawa Bookmakers gives 20% of sales to Kiva, a micro-finance group that loans money to impoverished entrepreneurs in developing economies.
Friday Jun 05, 2009
The Crapsey Quintain Poetry Coptic
Friday Jun 05, 2009
Friday Jun 05, 2009
I will be working on my Crapsey Quintain Coptic Book of poetry tonight as I have delayed working on it for quite some time, and don't you just love the name? Adelaide Crapsey created a type of poem she called the quintain - a 5-line poem of 22 syllables total. Eacy line should get progressively longer but that doesn't always hold water, not even for Ms Adelaide. I don't know why I got interested in her, her quintains, or her biography. Could it have been because of her surname? Am I that shallow? Here's an example of one of her quintains called Night Winds
Night Winds
The old
Old winds that blew
When Chaos was, what do
They tell the clattered trees that I
Should weep?
On a business note, I am planning to sell my books and will be setting up an online shop for a variety of finished books shortly. As an added bonus to early visitors, I will be throwing in - free - other stationery items such as pens, notebooks, simple notepads, and a 1959 250 GT Berlinetta Ferrari. Oh, wait. I made a mistake. Sorry, no notepads. Or the Ferrari, gosh darn it!Not open yet, watch this space for future developments and the opening day.
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music from Sonnyboo.com and composed by Peter John Ross. Check out his movies! Especially Relationship Card - it's hilarious.
Thursday Feb 12, 2009
Update: Short and Sweet
Thursday Feb 12, 2009
Thursday Feb 12, 2009
I added three more notebooks to my Cereal Series (see the post right below this one) and Finally! Finally! I got a coptic binding I like! On the fifth of five blank notebooks, the binding came out very nice. That's a 20% success rate or, in baseball terms, I'm batting 200. Not so good, eh? Well, I was excited that the fifth one came out good so I don't care if I'm batting .200 or not; it's the Success of the Week. Pictures of the cover look like the ones from below so you can just flip between this post and that one. Thanks for reading. I hope to get some audio up soon. Enjoy your week, too!
Sunday Jan 25, 2009
Episode 22: Cereal Series II
Sunday Jan 25, 2009
Sunday Jan 25, 2009
Two more books from Tedorigawa Bookmakers' famous Cereal Series. These are blank notebooks with coptic binding and about 100 pages each.
Actually, one is 100 pages and the other is 120 pages but I don't remember which is which. I suppose I could look it up....
The covers are from two cereal boxes. The book on the left says, "Genmai" (brown rice) "Flakes." Like corn flakes except made out of genmai. The book on the right has, in small letters at the top, "Salad Cereal." And then a series of pictures to show you how to make a salad on top of your cereal in three easy steps: put the cereal in a bowl, put salad fixings on the cereal, add dressing. Viola! Salad in a bowl!
On this pair of Cereal Series Blank Notebooks, I tried a different way to sewing the coptic binding: more precise and complex on the tail and head pieces (bottom and top). I liked the head and tail sewings but not the middle three. Usually I like the middle three sewings but not the end ones.
Things we learned on this project? Measuring and cutting straight are important. Also, just because I have black waxed thread, doesn't mean I have to use it. i.e. Another color thread might have been better. Finally we learned that measuring, folding, and sewing is best done while not simultaneously watching a movie on cable.
Here you can see the basic size of the Cereal Series Blank Notebook. It fits quite nicely into an overcoat pocket and opens out flat for full use of the entire page. (200 grams of this cereal will get you 50% of your daily requirements of seven essential vitamins, iron, and calcium, according to the front.)
By the way, this cereal is made by Kellogg's.
Thanks for reading and we hope to hear from you soon.