Making a Talas Book Journal Kit // Adventures in Bookbinding

[@spikeboston1237]

You are getting very well known around the world for your excellent videos Darryn. Keep up the fantastic work!!

[@69Buddha]

Great demonstration of how to make a good looking book without all the fancy tools. Glad to hear Talas is at least curious, as they should realize your sphere of influence is not just growing, but growing in the right audience. I, for one, ordered materials from them based upon your videos already!

[@definitelynotskynet]

I’d never heard of Talas before. My wallet is not pleased, but I am. :-) Unrelated note, my new kitten discovered how to hop on the TV stand as I watched this video and she was super into the part where you sewed the signatures. 😆😆

[@AshleyMcQuaid]

You just absolutely blew my mind with that thread trick!

[@johnproffitt3272]

Love the guitar in the background

[@Jeannette.akaJnett]

Wonderful project. I thoroughly enjoy watching (and listening) to your videos. I just completed five Coptic bound sketchbooks for my granddaughters for Christmas. I used your video from 2019 as an inspiration and guide. Thank you for sharing your talents. It is greatly appreciated.

[@sarahcowan1489]

Wonderful video, thank you. I started making books about 15 years ago, then moved on to other art making. I had a stroke last year which has affected my eyesight, double vision, but I can see well enough to work closely with my hands and re-discovered book making!! Your videos are inspiring and I am now very obsessed with my next project. I live in a small town in southern BC so its difficult to get materials but now I know Talas is available. So again, thank you. And I love your voice, sometimes I just listen to one of your videos.

[@DASBookbinding]

Great to hear you are making books! You probably know about this supplier, and they are on the other side of the country from you, but just in case, George Hill georgehillco.com/index.php?route=common/home Happy binding! Darryn

[@nashvillain171]

Another great project! We'll be celebrating your 10,000 subscribers REAL soon, Darryn.

[@DASBookbinding]

It's hard to believe. I get more subscribers a month now than I did in my first year. Thanks for your support from the very beginning!

[@Inktransfercomics]

Greetings from Madison, WI! Having only moved here a few months before the pandemic, I haven't been able to explore as much as I'd like, but I'm led to believe there's a healthy local book arts community. Thanks for all the great videos!

[@DASBookbinding]

I haven't lived in Madison for 10 years, but I'm sure the book arts community is thriving! All the best, DAS

[@jenniefrench1338]

I love the book it is very unique and simplified some steps. By coincidence we chose the same blue decorative paper. Good choice! I will definitely give this a go. And I have been passing on who has taught such great and understandable bookbinding steps. This type would make a perfect sketch or watercolor book too. Companies charge so much for a tiny 90lb cheaply made book so thank you so very much for your teaching. By the way I lived in WI also right near the upper peninsula Michigan border. Lake Superior is beautiful and cold. My family lives in Minoqua.

[@DASBookbinding]

I love the UP! First time I went up there some friends took me up for the Noquemanon. I'd never seen so much snow!!! All the best, Darryn

[@AngelavengerL]

Really enjoyed this kit. Definitely wouldn't mind seeing you do more like this too. It's interesting that they don't put directions in there so people can be as creative with it as they want.

[@DASBookbinding]

It's a long story. It was originally made for a course at the shop with an instructor. They were very surprised with what I came up with - very different to what was taught in the course. Ciao, DAS

[@kdcthelioness]

Great video! As always, thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us. Does this type of binding have a specific name? You mentioned the similarities with sewn board bindings, but I wasn't sure if this was something that had a specific different name. I really like the way this style turned out!

[@catherinebenner8709]

Thank you for this great basic lesson!

[@Mtonazzi]

Ain't that one gorgeous little book?

[@thevdevitor]

The book look really beatiful

[@Caenef]

That's a neat little kit, very pretty cover material, too. =) I just got a Japanese screw punch from Talas earlier this month; there were cheaper options elsewhere, but some reviews left me wondering how long I'd have those $10-$15 tools before they broke. The one I ordered is very useful for the coptic stitch, Anne Goy crisscross, and Japanese stab binding projects I'm working on!

[@DASBookbinding]

I'm not sure I use it in videos much but I have a quality Japanese made screw punch too and it is great! All the best, DAS

[@Caenef]

@@DASBookbinding Yours has had at least one appearance somewhere, considering it's what inspired me to get a screw punch of my own. I don't know how I've gotten by without one before now.

[@dtpostel]

¡Thank you, THANK YOU! Take care of yourself for us.

[@DASBookbinding]

Thank you! You too! DAS

[@ionsorinporojan149]

Great lesson in bookbinding !!!

[@ThePhantazmya]

It's interesting that of all the places to skimp on in a kit they chose to skimp on the thread. Thread is cheap and weighs virtually nothing so it doesn't add to shipping cost. It's a funny decision to make.

[@DASBookbinding]

It was awhile since I did this kit. But I don't think it was a matter of skimping, rather I made a different book to what was intended and it required a longer piece of thread. DAS

[@Bindingofallbooks]

Your work is good . Thank you. I'm from Iraq.

[@DASBookbinding]

Wonderful to hear from Iraq. Glad you found the videos interesting. All the best, Darryn

[@Bindingofallbooks]

English translation آنا عربی مشترك بالقناة . كل الفيديوات جيدة . Good .

[@lujadosyning]

Can't say much about ways that you could work with Talas to make income, but I would definitely be interested in buying the paste papers that you make.

[@DASBookbinding]

Thanks! I'll have to improve my paste paper I think before I sell it:) A more convenient sized paper to start with. All the best, DAS

[@bookbindinggeek]

Great video (except for the camera zoom problem, but there’s not much you can do about the weather). It remained a bit unclear to me how this book differs from a sewn boards binding. Granted it’s been over a year since I did one of those so my memory might be a bit spotty. Your partnership with Talas is a great idea. You have a growing book binding audience, which is a very niche audience, so it would make sense to partner with a shop that caters to that audience. To help Talas, with deciding how much value your channel could provide for them, you could compile some information about your audience demographics, like age, gender, and location of your audience. For example knowing the percentage of US viewers of your videos, could be useful information for Talas. I live in Europe myself, but I’ve known about Talas for years and probably would’ve ordered from them, if they didn’t reside across the ocean. :p You should find the audience demographics info somewhere in your KZbin analytics page. Information about how many people on average watch your videos would probably also be useful to Talas. That’s more important than your subscription count for potential partnerships. And it’s important to note that your audience is the kind of audience that Talas would want to reach. I have a few ideas for your Talas partnership: - More tutorials like this one where you make a book using their materials and tools, of course with links to said products in the description. More experienced book binders probably already know about Talas, so a video aimed more at beginners would be useful. They could then make a book following your instructions and order the needed materials and tools from Talas. And Talas would pay you something for the advertisement of their products. - You could also do a more traditional brand sponsorship where you essentially make a paid commercial for Talas. The length of the sponsorship segment could be anything from half a minute to a couple of minutes in length where you could show Talas’swebsite and maybe a general overview of the kind of products that they have, your own experience with them, where they ship etc. Brand sponsors usually give some outline of the kind of information they would like for you to include and you can then put it into your own words. You could add such a segment to one or more of your videos. - You could do an unboxing video (those are quite popular). Talas could send you some tools and/or materials and you could then make a video about opening the package and talking about the products. Talas could either send you some free products, or you could order stuff from them, that you’d find useful, and they’d pay you something for essentially making a kind of commercial of their products. - Paid product reviews could also work. They could either be the whole video or integrated into the video somehow (like using leather from Talas in a book binding project and doing a short review of the leather while you’re at it). All though I’m not actually sure how this exactly works. Do sponsors send youtubers free stuff, that the youtuber then reviews, or do they also pay for the review? I dunno. I would personally love a video where you could review some of the books about book binding that are on Talas’ website. You’re probably already familiar with some of the books. Or you could do a video about book binding tools for beginners or intermediate book binders. It’s been a while since you did a video like that. Or a video all about book binding leather and the kind of tools that you need to work with leather. Talas seems to sell all sorts of things so there are a lot of possibilities. - Affiliate links from your youtube videos description to Talas’ website. If people click on the link and end up buying something from Talas, Talas would then pay you a small commission (it’s usually a small percentage of the price that the customer paid, like 2%). The customer doesn’t pay anything extra. Sea Lemon has affiliate links to book binding supplies on her videos, but they’re to Amazon. I have no idea how difficult such a system would be to set up with Talas, or if it would be worth it for them to go through that kind of trouble. Of course, if you do a partnership with a brand, like Talas, say so in the video and put a disclaimer at the end of your video description. And I’m not any kind of expert in these matters, all though I managed to write a short essay about youtube sponsorship, I just watch a lot of KZbin videos. Send me message on Patreon, if you want to brainstorm some more.

[@DASBookbinding]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm afraid that if I show Talas my analytics they'll know it's not worth sponsoring me:( Bookbinding is just such a niche market and margins are very thin. Even back in the day at its peak margins were very thin. But to your bookbinding question. In this book the boards are adhered to the outer sheet, traditionally called the waste sheet. But in the sewn board binding the board is made of a laminate of a folded card and an inner thin board. The folded card is sewn to the block just like a section/signature then the card glued into the folded card to form the finished board. Thus the board is sewn onto the book - sewn board binding. All the best, DAS

[@bookbindinggeek]

​ @DAS Bookbinding Oh yeah, now I remember! I had forgotten about the folded card on the sewn board binding. It's such a shame that people often don't appreciate handcrafts enough to actually pay for them. People are so used to bying cheap books at the bookstore that they can't understand how much work and expertice it takes to bind a book by hand, so people usually aren't willing to pay for it. A while back I talked with a master book binder who mainly does book conservation and repair and he said that he can't even pay the rent of his workroom with the money that he makes. So yeah... it's slim pickings. Honesly, I think that you'd probably get a more steady income stream, if you put Amazon affiliate links in your video descriptions. I always rather order my tools and materials from book binding stores, like Talas, because I'd rather support their business than a huge company like Amazon, which often doesn't even have the things that I want to buy. But from a purely economic sense, it would probably make more sense for you to go with Amazon. You could always do both, like Sea Lemon does with her partnerships (both bigger and smaller companies). Well, I hope you figure something out with Talas.

[@daveturnbull7221]

@@bookbindinggeek I agree about people not being willing to pay for handmade items. One of the reasons I started a lot of my short lived hobbies was to gain a better understanding of exactly how much time, effort and money the crafters have invested into developing the skills needed to produce the high quality items they do. My bookbinding will never be of 'commercial' quality but it is fun and hopefully may prompt some of those I give stuff to as gifts to think about possibly buying some nice handcrafted items. Whereever possible I tend to buy from specialist suppliers (yes, slightly more expensive) as I know that the items they offer are going to be better quality and therefore likely to outlast me. I also try to search out and use small local suppliers for items when I can (One of my favourites is Vintage Paper Company based in Stromness, Orkney). Again not the cheapest but it helps to support the local economy.

[@bookbindinggeek]

@@daveturnbull7221 The appreciation of handcrafted items is also a cultural thing. In some countries people are actually willing to pay for the handmade items, even if they’re more expensive than mass produced ones. Japan comes to mind, but there are probably others as well. Specialist paper shops are like a book binders heaven! I visit the Zelluloos paper shop whenever I’m in Estonia, because nothing beats actually touching the papers that you’re looking to buy. Most of my decorative papers are from there.

[@marcos13vinicius11]

If possible, I’d appreciate if you showed us your aproach for a digital printed cover art

[@DASBookbinding]

I wish I could, but I don't do much. Is there something specific you have in mind? I print paper labels occasionally and very rarely I print on bookcloth. Is it one of those you have in mind? All the best, DAS

[@marcos13vinicius11]

@@DASBookbinding well, what I do after creating the digital art is printing it on a 120g/m2 glossy paper and laminate with clear self adhesive vinyl ,then I do the case with this paper art //i’d like to know how a professional bookbinder like you would do

[@DASBookbinding]

@@marcos13vinicius11 I understand what you mean now. I do hand binding so don;t usually handle that sort of work. I have been brought printed sheets to use as a cover and I just assumed these were offset lithography on a special paper. I know someone that does a lot of this type of work and will ask him. I'm curious now. Yours Darryn

[@linamoses3513]

I’m upping my equipment and materials because of your tutorials and using Talas because of your recommendations. Perhaps you can get a code and link to Talas where you get a small commissions from these purchases. Thanks for much for these videos.

[@DASBookbinding]

They're a small family owned business. They can't afford to pay commissions to bookbinding "influencers":) I'm glad to hear you're using them!

[@linamoses3513]

@@DASBookbinding Even more reason to use them. Thanks for the info.

[@daveturnbull7221]

I couldn't agree more about the need to support specialist manufacturers and suppliers. I rely heavily on people like yourself not only for the instructional side of things but also for recommendations on good suppliers and products. I'd happily become a patreon to help support your channel and you but as a pensioner my finances are not exactly overflowing - sorry :( As @Book Binding Geek said in his post I think affiliate links would be a good idea. It costs Talas nothing if your viewers don't buy from them and the rate is (I would think) very easy to adjust. It probably won't give you enough to live on but these days every little bit helps. One 'tool' that i see in almost all your videos is your 'house brick' weight and was wondering what you covered it in (I assume some sort of vinyl?) and did you attach it to the brick or just to itself? It looks like it is wrapped like a pack of butter where it is only really going to be glued to itself. I just happen to have found a house brick lying by the side of the road and thought i'd have a go at making one. Any info you can give on printing on bookcloth would also be much appreciated.

[@DASBookbinding]

Your moral support is greatly valued!! Nothing special with covering bricks. I used old commercial covering materials I've been given that I'm not going to use myself but can't throw away, or damaged bookcloth. If the brick is a bit rough a layer of newspaper under the covering materials softens the sharp bits. And yes I just wrap it like a present and use PVA glue to seal it up. I'll somehow demo how I print on bookcloth in the next few weeks. Work it into a video somehow. Nothing special - just cut to a standard size and feed it into the printer. All the best, DAS

[@daveturnbull7221]

@@DASBookbinding Thanks Darryn. I had a go at making my own bookcloth the other day - abject failure but a valuable learning experience. The cloth I used was too fine I think and it ended up being semi-transparent which could make for some interesting effects. More experimentation needed. I've got a load of faux leather from an old sofa so I think I'll have a go at making a brick :)

[@bookbindinggeek]

You made a very good point about affiliate links costing nothing for the partnership company, if people don't actually end up buying from them through the links. Setting them up just might take a bit of work. Darryn, to actually make decent money out of KZbin as a small creator you need to diversify your income sources. A lot of little streams is more reliable than one bigger one. I’ve seen those DIY house brick weights covered in just plain copy paper. Just do a couple of layers of paper and you’ll get a good weight even if you don’t have bookcloth.

[@emanuel1.168]

What would be the advantages and disadvantages of a sewn bord binding compared to this? The end product looks almost identical to me, but the construction is a bit different.

[@DASBookbinding]

The main thing is that it is a kit and there isn't enough material in the kit to do the sewn board binding. But I saw an opportunity to borrow from the sewn board binding (the break-away spine) to make this project more interesting. The difference is in the board attachment. The sewn board binding has sewn on boards (sort of obvious), whereas the kit uses what's vaguely called attached boards - glued to the outer sheet. So there is a weakness in the kit book's board attachment compared to the SBB. But the kit is faster - less mucking about with the boards. All the best, Darryn

[@swaminathaniyer2647]

Classic

[@billybilodeau1991]

I don’t blame the camera for loosing focus when it gets too hot, I do the same damn thing.

[@shellypeaker672]

Have you thought about doing some classes on Skillshare? That would give you some income.

[@DASBookbinding]

I make a modest income from YT and Patreons really help. I have thought of doing some courses for a platform like this but the production quality required is much higher than I can do. Plus I hate talking to camera and I'd have to do that. Thanks for the thought! DAS

[@arunavel0211]

How to bind a book sewn on a machine

[@graciouscompetentdwarfrabbit]

1:18 "Lightweight ««A/F»» Board for Spine" If it's more than 30gsm I'm calling it bull💩

[@DASBookbinding]

You've got me. I don;t know what the "A/F" stands for. But the spine stiffener is 10pt Heritage Bristol card stock, which you are right, much more than 30gsm. All the best, DAS

[@graciouscompetentdwarfrabbit]

@@DASBookbinding AF stands for "As F***", i was just joking 😂😂

[@DASBookbinding]

@@graciouscompetentdwarfrabbit You got me:) DAS

[@TALASonline]

hah! Guess we should change that :) A/F = Acid-Free

[@dgrvcdftqpxsumhlrstf4322]

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