Hello there! Thank you for stopping by! I now have a new website and blog for you to visit. Everything that's here I'm still very proud of though, so continue to look around. Afterwards – definitely come over to view newer work: larakimmerer.com. See you over there!
|
|
To begin...
My friend Lacy Stoneburner, of Stoneburner Bookbinding - teamed up with designer, Eli Scheer, who happens to also my friend - to create limited edition pieces which are being sold in Lacy's Etsy shop. You can read more about their collaboration here.
We're giving away the beautiful journal featured above! Details on the giveway are at the bottom of this post.
______
Lacy and I have known each other for about 7 years now. I was even a bridesmaid in her wedding! Over the last year I've watched Lacy's bookbinding and preservation business grow quite a bit. In fact, she is one of my vendors. Lacy makes the beautiful CD cases that I deliver to my clients.
I asked Lacy a few questions, so you could all get to know her a bit more:
How did you find yourself in the book binder/preservationist business?
I've worked in libraries since I was a teenager but initially got into the field because it was a good job for a kid that didn't involve food service. When I went to college I chose to major in cultural anthropology because it was interesting, not necessarily because I saw myself as an anthropologist down the line. After I graduated I found a job at another library that had a tuition reimbursement program and thought, what the heck? I signed up for library science grad school and soon discovered preservation. While I was going through this all it seemed to be a slow progression, but looking back it makes a lot of sense to me. I essentially spend my day-job preserving the cultural heritage I studied as an anthropologist. My favorite items to work on are ephemeral pieces from the early 1900s - specifically this collection of materials from the Massachusetts Agricultural College (now UMass Amherst) Extension School. Pamphlets on beekeeping, garden planning and the domestic arts are fascinating to me! I've been working in the preservation field now for nearly five years, but somewhere along the way I found the yearning to use preservation techniques on new materials. It can be really difficult to bring a warped, brittle book back to life, so on my weekends I began working with new materials and making small books and paper projects. From there things have progressed into a small business that is extremely satisfying.
There is a give and take from both my preservation work and my bookbinding work. I see old binding styles during my preservation work and think about how they can be adapted to my bookbinding work. With my bookbinding, I have the opportunity to experiment with bindings and techniques that may not be preservationally sound, but that have aspects that can be integrated into my preservation work.
What inspires you and/or who inspires you?
I am inspired by various and sundry things and am open to inspiration from odd avenues. Earlier this year I was sick and subsequently watching a lot of tv. On two different shows within the same day autograph books were mentioned and I instantly began thinking about how to create them. When I went into the studio to work up a model, I realized that I was creating the perfect size covers for these books each time I cut a cover for one of my standard size journals. So out of a few tv mentions and remnants I had in the studio, I created some really cute autograph books that I'll be introducing into the shop over the next few weeks.
While you're working, do you listen to music? And, if so, what kind of music - or who do you listen to?
While I'm working I often stream video - movies specifically - to have something going on in the background while my mind is focused on the work at hand. As for music, lately I've been pulled towards four bands/musicians specifically: Architecture in Helsinki, The Avett Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. The more upbeat the music, the more fun I have working.
Five items you need to have with you at all times.
While working:
1. Utility blade
2. Cork-backed ruler
3. Teflon "bone" folder
4. Real bone folder
5. PVA glue
In life:
1. Cell phone (to obsessively check if I've received any new email)
2. Granola bar (to stave off crankiness)
3. Mints (to stave off nausea)
4. T-pass
5. Chapstick (if I can remember it)
_____
I've known Eli for just about 5 years now. I met Eli through our mutual friend Casey (who you saw in the photo above). Eli's design work has always interested me. I love the intracy in a lot of his designs.
Eli & Casey are currently travelling the world (or, at least a good deal of it). They're about halfway through. You can follow along with their travels on the blog WonderWander.org. My favorite post so far is this one - where Eli & Casey write about their experience at the Yi Peng festival in Thailand. The photos below are from their blog.
As Casey wrote, "Rice paper lanterns are lit aflame, filled with prayers, and sent off to the heavens." Absolutely beautiful.
I'm incredibly interested to see what inspirations Eli brings into his work after this unbelievable trip.
_______
Giveaway!
And now what you've been waiting for! All of the books from the collaboration between Stoneburner Bookbinding & Eli Scheer are limited edition. The journal featured above is the 1st of only 8 books in this series - and it can be yours!
To put yourself in the running to win the book:
1. Go to Lacy's Stoneburner Bookbinding's facebook page and "like" her business.
2. Go to my Lara Kimmerer | photographer facebook page and "like" my business.
3. Leave a comment at the bottom of this post telling me you've done both - and you'll be entered in the contest! If you've already "liked" both our businesses, no problem - just let me know you'd like to be entered as well.
*** You'll get an extra entry in the contest if you tweet this post as well! (@larakimmerer)
Contest ends at midnight EST next Tuesday, November 29th. The randomly selected winner will be announced on Wednesday the 30th! Good Luck!
UPDATE: Tamar is our winner! Congratulations, Tamar! Thank you for entering everyone!
|
|
My favorite way to present a wedding story is in a matted album. You can call me old fashioned...that's fine, but I just love the classic look - a look that, in my opinion, never goes out of style. I offer flush mount and will soon be offering another album style (soon to be featured on here), but I wanted to start off by showing my favorite.
The layout is always clean and never overly designed. I often use a smaller print, like a 4x6 or 5x7 in the larger 10x10 space to give the image room - to really take in what's happening in the photograph. I really enjoy designing albums and take care to tell the story in a way that makes sense, but also celebrates the moments happening in the photographs.
From a recent bride after seeing her album for the first time,
"We absolutely looooove it!!!!!!!! I can't tell you how excited we are to have this. You did such a beautiful job. The layout was incredible!!!! We could not be happier! I called my mom to tell her how excited we were with the album and we were talking about how extremely happy we have been with you throughout the whole entire wedding process. You were the sense of calm throughout the wedding day, you brought joy in the months after through your blog and photos. Thank you, thank you for everything you have done!!!"
|
|
Recent Comments