The truth is that however much I agreed with them (and I did) there were problems to overcome. Firstly, I had picked up the gorgeous map paper in a garden centre whilst on holiday in the summer. I wasn't about to drive 300 miles just to buy some paper, so I had to start researching alternatives. There are some lovely map papers out there by some fantastic designers, but sadly those designers want to keep the designs for themselves and wherever I looked I ran into copyright issues. Now I don't want to start selling my products illegally, even if there is a high demand for them, so this was a significant stumbling block.
Secondly, I knew that my notebook covering technique wasn't producing consistently quality notebooks. Sometimes the glue made the pages too wet and they would warp. Or I would get a crease in the cover. And I needed to figure out a better way of covering the spine, as a paper spine doesn't really work too well. I have a lot of notebooks on my desk, all with various flaws. All of them have solved one problem, and revealed another. I'm not really one for going to classes, or finding out from others how things should be done - I like to solve my own problems so that the products I make are truly mine.
I am sorry for the wait, especially for those who have been eagerly awaiting new map notebooks any day since October. But I finally think I'm there. I have in my hands a map covered notebook that is a) legal and b) high enough quality to sell. I wanted to bring you a sneak peak of what will be available in the say it shop very soon (when I have had chance to make more than one, just in case there's a bit of a rush on them again).
Update 20/01/12 - The map notebooks are now available at www.sayit.folksy.com.
That looks gorgeous! From the fold mark it looks like you're using actual 2nd hand OS map sheets? Would it be possible to request notebooks with particular map locations?
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul. These are indeed made from old second hand OS maps (out of copyright). I'd be very happy to make them up using particular locations, as long as I could get hold of the maps. With them being second hand, I can't guarantee that I could find a map covering a specific location, but I could certainly have a look.
ReplyDeleteYou can now buy these map notebooks at www.sayit.folksy.com.
ReplyDelete