The paradoxical beauty of handmade
There is a paradox to practising crafts. The value of a handmade object lies in the quality of craftsmanship, but its particular beauty also relies on human imperfection.
When I make a piece of calligraphy for myself, or to style for a photo, and my nib catches the fibres of handmade paper, dragging ink along, filling the loop of a letter, I welcome the added touch of character. However, if the same thing happens with a commissioned piece, I am most likely to start again.
My calligraphy will never look perfect. It shouldn’t look perfect. But I am also always seeking to improve and perfect it. I can only see the ‘faults’ in anything I’ve written. This is good. It’s essential in order to keep making it better. The goal of perfection is both unattainable and undesirable, but it is necessary in order to make the work more beautiful.
The same applies to bookbinding. My books are not perfect. They are less perfectly finished than they would be by a more experienced bookbinder. They will also never be as perfectly trimmed or sized as machine-made books. And this, once again, is a good thing. The goal remains the same: inching towards perfection, however impossible and ultimately unwelcome it might be.
This paradox makes for constant dissatisfaction and a niggling worry about customers’ potential disappointment. What if someone who orders two ‘identical’ notebooks with the same label notices that the lettering is not in fact exactly the same on both? What if they notice the slightly wobbly line on that upstroke, or think the edges of a book aren’t smooth enough? What if they would have preferred the impression of a letterpress printed title to be sharper? And what if none of this is actually good enough?
It is all part and parcel of making things by hand. I have, in fact, never had negative feedback, and anyone visiting my stall at markets and exhibitions has looked enchanted by my perfectly imperfect creations. But my own critical eye and wish to learn and ‘perfect’ my crafts are an essential ingredient in making them in the first place.
Everything I make is made entirely by hand, by me. I spend time and lavish attention on every single product, making sure it is the best it can be. There are decisions to be made at every stage, choosing which pieces of handmade paper to pair for one notebook or positioning the calligraphy on a label, as well as making sure that everything is cut, sewn and glued precisely. In its own unique way, each item is as perfect as it can be.
