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24.01.2022 Why do we desire handmade things? Why do we seek the work of artisans even through the ages of industrialisation and technology? There is indeed a unique quality to handmade things that cannot be replicated. Book-craft was matured well before the industrial era, and that ancient core is still the basis of the bookbinder’s technique. But that is an esoteric view, and it is not why I make things by hand. It is the craving for the genuine that drives us to look for handmade thi...ngs. Just as we are less connected to the earth and natural cycles, we feel less connected to certain ways of doing things. There is a process: feeling and knowing each material, acknowledging their unique characteristics and origins in the living world, and then slowly, considerately bringing them together to make an object of integrity. It is a sincere experience. We cannot do this for everything right now, and perhaps we never will - I myself do not shy away from industrially made materials. But it is good that we still value handmade things as much as possible. I believe it is a mindful way of thinking, which guides us towards a meaningful and engaged world. . #iambasicallyahobbit #seriouslyreadabouthobbits #craftsman #handmade #handmadeinaustralia #artisan #madebyhand #designphilosophy #bookbinding #handmadeatationery #stationeryaddict #traveljournal #journal #sketchbook #traveldiary #writersnotebook #travellingwriters #pilgrimnotebooks #adelaide #radelaide #localadelaide #adelaidelocal #madeinsouthaustralia See more

23.01.2022 Backing the cloth: https://www.pilgrimnotebooks.com.au/post/backing-the-cloth

22.01.2022 It’s Tolkien reading day. To mark the day that Barad-dur fell I am recommending Smith of Wootton Major. It’s Tolkien’s essay on Fairy Stories that became a Fairy Story explaining Fairy Stories. Not really the professor’s style to make explanations through story, but the work itself is true to his imagination’s brilliant form. . Faery is the perilous realm, a dangerous place for mortals to tread; but we can glimpse it. . #tolkien #tolkienreadingday #faery #fairystories #fantasyliterature

19.01.2022 The temptation to lift books from the latest batch is real. The last weeks have been all about getting back to our roots. This notebook is a variation on one of the very first designs we produced. The binding isn’t complicated or difficult; on the contrary, it’s a got something of a rustic minimalism that l always find compelling in how sincere it is. The idea behind these objects would be direct, short words: We made these things so we could use them. . #handmade #pilgrimnotebooks

14.01.2022 From the development of the Georgian common place book to the pilgrim crew's notes on Middle-Earth family trees - few things go together like literature and notebooks. In honour of the connection we are posting a feature book on weekends. This week's feature is 'In Praise of Shadows', by Junichiro Tanizaki. Tanizaki's essay on Japanese aesthetics is essential reading for craftsmen, designers, architects, and anyone who pays heed to the objects and living places in their life. In Praise of Shadows is unmistakably the work of a writer, drifting with intellectual grace between personal experience and historical analysis; between critique and celebration. It is a credit to writer and also the English translators that such a distinctive style is captured so consistently.

13.01.2022 I re-wrote this post on squared spines to better reflect the techniques used in bookbinding. Any aspect of bookbinding is an opportunity to delve into how the craft actually works, and the sorts of things a bookbinder must think about. "In craft, it is difficult to conceive of - and harder to justify - processes which do not wholistcally add to the object."

13.01.2022 A while back I tried a method of using bone folders as tensioning sticks, to tightly work the thread along the book as I sewed it up. I had just gotten the extra folders for running workshops, and was also looking for a way to stop the thread from tangling up as I sewed (that is where the thread has a tendency to twist, raveling around itself, and the twist can literally tie itself in knots as it's pulled through the holes). Binder's note: I went on sewing like this, and was ...equally tight on the kettle stitch. The book wound up with too much tension, so much that achieving even the minimal rounding and backing of the spine was difficult. The tension was not evident on the pages as they opened up though, a testament to the balance of all-along sewing on cords. I went back to sewing with the sections held open as I go, and doing a tight job without obsessing over tightness. See more

12.01.2022 Well, looks like the yellow-tails have been by the workshop. Aleppo pine, the cones of which have been chewed apart to release the seed, is a food source for these endangered birds, but is also a ‘noxious weed’. This is a duality; both good and bad at once. A part of the story is missing here though. The open forests of this area were once upon a time more complex, varied, and harmonious (to my mind). Patches of Banksia, Hakea, and Allocasuarina trees supplied nutritious seeds while happily coexisting with Eucalypts. Altered systems often maintain functions, but lose the harmony of evolution which made them. Much more is changed than we can even quantify. All the same, the birds still visit this workshop, for which I am glad.

10.01.2022 Getting to know the materials is a strong current in any craft. One of my recent blog posts is about the narrative of materials entering into the making process. I believe that the interaction with materials is one of the main virtues handmade practices bring to us today, in a time where we are materially wealthy, yet also have diluted tactile interactions with objects.

10.01.2022 Dusk up on the mountain: I am prepping the page blocks for newly tweaked designs tonight, after spending the day on linen bookcloth, endpapers, back-cover pockets, and boards. A couple of the new natural linen binds have already gone out to Tinker and Relove , while these will be destined for the market display at @gillesatthegrounds this Sunday.

04.01.2022 It’s rare for a maker to pick out a clear favourite (okay, it’s more or less impossible). But this design is getting an honourable mention for being close to the heart. It’s simple and practical (my main design philosophy), but is also ideally light for a nomadic life. The best part for me is that it’s the most environmentally sensitive book I make. It’s a blessing to be able to produce simple objects. As a craftsman it presents the opportunity to try and make a useful object... and make it well - a surprisingly rare opportunity. The real joy here resides in hearing how these books are used and the travels they have been on. . This lovely photo was taken alongside locally made ceramics in one of my favourite curated spaces, Tinker #handmade #simplesdesign #minimalistdesign #handmadeinadelaide #sustainabledesign #traveljournal #travelnotebook #stationeryaddict #recycledstationery #notebooks #radelaide #pilgrimnotebooks

01.01.2022 The Lesser Pilgrim is a rare species. Almost aggressively simple, and close in design to my very first books. The covers are thick marine ply, the spine and end paper joints have linings of fabric, and the casing work is only a strip of unfinished denim. This notebook remains one of my sentimental favourites for it’s two design ideas. The first is that it is direct in answering the challenge of being functional away from a desk. It actually exists to be used on the walking tr...ails around the Cleland area, and the eyrie-like rocky spurs of the steeper hillsides there. The boards are expected to be banged and scuffed as they are placed down, until they are polished raw like old work tables. This usage will destroy many spines, so this one is sacrificial denim which can be replaced by scrap fabric whenever needed. The second idea is that the pages are replaceable. The page block eventually fills up, but can then be cut out and either safely stored or covered in its own right. The spine of the page block remains in good condition, having been protected from abrasion and UV light by the denim. The boards can be re-bound into new books many times. The most well-used original Pilgrim is on its fourth generation, and still a long way from its last.

01.01.2022 Planning the sewing positions for a new book size. I draw up diagrams using my Waterman hemisphere fountain pen, filled with Robert Oster ink. For the vast majority of my writing I use the same 70 gsm recycled paper that fills my standard notebooks. It's one of the best low-gsm papers I know of for fountain pens. A small proporting of my work uses 118 gsm Mohawk paper, which is inside my regular bullet journal in the foreground. My other regular instrument is the steadler mechanical pencil, which I consider to be one of the best commodity products in stationery. I enjoy good quality wooden pencils, but prefer these refillable instruments to power out most of my work.