#2024 endband review

[celestial-sphere-press]

The 2024 Annual Endband Review!

A selection of 9 endbands sewed in the last year (there's a couple not pictured).

The big change this year: every endband sewn this year was done in 100% silk thread, which has a gorgeous shine to it.

Plus, breaking my own statement about not wanting to sew endbands on flat-backed books.

Goal for next year: try out a new endband style.

[bluejayblueskies]

Bookbinding Year in Review 2024

Another year, another reflection on all of the books I've bound this year! I didn't have as prolific a year as last year, but I still bound quite a bit.

Starting off with some overall stats:

Total books bound: 30 Total books gifted: 26 Total words bound: 1,116,840 Average words per book: 37,228

I bound quite a few blank books/journals this year, and I ended the year with a few very large binds, so there are some outliers skewing this average 😂 Additionally, despite binding about half as many books as last year, my total words bound is approximately the same (likely because so many of last year's books were short pamphlet binds).

This year, instead of doing pamphlet binds for Binderary (a bookbinding marathon event hosted by the Renegade discord server in February), I did 15 Malevolent-themed journals in conjunction with @shadow0haven and sold them at Invictuscon in March, with profits going to charity. Though I probably won't be doing it again (it took a lot out of me), it was a lot of fun!

[ID: Three journals laid side-by-side. The leftmost journal is yellow with a black spine and has artwork of Blob John on it. The middle journal has a black spine and painted-style artwork of John (depicted as a large monster with a large white pallid mask) and Arthur (depicted holding a lighter with his eyes covered) on it. The rightmost journal is black with a gold spine and a gold metallic painted Yellow Sign in the middle. All three journals have gold ribbons and black elastic closures. /End ID]

About half of my bound books this year were for Binderary. I also bound books for Fandom Trumps Hate, Renegade bookbinding exchanges, Big Bang events, and Fanfiction Writers Appreciation Day. One of my most experimental book designs from this year was from the Rusty Quill Big Bang, where I went all-out on a hockey-themed book.

[ID: A hand-bound book open and standing up with the spine facing the viewer. The highlight of the picture is the spine, which has a hockey lace threaded over it so that the spine looks like the front of a hockey skate. The spine beneath the lace is open so you can see the paper and stitching. /End ID]

I've been experimenting a lot with different book styles and binding techniques this year, trying to stretch myself, try new things, and use the skills I've acquired to think and work outside the box. I did that with the above book (combining coptic and sewn board binding styles). I also learned some new techniques, such as creating covers using cutting machines, doing different styles of endbands, trimming edges (easily the most frustrating part of the binding process 😒), and painting edges. One of my favorite aspects of this hobby is, as the Renegade server calls it, FAAFOing, or "fucking around and finding out," so even when something doesn't work out 100% perfectly or the way I envisioned it, it's just a learning experience for the future ✨

This year's fandom that I bound the most for (excluding "no fandom") was back to my roots with the Magnus Archives. I got to bind one of my own fanfictions as part of a Fandom Trumps Hate gift, which was a pleasure to do. It was my first exploration into the world of creating stenciled covers using my Silhouette, and I'm delighted at the cover designs available to me now.

[ID: A hand-bound book photographed from the front. The book has dark green bookcloth, a decorative red and gold ribbon along the left side, and a gold painted cherry blossom design. The title and author name are also in gold and read, “Ten Thousand Flowers in Spring” and “bluejayblueskies.” /End ID]

My favorite bind from this year is currently a secret (it's an exchange gift!), but my second-favorite is a Rusty Quill Gaming bind I did of knifemartin's fic Due North earlier this year. I tried marbling for the first time for it, which was a tricky yet rewarding process, and I'm thrilled with the aesthetics of this book. An honorable mention is Aftershocks, another RQG fic by knifemartin that allowed me to indulge in my love of wingfic.

[ID: Two images of two different hand-bound books. The leftmost image shows the front cover of a book bound in black cloth with the fic name "Due North" and author name "knifemartin" painted on with silver paint in a fancy sans serif font. There is also a rectangular cutout showing off blue and green marbled paper beneath. The rightmost image shows the front cover of a book bound in shiny gold cloth with the fic name “Aftershocks” and author name “knifemartin” painted on vertically on the righthand side with silver paint in a blocky sans serif font. On the lefthand side, there is a 3D white angel wing that has been constructed from individually cut-out paper feathers. /End ID]

I have some fun plans for the upcoming year, as well as a resolution to bind more for myself in 2025. I really enjoy doing events and gifts and exchanges, but it does have me putting a lot of projects I want to do off to the side, so I'm going to make more of an effort to focus on those in the upcoming year. Time to finally make a dent in my to-bind list! 💪

[celestial-sphere-press]

Four Techniques from 2024

In addition to endbands, I wanted to review 4 times this year I was really happy with my execution of a technique.

Top left: leather corner. Leather corners are really hard to get right; if you don't pare enough they're bulky & if you don't get the cut aligned right, they're bulky. If done right you ignore them & done wrong they will bother you forever. this one isn't *perfect* but it is smooth & not bulky & so I am happy.

Top right: first dust jacket I've designed, & did so mimicking NatGeo layout. I'm so happy with how it turned out.

Bottom left: Graphite edge. Got this one pretty smooth & waxed & polished with minimum sanding. No flaking.

Bottom right: a lot of things came together right on that bind to get that level of conformation of endpaper to the hinge. it opens so nice & I think it's one of my best backing jobs & also the shoulders March perfectly to the board thickness.

here's looking forward to more tiny little details turning out perfect for us in this new year!