FIN

I think this has been the most intensive, back-forth, late nights-early mornings, balls to the wall, so much input-little output project I have ever done in design. First let us recount the several misfortunes that have occurred over the course of this project

1. My roommates failed to help me gather all the Cotch Book information, so I started writing the majority of it (like 80% of it) by myself.
2. LOST MY DAMN USB STICK. This not only affected this project (my baby and favourite project, since the beginning of time), but the rest of my 4th year classes, not to mention all my other documents from other stuff (my O-Chair report for Winters College Council, all my Creative Arts Students’ Association documents, and my confidential York Federation of Students files – yes, I am a part of all of these, and yes, I’m expected to have them all as my “first” priority. On WCC (Winters College Council) I am O-Chair and VP Social, on CASA (Creative Arts Students’ Association) I am the YFS rep and social committee assistant, on the YFS (York Federation of Students) I am the Faculty of Fine Arts Director (the voice of all Fine Arts students at York on our Undergraduate Student Union).
3. Tried to re-build all my files (word documents, InDesign files, photos, drawn imagery, etc.)
4. Couldn’t nail down a graphical style so I changed directions
5. Started work on the Cook Book, but then got the new idea for 12 from Reg
6. The photos from 12 failed and there weren’t enough good ones to over power the bad ones, so I went with the Cook Book.
7. Spent probably a week solid just baking in my kitchen all the photos for the book. Screwed up about half the recipes and they ended up terribly. I am never donning another apron again! I hate playing Betty house-wife. Cutting the food into letterforms was even harder and more difficult a process.
8. Photography was another issue, but I fixed most of it with Photoshop.
9. Spent so much money on paper, but it was too thick to run through the printer, so I had to use thinner paper I didn’t want…
10. Then once my file was done and ready to print, the University explodes, so I go to 7 DIFFERENT PRINTING PLACES to get this damn book printed: all the prints ended up NOTHING like the original document. They were too grey, too yellow, too blue, too purple, TOO EVERYTHING BUT THE ACTUAL COLOUR! I went to the following printing places over  days:

• Kinkos at St. George
• Kinkos at Spadina
• Kinkos at St Patrick
• Inquired with Argo (they needed my file for a whole day, so I didn’t go with them)
• Printed in the TEL labs (before the University exploded)
• Printed in York Lanes (the people that work there hate their lives…)
• Staples on Keele and Steeles
• Staples on Young (they don’t know WTF they’re doing EVER)

Then as if those problems weren’t enough, the bulk of the problems came with binding everything:

1. Spent over $75 on binding supplies for this project and saw little return
2. The sewing was FINE. The one part that went well…
3. Ran out of end papers at the last moment.
4. Used an entire epic sheet of millboard cutting co many covers, and used all my printouts of the covers to go over them and they’re either tear, get glue on them, bubble, warp, rip, etc. The cover submitted was the best once, which is sad because it still sucks.
5. Couldn’t find any adhesive to stick my spine to the board that was strong enough, so I had to go on an epic midnight mission to find rubber cement from and friend on campus, and another friend off campus for the other adhesive I used. It stuck together, but I sustained terrible injuries from the glue ripping my skin off…
6. Wasted ALL my paper, that was ohh so expensive, on failed attempts.
7. My room was a disaster zone and I had to spend 2 nights sleeping on the couch because my bed was covered in book-binding supplies.

So, with all that said, now I am finally finished. I’m obviously not that happy about how it all turned out. I wish I didn’t spend so much money on this, because now I’m going to starve for another week (but good thing I made all those desserts: I can eat them now… although my roommates have already eaten most of it, because they’re awesome like that…).

My friend I borrowed the camera from for the project needed it back because she went back home for the holidays, so I only have shotty MacBook-Photobooth pictures of my book to show you.

Here is my sewing practice, to get the hang of it before ruining my paper… And my final book shots (labeled accordingly):

Sewing Exercise – Spine

Sewing Exercise – Inside

Sewing Exercise – Open

Sweet Type – Spine

Sweet Type – Fore edge

Sweet Type – Type History and Specimen Spread

Sweet Type – End Paper and First Page

Sweet Type – Cover

Sweet Type – Recipe Spread

And with that, c’est fini. I can’t say I’m sad to see this project go… but I can say that I learned A WHOLE LOT about printing and binding, and how I should never be trusted to bind anything myself. At least I have a lot more experience now… onward to the next book! Hopefully the Book of Cotch will sail…

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