my first book - handmade!

okay, so my fiance and i started a small press last year, and now finally we have the fruits of our labour, and i just wanted to brag about it somewhere (uhhh other then the 2 other threads i've already mentioned it on..). not having much creative talent of any sort, i'm really quite proud of what we've managed to make.

you can read about it here (and see pics):
http://chancepress2.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/a-common-thread/

it's just a double-signature chapbook (quite a mistake doing something this complicated for our first book, but oh well), hand-sewn, letterpress printed title paste-down, fancy tissue endpapers, and an envelope of poet signatures (on interesting bits of paper and even bark), with a story written by a friend of bukowski's gocco-printed onto it (designed to look like an old type-written note). it's been a lot of work - from getting submissions, editing, copy-checking, formatting (ugghhh), choosing the font, choosing papers, printing the envelopes, figuring out how to sew it all together...

so yeah, i hope someone here finds it interesting!

this is awesome

That's so cool. I am very envious--have looked into making books myself, but am completely cack-handed at this sort of thing.

haha - so am i, that's the thing!

we're starting with simple chapbooks - we did pick a pretty complicated chapbook binding for our first project, but not on purpose (it seemed like it would be so easy!). this book will have a special edition of 5 that will also come in clamshells - a friend of ours runs a beautiful small press and is making them for us, but eventually i want to learn myself. i've also ordered some book board/cloth that i'm going to play around with - for our next project i want to do a limited edition hardcover.

the thing is, there are TONS of online resources for teaching yourself how to do this stuff, as well as books. mostly, it's just about knowing some basic techniques and having a few essential tools (bone folders are the greatest invention in the world, and this project would have been 10x harder without one).

we'd like to get into more experimental book design, as well as letterpress.

Wow, this is great. I add my name to those envious of your creativity.

we've just released our second book, details here:

http://chancepress2.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/serafini/

it's an essay about the works of luigi serafini ('author'/illustrator of the codex seraphinianus).

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/821832/serafini%20colophon%202.jpg

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/821832/serafini%20title%20page%201.jpg

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/821832/serafini%20cover%20image%203.jpg

this is totally the new "yeah, i run my own record label"

deluxe edition of our codex seraphinianus chapbook:

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/821832/LS%20delx%20front%20cover%20RESZ.JPG

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/821832/LS%20delx%20mini%20chap%20bead%20detail%20RESZ.JPG

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/821832/LS%20delx%20mini%20chapbooks%20RESZ.JPG

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/821832/LS%20delx%20FULL%20inside%20coverRESZ.JPG

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/821832/LS%20delx%20inside%20mini%20chapRESZ.JPG

thats fuckin dope

Wow! Lovely piece of work!

new book is ready! details here

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/mjp%20chap/mjp%201.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/mjp%20chap/mjp%202.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/mjp%20chap/mjp%203.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/mjp%20chap/mjp%204.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/mjp%20chap/mjp%205.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/mjp%20chap/mjp%206.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/mjp%20chap/mjp%207.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/821832/mjp%20chap/mjp%208.jpg

wow! so cool!

you guys are the coolest

:D :D :D

I love the binding, Makes me sad that I never continued binding books after I left school)

(Design is great too)

are they in any local stores or do you just sell them yourself?

I know the price includes shipping, but would it be more to get sent to Australia? I want!

xp to sarah: just over the net... we will sell them in person at zine shows next year, but haven't really felt like pounding the pavement to get bookstores to buy them. we'd rather just use the energy to make more books.

xp to james: yeah, the price is + $6 to "rest of world" (meaning not the US or canada). but justine will draw you a picture for free and put it in the envelope.

we could really use some business: currently, 90% of our customer base is from the bukowski forum we post to, and where we're good friends with a lot of ppl there. if you know ppl who would buy this kind of thing, spread the word! we'd appreciate it <3

james: $6 (US dollars) for shipping but we won't charge shipping on a second order (i.e. if you buy two books at the same time)

here's our facebook fan page

we're also on twitter: chancepress

AND our website is www.chancepress.com

i just became a fan of you. i was thinking that you could probably put a few on consignment at RPS.

we've been warned that if we go the consignment route we should be prepared to never see in dime in payment.

feel free to friend ytth and me if you want!

*A dime

xp - my soon-to-be-ex is in one of my pics - in case you happen to spot him in Whole Foods

i just sent you a friend request, in case you have no idea who j0rd@n hurd3r is...

we're all friends now

aw<3

sarahel, you should meet j&j sometime, i have and they are top notch.

that book is lovely.

upon reflection, 'should' is bit bossy, i don't believe in telling people what to do.

i believe in it when appropriate - kbp should have answered your question and not locked that thread.

yes, that was a disgrace.

I'd say it's Chinatown, but's not. That's over here

http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/NewAnswersControllerServlet?boardid=52

wow, I've never done that before: "but's not"

Maybe it has something to do with the tiny netbook keyboard.

xp - I was banned from a thread there, but I just shrugged it off, because it's Chinatown.

okay so we have a couple new books, our first attempts at hardcovers:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_VaoxUTbYWxo/S432HcGw4cI/AAAAAAAAACk/D7sdmvw__NE/s512/P1020069.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_VaoxUTbYWxo/S432dLB8TRI/AAAAAAAAACs/SvtFnIo18N8/s576/P1020068.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_VaoxUTbYWxo/S4GFbSEu3EI/AAAAAAAAABs/ATGTolcf0m8/s576/codex2ndpub1.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_VaoxUTbYWxo/S4GFblhf1rI/AAAAAAAAABw/sFdZOuD4opA/s512/codex2ndpub2.jpg

the first one is from a doctoral thesis on bukowski - it's an excerpt debunking some of bukowski's self-created myths about his so-called '10 year drunk'.

the other is a second edition of ytth's essay about the codex seraphinianus (we had a lot of requests for it after it sold out). those fancy end papers with the crazy stag pattern are only in a couple of special presentation copies.

sssswwwaaaaaggggg sssssuuuuurrrrffffiiiinnnn

justine: now i have seen this thread you are officially the coolest person i've ever known.

aw shucks!

but come on, less talk and more spending!

actually, we only listed these a couple of days ago and about 75% are sold out.

btw, we are definitely publishing pleasant plains story about colon cancer, and dan lacey has agreed to illustrate.

i don't get what 'swag surfing' means

these all look great. I used the covers from an old book to bind a journal for my gf about six months ago which ended up being a ridiculous undertaking for a first try, but I've been thinking of trying something smaller since.

our latest book:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs533.ash1/31253_392677913266_96668088266_4157289_4090526_n.jpg

fans of the Oulipo should definitely this out.

*check