Why do I have to go to America for Good DVD tutorials?

[edenworkshops]

A couple of years ago I spent quite some time looking for good video DVD tutorials.

Eventually I came across the DVD's that we now supply from our website.

They are good, very good, and the quality of production is very professional, just what you would hope them to be, and Ime not intentionally plugging these DVD's, if there were better DVD tutorials around I would be supplying them.

But what grieves me is I have to go to America to find them!

I saw the offerings from the Society of Bookbinders & Book Restorers, they supply one rather good DVD on cloth case restoration, and that's it.

I wrote to the society twice expressing interest in the DVD, I got no reply on both occasions. I was told that the organisation of SOB is rather amorphous, and no one person is in charge of the distribution of DVD's....what!

If bookbinding is going to survive and thrive there has to be a source of well produced, high content, video DVD tutorials.

DVD learning is second only to one on one tuition in my opinion, there is a whole world of people out there involved in bookbinding, and many of them, for one reason and another, cannot obtain one on one tuition, So there is a ready market for good DVD tutorials.

The Society of Designer Bookbinders should get of its collective backside, put aside individual ego's and get down to the task of building a professionally produced series of video tutorials, it would only have to be done once and the DVD would be around a long time...is it profitable?

I speak regularly with Michael Chrisman in America about his DVD's and he is delighted that his excellent range of DVD's is selling all around the world, he has virtually no competition.

So wake up UK bookbinders and write to these organisations, contact them and ask them why they have no organised supply of quality DVD tutorials.

OK, rant over.

Richard Norman

www.edenworkshops.com

[lehmannbindery]

Richard,

You might also want to look into Rochester Institute of Technology's "Bookbinding 2000" DVD's. The ones I've seen so far are excellent. You can buy them either as a set or individually.

The link for the set is: http://carypress.rit.edu/publications/d ... d-set.html

Frank Lehmann
Lehmann Bindery

[Annied]

Hi Richard! I've got the SOB DVD on rebacking a cloth binding and I agree, it's excellent. (I'm talking about the one by Nick Cowlishaw just in case we're at cross purposes.) When I ordered it for a friend however, he never got it. I sent a reminder to SOB and got a reply direct from Nick Cowlishaw apologising and saying he'd get one in the post, which he did. So it appears they come direct from him. Might be worth sending him an email?

[edenworkshops]

Hello Annied

May I quote you with regard your good opinion of the rebacking DVD by Nick Cowlishaw please?

I am delighted to say that Nick Cowlishaw of England has produced a 3 DVD set of bookbinding tutorials.

I spent most of yesterday watching them.

I too thought the DVD on rebacking was good, I have seen good feedback about this DVD in several places online.

I am glad to say that in my opinion they follow in the footseps of the rebacking DVD in terms of quality. Nick has 50 years experience, he spent 32 years teaching bookbinding at major institutions, and it shows, he is a good teacher and comes across as confident and relaxed.

There are three volumes.

Vol 1 deals with "Forwarding"

This comprehensive DVD carefully shows the various stages in forwarding a book, from folded sections, sewing the book on a sewing frame, right up to the covering stage and everything in between. Nothing is excluded.

Vol 2 deals with "Case Binding"

An exhaustive description of the process's used to make the two standard styles of case binding. Two seminal styles of sewing. And at last on DVD, how to use the Plough & Press for trimming your books.

Vol 3 deals with "Leather Binding"

This DVD will show you precisely how to bind a book in both half and full leather. It shows in detail the sequence of operations needed to cover a full leather binding in goatskin.

Nick works in a very uncluttered workspace, nothing to distract the eye. It is easy to concentrate on what is being taught, and what a lot is taught! The three DVD's cover the forwarding and binding of four standard styles of binding, from the simple flat back case binding to the durable traditional binding in full leather.

Vol 2. Case Binding, could stand on it's own, it's a complete course on how to produce two high quality case bindings.

Vol 1 & 3 Forwarding & The Leather Binding, properly belong together I feel, Vol 1 teaching you everything up to the point of covering, and Vol 3 taking you from there to produce two styles of leather binding.

The set of three represent a thorough grounding in forwarding and binding.

There is a DVD on titling and tooling in gilt and gold in the pipeline.

So at last the UK has produced a notable set of DVD bookbinding tutorials.

Apart from Angela Suttons CD there has been very little to show from the UK. Only the Society of Bookbinders have produced any DVD's, two of them are of considerable historical interest, but they only have one DVD tutorial, fortunately it's a good one, the DVD by Nick Cowlishaw.

I am happy to say we can now supply this new set of DVD's, we can also supply the excellent DVD on rebacking.

A much placated Richard.

[edenworkshops]

Thank you Frank

I have been in contact with the Rochester Institute and they have agreed to let us supply their DVD's.

As you say some very interesting projects.

Regards

Richard

[Annied]