Update: A client in Seattle really pushed back on my choice of headbands

I was finishing a custom order for a set of poetry books (you know, the fancy kind with marbled paper) and the client came to my shop for a final look. I showed them the headbands, which I'd sewn in a dark green silk to match the endpapers. They got this look on their face and said, 'Oh, I thought those were just glued-on decoration. Can't you use the fake, pre-made ones? It seems like a waste of time for something no one sees.' I was pretty taken aback. I tried to explain that a proper sewn headband protects the spine and is a mark of real craft, but they just kept saying it was an 'unseen detail' and not worth the extra two hours of work I'd put in. It stuck with me because it felt like they were saying the heart of the work, the hidden structure, doesn't matter if the outside looks good. Has anyone else had a client question a core part of your process like that? How do you talk about the value of the things that aren't immediately obvious?

3 comments

3 Comments

bell.felix28d ago

Seattle clients forget raincoats have seams too.

mason53128d ago

Ugh, tell me about it. My last one started leaking at the shoulders after like two months. Total junk.

kai_foster28d ago

Right, the seams are the whole point. I bought a fancy one last fall that was basically a sponge with a zipper. Water just wicks right through the stitching on the arms. You're paying for the brand name, not for actual waterproofing. It's like they design them for a light drizzle in a parking lot, not for real weather.