Made in the dark

I'm still living behind a tarp that bangs on my window whenever it's windy (almost all the time). It seems the renovation will go on and on until eternity. I have barely any daylight, so both creating and taking photos have been on a long, long break. Sorry! I've been making some custom orders and private art things (we'll see if anything comes out of them, maybe I'll be brave enough to take photos once the light is back), but nothing has made it to the blog so far.

I'm writing again. Poetry. Seriously writing, a lot. It makes me really happy. During the past three years I've hardly written anything, but now I'm beginning to find my voice again. It feels almost the same as it felt when I realized bookbinding could be the thing I do when I grow up. I haven't grown up yet. Life is trying to tell me to grow up, but I'm still fighting!

Today and tomorrow I will be listing plenty of new things on my Etsy shop. I'm not too happy with the photos, but that's the best I can do under these circumstances (behind the tarp! and without proper lighting). The colors are accurate and everything is just as amazing as usual, but the photos are a bit bleh. Once the tarp is gone, there will be new photos, but it's going to take a while for that to happen. Bear with me and my poor photos until then!

minä

My dear friend gave me a hat. Then I accidentally took a photo of myself, of the person I am. Sure I'm always snapping photos of myself, but they never quite capture who I am or how I feel. I'm not sure if other people see me this way, to me it's irrelevant, like most things.

That's me there, right above this small mass of text. Boyish, he says. I say, it's fine, it's me. Looking good, says she. I say, it's irrelevant.

Some things are done best madly. Like loving. (and maybe living too)

Yann - 6

Too many photos, no words, but this is a long story to tell. Yann, all finished, with box and everything. This has been one of my all time favourite projects. This year has been a huge learning experience to me, I'm re-learning to be me and do the things I love. This I love:












If you have questions about the book, or just questions in general, I'll do my best to answer them in the comments or by email.

All new life.

I am finally back. The competition book and its rather fancy schmancy box are all finished. The above strip of leather is a part of the box in the making. "Yes. One day it will happen." To me that quote sums up the entire book. Yann Andrea Steiner is somehow a book of inevitable things, of waiting, of knowing, it's all very complicated. You can read a (long!) excerpt here.

My new place is going through a façade repair and just this morning they decided to cover up my windows with boards. My lovely beautiful bright new place (its bathroom has been described as so ugly that it's awesome, but to be honest, it's simply just as beige as anything can get, only with added black currant vines on the tiles) was turned into a dark cave at once and I have no idea how am I going to take proper photos for you before I send everything away across the seas.

Saima is hanging on the wall. The rest is still a little mess. Just like me, all bruised from assembling the furniture and unpacking, with a bump on my forehead from an unlucky meeting with my terribly inappropriately placed leather paring machine, which also involved flying cups and bowls and one loose kitchen cupboard shelf. It has been very eventful here. How about there where you are right now?

Packing order plans failed

So, I've accidentally packed the papers I need for finishing Yann. No bookbinding posts before the move unfortunately. Must go finish with the packing, since I can't finish the book like I had planned. Sorry everyone.

My 200th blog post will be written from my new home. See you there. Soon, hopefully!

Letter to Suzanne

A while ago I made a special matchbox letter to the lovely Suzanne of Sakurasnow, who was my 300th sale customer on Etsy (and a terrific blogger too, but sadly I can't write letters to all of you lovely people in the blogworld). Beaches are good. Bringing things back home from the beach is almost as good. Pebbles, shells, twigs. I was just packing some things that were stored in the attic, and found a tin box, full of Brighton. I had forgotten all about it, but I swear those pebbles aren't going back to the attic at my new home. Art will happen.

I've taken a couple of days off from bookbinding and just packed and packed. If I stick to my packing schedule this weekend, the beginning of next week should be strictly bookbinding. The move is on Thursday, and I hope to be back to blogging as soon as possible after the move. My internet connection should work straight away, but that's what they said last time too... We'll see. Some bookbinding posts will appear here before the move, so worry not, I'm not abandoning you yet.

Yann - 5

Oh I thought I had already lost count, but I guess this really is post number 5.

Today I got to the point where the book looks ready unless you look too closely. Before noon I had put the cover leather on, but still left the turn-ins waiting. And just when I had begun to work on them, with my first headcap (the shaped and modelled turn-in over the top and bottom of the spine) in the making (something you need to do pretty quickly and preferably at one go to avoid the over-worked look), the phone rings and my moving boxes are delivered right that moment. I went and opened the door for the men and told them to put the boxes wherever they want, I'm too busy to think, or even notice they exist. They were very understanding, did a little gawking while I worked, though. The turn-ins went fine, but it was just the perfect example of bad timing. The worst possible timing, for me. Still, alive and well, and the book looks like it's supposed to look.



I like how the grain of the leather looks like the shadows little waves sometimes make in the bright sea bottom. Not a thing one can see in Turku, but still. I like sea and I like water, as long as I'm not in the water myself.


I promised a shot of the headbands and here you can see the headcap that was made while standing at the door book in one hand and a bonefolder in the other. I've seen better ones, but this will have to do. And as you can see, the book block is still wrapped up to keep the moisture from the covering process away. Maybe if tomorrow isn't all packing, I will do the leather hinges and filling in. Hoping to get this book all done before the weekend, so I can start working on the box too. All this is pretty weird because of the moving, but well, I'm staying right here until Thursday next week. Plenty of time, kind of.