13 Comments

That's all really cool. Cut yourself a lot of slack. People used to spend their whole lives mastering the art of book binding and within a few months you're cranking out usable notebooks.

Just out of curiosity, when is your planting season? You're quite a bit north of me.

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Thank you. I always start the brussels early, and even the 27th is a bit eary for tomatoes etc. I generally don’t put the summer veggies in the ground until May 25 or later. Depending on conditions, some seed and spring starts can go in the ground around May 01. With a little hoop house over a bed I could plant some salad greens as early as April 01, depending on soil temp.

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I absolutely LOVE that you're making your own books. Every mark and scratch is a sign they were born of human hands, and all the effort invested makes each one you create extra special. I love your seedling station, too. Gets me excited for spring!!

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Much appreciated Jacqueline! And yes, it has been below 0F for a long time but 40F this week is going to feel like spring :)

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Looking forward to seeing the progress on these books !!

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Love me some bookbinding! I’ve only done a handful (I have 50 years of photography) but they make an impression. Built my press with 3/4 plywood.

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Nice. I bought a bamboo press as part of a book binding kit, and it is already effectively broken. I have some brazilian ipe left from a deck I built, I am going to use to make a half dozen mini presses.

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I just stumbled across a note of yours, which seems perfect in timing - my husband, 14-year old daughter and I all write poetry, and we've been tossing the idea around whether to try and go the conventional book publishing route, or make our own high-end handmade copies, sensing that the market for nature poetry and essays is quite slim. Another issue is that we'd ideally like it to be printed bilingually in Hungarian and English. We haven't started bookbinding just yet, but have been watching videos on a daily basis, especially enjoying them from Bitter Melon Bindery on YouTube. Gardening-wise, we have a no-dig garden in northern Romania, planting time varies from late April to the end of May, depends on the snow/rain. It's been a really dry winter, so we'll just have to wait and see.

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Hello Cheryl, and welcome. Yes, the market for poetry is very slim. Very likely too, most people willing to purchase poetry would only do so if the name of the Author is connected to a big publishing house. The big publishing houses only publish that which the “regime” wants to sell. At least here in America. Binding one’s own books I think is a good way to build a core readership over time.

I recommend not buying a book binding kit. There are only a few tools you need, and much of what is contained in those kits is not high quality. Best of luck, I would love to hear about progress. And good luck with the garden!

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Creativity from start to finish. Nice work, Hunter!

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Thank you! Much appreciated Sharine.

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You never cease to amaze me. My hat is off to you, Sir. You remind me that there are still people in this world who are self-starters who say, “why not?”

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Much aporeciated, Simon. Kind words. To quote @John Carter “You can just do things.”

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