Erinzam News

Here they are! Earlier I mentioned a special project that I worked on in conjunction with the online shop, Three Potato Four. We came up with a set of three little books made from inventory tags. I screen printed numbers onto the covers with a Print Gocco, lined them with special papers and bound them using a pamphlet stitch. Each set is bundled in a little handmade muslin bag. I think these would be fun for grownups too!

Here are a few more cute items available through Three Potato Four’s brand new Kids section:

I’m oh so far behind in posts and updates! So much has happened since the Holidays. First, after a link from Boing Boing (yay!), I spent the days (and nights) leading up to Christmas packing up dozens of rocket clocks. The next two weeks were refreshing; time was spent with family and friends back in Kansas. Upon arriving back in CA, I dug right in to a special project for a fantastic online shop.

The shop is called Three Potato Four. The owners continually update their beautiful selection of new and antique items, all inspired by their love of collections. In February they will launch a special section dedicated to kids. We worked together to create a set of little books that will be a part of this section. You’ll have to wait until February to see them, and all I can tell you is that they are super cute!

Here are a few examples of the goodies to be found at the Three Potato Four online shop:

Ready for some tips and tricks? I am currently working on an illustrated tutorial of the coptic binding, which I plan to post soon. In the meantime, here are a few great resources for other tutorials and inspirations.

My favorite published resource is a book by Keith A. Smith entitled Volume I Non-Adhesive Binding: Books Without Paste or Glue. This guy knows his stuff. Although he has several other books available, I suggest this one to start off with. He begins with the basics, such as what tools to use and how to fold your paper and eventually illustrates several dozen different binding variations.

There are many online resources as well. Brian Sawyer has a great collection of bookbinding links here, which include everything from thorough tutorials to inspirations. Even more links are available at The Book Arts Web. I also discovered some great information at My Handbound Books. This blog has a selection of tutorials and ideas as well as a fantastic list of resources.

Last but not least, I suggest enrolling in a bookbinding class or workshop. This is often the quickest way to learn. Check out your local paper or art stores as well as local colleges and art centers to see if they offer any classes of this sort.

I love the way that this idea developed. While working on cassette tape books, I discovered that I somehow cut a stack of pages way too small. Not about to waste paper (oh no!) I began to scavenge around the studio for something that would make an appropriate cover for a tiny book. I came across a set of vintage inventory tags that I purchased from the Etsy shop, Other People’s Flowers. I had no plans for them at the time of their purchase… just a keen interest in collecting functional paper. Voila! The perfect match for my little mistake. These books are available here.

Three more fabric books are ready for a new home! I did hesitate to give up #3 though, as I have a soft spot for typography. All of these covers are reclaimed from fabrics destined for who-knows-what or where. The first is from a damaged vintage tablecloth, the second from an old curtain, the third from a discarded mail bag. Although I have the raw materials for making a series of eight books this size, I want each one to be distinctly different. The first book is quilted and pillowy, the second has a special pocket that runs the length of the cover, and the third is unique because of the printing on the plastic canvas.

Here I am again, pulling things from the recycle bin! I couldn’t resist these materials, though. The brown book, which I named Ecopak, is created from a paper tray used to hold produce from the grocery store. My favorite part is how the pages are cut different sizes to fit inside. The blue book is made from an interesting piece of packaging foam, enhanced with an illustration of an oil rig. Fitting, since that’s where this foam’s life began.

Ecopak sold already, but the oil rig book and another book similar to it are still available through Etsy.

Finally! After months, and even years of creating a stash of fun and unique fabric scraps, I am putting them to use. In the works is a small series of books made from this very pile of textiles. Here are the first two, made from vintage drapery samples discovered this past summer in a 2nd hand store. More to come!

My husband and I left the beautiful Kansas sky for the beautiful California weather. After the long hiatus caused by moving, I am so happy to be back in a studio space.

One of the first projects I began was to convert a stash of matchbooks (that I found while moving) into mini books. I decided to convert them all. I had plenty of interesting paper scraps saved up from past projects and they made perfect little pages in these matchbook books. I like to think of these as books in disguise. That way, if you ever need to take secret notes while on a detective mission, for example, this is the perfect place to do it. I already began to post some of them individually and also as sets on Etsy.

I have a collection of antique matchbooks that have resided in storage, waiting for a new purpose. At my mom’s suggestion to turn them into mini books, I pulled them out and began the transformation (thanks Mom!). What a great way to lose the flammability and keep the nostalgia! If you’d like to try this yourself, here’s a quick how-to.

1. Choose a paper or papers to use as pages.

2. Using an awl or similar tool, gently pry open the back prongs of the staple holding the matchbook together.

3. Remove the matches, leaving the staple in the front portion of the matchbook (be careful not to tear through the cover with the staple).

4. Cut your paper to the size of the matches and make a stack of pages about the same thickness as the chipboard portion of the matches. Using the matches as a guide, punch two holes in the base of your stack of pages.

5. Place the stack of pages within the cover by guiding the staple through the holes at the base of the pages.

6. Thread the staple back through the back cover of the matchbook and use a bone folder or similar tool to press the prongs back into place.

Voilá! You now have a new little book to write secret notes in or other things of similar importance.

I recently hit the found object jackpot. After discovering the potential that cassette tapes hold as book covers, a whole world of possibility opened up. I started out using a cassette as the front cover of a book and its matching lyric insert for the back cover. A few of these are pictured here: Indigo Girls, Lionel Richie and Bruce Springsteen (I can’t help but laugh at Bruce’s butt on the back cover). Recently, I paired some unusual cassettes with old book covers. I love the uniqueness of these. Now that garage sale season has started… I may be unstoppable!