At the end of 2023 I decided to make the next year one of learning new techniques and improving the ones I already know. I'm the type of person that has to plan everything out and make lists (lots of lists...), so I did some research on how to approach a year of focused learning. I came across this video explaining the process of Reverse Goal Setting. This method really appealed to me because it allowed me to break down the goal into very manageable pieces and attack them one by one.
The goal I've set for myself is to become a fine binder.
How is that different from what I'm doing now?
Up until 2024, I was primarily making journals except for the fine bindings I created in class at the American Academy of Bookbinding. While my journals are well built and take about 8 hours worth of work over a couple weeks, they are not, and were never intended to be, on the level of a fine binding. That type of work can take 20+ hours per book (often much more) and is about the pursuit of creating a book in the most perfect way you're capable of.
In reverse goal setting, you imagine the type of person who is fully capable of reaching your goal then decide what skills and attributes they have that makes the goal inevitable for them. You then state how good you think they have to be in each area out of 10. They don't need to be 10/10 in everything.
These are some of the skills I imagined a fine binder has:
Skill | Fine Binder | Me |
Sewing | 9/10 | 7/10 |
Rounding & backing | 10/10 | 7/10 |
Endbands | 8/10 | 5/10 |
Edge decoration | 6/10 | 6/10 |
Meeting guards | 9/10 | 3/10 |
Leather paring | 10/10 | 7/10 |
Tooling | 10/10 | 3/10 |
Titling | 7/10 | 2/10 |
Headcaps | 7/10 | 4/10 |
Clamshells | 8/10 | 5/10 |
Meeting guards | 9/10 | 3/10 |
Hollows | 8/10 | 5/10 |
Design | 8/10 | 6/10 |
This is definitely not a comprehensive list but as you can see, it allows me to make discrete areas of focus.
For 2025 I've decided to focus on improving tooling, endbands, headcaps, hollows, and leather corners. It's generally accepted that trying to improve more than 1 or 2 at a time is too difficult so I'll be working on tooling and endbands for the first two months of the year.
Having all these skills laid out is one thing, but how will I go about actually doing the thing?
Well, with tooling and endbands, it's pretty straight forward. Practice plaquettes for tooling and using a spare textblock for tying endbands. When I get around to things like hollows and headcaps it becomes a little trickier but I've decided that with every book I make this year, including journals, extra attention will be paid to those areas and hopefully progress will happen.
I find it useful to spend time thinking about what those numbers mean for each category. For example, I rated myself a 6/10 in edge decoration because I know how to do things like painted edges, sunago, and ploughing. To me, higher level techniques include guilding and graphite, two things I've seen done but have never tried myself. I also think that one does not need those higher level techniques to be a fine binder, which is whay I left the ideal person's rating at 6.
One of the things I've always loved about bookbinding is that it's full of things you can work to master over your career and that it's a lifetime of learning type of craft.
If you're in a place where you're working on improving your skills, I'd love to hear how you go about doing so and what you're working on!
Also, what do you think a fine binders need to know how to do and at what level? Let me know in the comments!
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