That guy at the Guild of Book Workers meeting who told me I was binding wrong

I was at a local Guild of Book Workers meeting in Portland back in February, just showing off this little Coptic stitch journal I made with some handmade paper. This older guy, probably in his 60s, walked over and picked it up without asking. He flipped through it and then said "you know, real bookbinders don't use Coptic stitch for anything functional, it's just for art shows." Just like that, totally dismissive. I told him I've been using Coptic stitch for travel journals for years and they hold up fine, but he just shrugged and walked away. It really stuck with me how someone can be so experienced yet so closed off to different approaches. Has anyone else run into someone in this community who acted like their way was the only right way?

3 comments

3 Comments

carr.luna6d ago

Bought a vintage Coptic journal at a flea market once that outlived three of my proper bindings, @nathan_kim.

nathan_kim7d ago

and honestly that kind of gatekeeping drives me crazy because it kills the whole spirit of bookbinding. like yeah, traditional techniques have their place, but who decided Coptic stitch can't be functional? I've had a Coptic bound sketchbook survive a road trip from Portland to Moab with all pages intact. some folks get so hung up on "proper" methods they forget we're all just trying to hold paper together. it's the same energy as the guy who told me my limp vellum covers were "not real binding" because there's no boards.

casey2686d ago

...but like is it really that deep though? I mean yeah gatekeeping is annoying but half the time the people getting worked up about it are just as bad as the traditionalists. You know the type who wants a medal for using a bone folder from 1812. But I also don't think anyone is actually losing sleep over what counts as "real binding" except people on forums arguing about it. My buddy made a book out of duct tape and old license plates and called it art. Nobody cared what stitch he used.