End Of The Season

I have just done the last two classes today (Pictures whenever I offload my camera) Here are some interesting numbers regarding the classes I've been conducting...

• 22 classes I've had in total.
  
• 16 of them were Beginners Stab Binding Class.
  
• 3 were Intermediate/Advance Stab Binding Class.
  
• 3 were Long Stitch Binding Class.
  
• 63 students had learnt how to make a stab book.
  
• 3 students returned and did a refresher.
  
• 1 did the class three times.
  
• 3 students were male.
  
• 1 was a seven year old girl.
• 17 of them returned to learn how to make albums.
  
• 14 students learnt how to make a long stitch book.
  
• 4 were taught how to make the alternative version.
  
• 2 students never did the stab bound book but did the long stitch instead.
  
• 93 is the total nuumber of students that had sat in my class(es) and made books.
• 2 of the albums I've made I gave away.
  
• 1 were sold.
  
• 2 of the stab books were mailed off for a giveaway I had.
  
• 4 were sent to various friends overseas.
  
• 3 were used as payment for services from Wina (making the pin cushions and her assistance in the class)
  
• 1 were donated as a condolence book for everybody to sign.
  
• 20 bone folders were sold, I only have ten left and would need to get more I reckon.

Wina and I had a great time conducting the classes. A lot of preparation and thought went through each class...

• Refreshments - the cakes and yummies I've had for the classes were ordered a week in advance, some were picked up the night before and others were picked up that very morning before class. The table will be laid out the same day as the equipments.
  
• Equipments - the table were set up the night before or several days before even, equipments were cleaned, some replaced and laid out. The pots topped up.
  
• Kits - my rule of thumb is to make at least three times as many students I'll be having for that class. They are usually made several days in advance, if I'm really good I make enough for two or three classes in one go.
  
• Ambiance - we try to pick a nice instrumental music for the background, although during the time when Mama Mia was out, the sounds of Abba filled up the room. Oil burners were lit for the room and for the toilet, the scents we have used were sandlewood, ocean breeze and jasmine. Lit up extra tea lights in pretty tea light holders for the toilet.
  
• Wina - she assist me in setting up and getting the classes ready, tidying up removing the pieces that is not required by the students anymore and keeping the table tidy, ensuring each student have their glass of water constantly topped up, removing used plates and cups, help clean up after classes are over. Makes my life easier.
  
• Post Mortem - after every class, Wina and I sit down and discuss what went well, where we slipped up, what and where to improve, the energy of the class, what to order for the next class, discuss feedbacks from the students to incorporate for the next class.
  

What I've learnt from doing classes:

• To be very organised.
  
• Not everybody is logical in thinking.
  
• Patience.
  
• It did not make a dent in the amount of stuff I have.

It's a very rewarding experience, and it's fantastic to see the confidence level soar. Some had old myth of not being creative or artistic broken, most had their first time experience using a power tool (great fun!), some were forced into doing the class and come out in the end throughly enjoying it. It was important for me that everybody left feeling very pleased, that they enjoyed it and worth their while.

Time to rest... well, no not really, I have a wedding to prepare and several important orders I have to finish before the end of this month and move the rest of the studio over to the new place. At this rate that means... I can only rest in July! *sigh*

Long Stitch Binding

This is a European binding according to what I have read online and in books regarding the history, it dates back to the 18th Century and possibly as far back as the 15th Century. To think that this binding has been around for at least 300 hundred years.

The ones above are just a few of the many variations of this binding which I am attempting to teach. I've done it one to one but not as a group. So these long stitch binding classes I'm holding are trial classes to enable for me to find the best way to teach in a group setting. If it works out, then it's an all go after my break. So you guys who signed up, are the 'lucky' ones *insert evil mad scientist laughter*

More Book Makers On The Loose

I love showcasing those who came with no skill or knowledge in this field, did the class, and come out with a book made with their very own hands. When I do the class, I don't touch their books during the process unless I really have to. This is to give them the confidence and awareness that they are capable of making their very own books. I just have to make sure that my instructions are clear to follow and step by step. Time when I handle their books is at the end of class, and that's when I tell them the bits I'm impressed with and what they missed out on and bear that in mind when they make their books on their own. I'm very proud of these folks, in just three hours, I can see them grow...

Pardon the pictures, they came out really weird and I don't have photoshop on me at home...

Left to right: Kat, Kalsum, Tenten, Mariana & Zuliana

Kat got given a gift voucher to do the class and she comes to the house quite regularly and saw the particular kit and booked it for quite some time until she was able to find a free time to do it. This was a morning class and she stayed on for the intermediate class for the afternoon when one of them pulled out at the last minute and Kat took over. Kalsum and Tenten (who is also a friend of one of my ounger cousins) are the inlaws of Mariana, she dragged them along. Mariana is from the other end of Brunei and an avid reader of this  blog. We also found out some of the people and friends I knew from school works with her and she wanted to bring them along too, that would have been interesting. Zuliana is a lecturer from ITB, my aunt asked me to contact her and an email later she came. She enjoyed herself and has ready access to power drills for more books because she teaches in an engineering university. 

Left to right: Sophiana, Hayati, Me & Danna

Aunty Sophiana is dad's first cousin, Hayati is the daughter, that makes her my second cousin. Aunty Sophiana was very concerned that Hayati cut her boards properly and all that. Hayati seemed to be slightly embarrassed with all the mothering, hehehe, but they both felt really proud that they were able to make something like this. Danna has also been following the blog and figured she'd better do the class now before she's going to give birth. I thought that was cool, can make a book about the baby.

Left to right: Syafeenas, Sofia & Nureen

Three sisters, 10, 9 and 11 respectively. Their mother is the one that is doing my wedding outfits. She got her girls to do the class because she wanted to keep them occupied for their school holidays. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle children as a group because what concerns me is the handling of the knife. I debated on changing the class just to accommodate them, but in the end I didn't as one of my main objective with these classes is to create confidence in themselves and just kept to the original. My usual assistant Wina wasn't available that day and I had to get a sub, Kat. My sister came home at the nick of time because the three of us had to supervise one each. Syafeenas was the shyest of the lot and Kat was with her all the way. Nureen and Sofia had a bit of competition going on and between the two Sofia was the outspoken one and she was quite quick considering she's the youngest out of the lot. Sofia didn't need much supervision but I kept my eyes on her just in case. Nureen got my sister to watch out for her.

At the beginning they were really shy and quiet, by the time they finished their books they were very bold and asked if they'll be doing this again the next week. I said it's up to your mum. Got a hug from each one of them when they left. And their books, beautifully done, better than some I've seen.

Left to right standing: Amoy, Sharina, Kylder. Sitting: Kat, Rachel, Katherine

Kat had already done the beginners and intermediate, she came in again for a refresher as well as to keep her sisters Kylder and Katherine company as she gifted the class for their birthdays including her friend Sharina. Amoy was the daughter to a friend of theirs who was only 13, and Rachel was my sister's work colleague who one night came over to do work and ended up wanting to do the class because Zana was telling her about the books that was all over the dining room that they were doing their work in. Kat was telling me that when she came home the first time around of doing the class Kylder got a hundred and one questions about the whole thing. When Kylder was in class, I think I only got three questions out of her. All of them were really proud of their books.

More Students & New Book Making Class

They have all increased their skill level up by one. Yay! With just this one basic binding skill, they are able to use it in various ways, guest books, albums to name a few. For me, hello birthdays and christmas presents, you're set for the year *wink wink*

Clockwise from top left: Siti, Ong Yin, Shazana and Huwaida

Huwaida was so hyper I had to tell her to stop asking so many questions and listen so we could start the class. After a while, she actually managed to calm down enough to concentrate on making her book. See, patience... Ong Yin got interested when she learnt about bookmaking from my sister, Siti was finding her talent and Shaz got to do the class as a birthday present.

Clockwise from top left: Jasmine, Felicity, Hanah, Iman and Suzie

Iman is my youngest student to date, she's only 7 years old and man, look at that book of hers, it's colour coordinated I tell you. She had a bit of help with the cutting of the boards, apart from that, she did everything herself. Maybe it's all the training she got from her mom Kak Jazz since her mother is a scrapper. I was told the older sister was quite jealous when Iman came home with her book.

Fel came in between her work shift, a five hour lunch break imagine that. Suzie never believed she could do something like this, and Hanah was looking for something different, she's a freelance graphic designer, she did the logo to that scrapbook place at the mall.

Back from left: Adeline, Angeline, June, Meela

Front from left: Elia, Martin, Lin

This group was fun, noisy and rowdy. Jun brought along pizza (more food). Martin was the first male to venture ever since I started doing the class. He did feel a bit girly at one point but at the end, felt very proud that he was able to acomplish making a book, he's gifting it to his mother. Meela and Martin were competing who could make their book better, she was heckling him during the class. Adeline brought Angeline along (she was suppose to do class last week but came down with chicken pox and Ade figured it'll be good to get her sister out of the house after being cooped up all week long) and they worked as a team, they had the most complete notes ever.

And just after class started the power went out and we had to do it in the dark and it was a hot afternoon (it was to do with a sub station in town that blew up), fortunately the electricity came back on.

From left: Bing, Fifah, Chiong and Lulu (seated)

My first morning class. Started very late because some of them came late, appologies to those who came on time. Very quiet, not sure if it was because everyone was still sleepy or was just concentrating on making their books. The food was all gone though that's for sure. Good news we finished on time, everyone worked fast. Chiong went fancy with his book, he even made a locking tie for his out of the chinese coins that were available.

I have the first intermediate stab binding class this sunday, we'll be making albums and I'm cutting back on the basic stab class because I want to put in the long stitch binding class. I did a trial using a soft cover for the book and it worked well. Am thinking that there's a possibility that we could make two books in one class, one type of binding, two different variations in the same three hours slot. Hmmmm....

Also I was requested to slot in a Friday class as well, my other non working day apart from Sunday, any takers? If there are demands for it I can schedule that in somehow...

Hunting...

I am hunting for my camera cable. Got loads of pictures but I can't offload them because I can't find my camera cable. The studio got tidied up while I was away and now I have no idea where half my stuff are.

Things I want to write about with pictures:

• My first male bookmaking participant.
• The youngest recorded bookmaking participant.
• Brunei Resources limited edition books.
• The post valentine book.
• The custom greeting card book.
• Long stitch soft cover books for next class.

That's all I can remember off the top of my head right now. I want to go diving tomorrow, but I still have a commission to finish (told client she can pick them up tomorrow) and I might be pulling an all nighter (I hope not) and if I do go diving tomorrow, I'm going to be shot from lack of sleep. So I asked my dive instructor if we can go diving next friday instead, and he said yes, yay! (my weekend is a friday and sunday, I work on saturdays)

Am addicted to playing that scrabble game, Lexulous, on facebook. I've started up games with complete strangers just so I could play.

My cat's gone missing. I hope he'd come back soon. He's back!

Got to make a visit to the framers... Done.

Post Valentine...

This year, I was busy completing a commission such that there was no time to fit in my valentine's book for the fiance. He told me to concentrate on doing the commission first and he can wait. He knows he's getting a artist book you see, because I told him last year, heh. I finished that commission 4am valentine's day morning.

Valentine was spent having a little family party, my dad's birthday falls on the day with mom few days before and my nephew before that. Three birthdays and the table was filled with cupcakes, cheese cakes, meringues, pavlovas, and pies. Fun evening it was as we organised a lucky draw. Microwave oven, dinner sets and DVD player were the most sought items that night! Everybody went home with something.

This image on the left, was something from my archives, it was back in art school, I made my own pen and was trying out a little calligraphy using paint. It was part of a translated poem from the Tao Te Ching. Took a detailed shot and played it up on Photoshop. I think I vaguely remembered how I did that...

Oh, I had a class yesterday, and an 8 years old girl was one of the student. Her finished book was so sweet! Will post about it after I'm back end of the week, I'm flying off in a few hours *wheee!!*

My 5th Beginners Group

Explaining how the corners should be cut. 

Apparently, I got three cameras pointing at me....

Happy and proud: Renee, Shao Ling, Maya, Suzy

My 5th beginners group for stab binding. Reason why I've only been teaching stab binding so far is because it is a versatile binding. It is also the same binding used for when they get to the level of making their own albums! So the next step they'll be learning is tabbing pages... As soon as I work out how long that is going to take, because a beginners class can go anywhere from the 3 hours I allocated to them finally deciding it's time to go home 2 hours later. You can see why I don't do night classes, we'll end up going home by midnight! Goodness knows how long the intermediate class is going to take...

I'm taking a two weeks break after this. I need a sunday for myself, I got a valentine's book to do, not to mention a few others... 

First Bookmaking Class for 2009

Click on image for a larger picture

L to R: Lian, Suzy, Nonah, Fizah and Jennifer

Phew! A fun class it was. We finished a bit later than I scheduled it to be due to various reasons, but that didn't matter, what mattered was that everybody had a great time and left feeling very proud of themselves. Let's see... Lian had a visual challenge because she left her glasses behind... Suzy took pictures of every step of the bookmaking process... Fizah was James Bond with the power drill... Nonah was very impressed with herself... Jennifer found out she can be skillfully creative.

Lian or Ms Tan to me just over a decade ago, or Madam Tan for others, was my former deputy principle. I used to go to her office every morning to have a chat when I was a student. She owned some of my earlier art (painting I did) and crafty (I made macrame washable bookmarks!) pieces. And the odd occasion where I go into her class for extra Biology lessons. We've kept in touch sporadically after I left school and it is nice how even though we hadn't seen each other in a long time, it felt like it was only yesterday. During the bookmaking class I just said to her how funny it is that the student is now the teacher teaching the teacher who is now the student. She rolled her eyes with a smile on her face and said, "What is the world coming to?"

This was one of the various reasons, Jeon and Chiong dropped by during class to give me a cake. They just got themselves registered yesterday. Congratulations again you two! May you both live happily together.

The book behind the cake was what I made during the class. I picked up the paper I used for the cover in 2006 in Singapore. I think I'll cut the tails of the ribbon bow shorter...

The 3rd Bookmaking Class & Waiting List

Clockwise from left: Dewi, Zana, Wina, LK

Here're the kids from the third class. That day was suppose to be a full class, and on the nth hour, they started dropping out like flies. One of them thought it was at night. Well, it must meant to be for Dewi and LK to have me for themselves, they got my full attention and because of the unexpected opening, Zana and Wina jumped in the chance to join in too. It was everyone gain. Dewi made her book with gusto, she weilded the knife and metal ruler well, straight edges everywhere. LK took down notes every single moment, making sure she didn't miss anything out. Zana and Wina, I left them to their own devices, they made enough books each already to know what they're doing.

The classes for this January are fully reserved since last Sunday, but if there are those of you who are still interested I would advise you to join the waiting list, and any unexpected openings I shall be in touch, as well as when the next scheduled class is happening, you'll be the first to know so you can get your seats if you didn't get it the first time around... hopefully I can sort out where I'm getting one of my supplies before then, the item ran out faster than I anticipated. So, drop me a line and your contact details so I can buzz you as soon as someone said they can't make it, at the very most it'll be the day before, unless you guys say otherwise.

There are two unscheduled classes happening, and they're both sorta like a girls day out event, private sessions. One has already confirmed with 5 pax and the other is still up in the air... We shall wait and see....

I need to make more kits!

Someone Is Lucky & The Class Last Night

The contest was narrowed down to two, Lubna from Singapore, or Doda in UK. After much deliberation and consulting with the various panel of judges, it came out that DODA IS THE LUCKY ONE with her entry...

I so covet this notebook most fair.
I would fill up it's pages with flair.
How I'd love this most gorgeous creation.
For I know it would bring inspiration.

The poetry did it.

Since Lubna came a close second, she's getting something too... as soon as I get around to making that something.

The class last night... I had a last minute cancellation so there was only four. Only had an hour to prepare before the class started (was attending an early Christmas gathering in the afternoon) but my cousin and I had already done the set up and all that was left was the refreshments. We just finished when the students started arriving. One of them brought her daughter so my significant other was doing the babysitting while the mommy was busy making her book.

The class went well and everyone couldn't believe how time just flew by because they were having such a good time. The books produced were beautifully decorated. I would show you pictures but they're all with Jacq since we were using her camera. When I get them from her I'll post them up. Everyone was so into making the books, that they bought extra kits to try at home. I need to make more kits now.

Thank you Kay, Pek Ching, May and Jacq for coming last night and hope to see you all again. My wonderful other half for the impromptu baby sitting service and my cousin Wina for assisting me.

There are two spots for the class on the 21st December since I had two cancellations. If anybody is interested, just drop me a line.

The First Bookbinding Class

It was a great session, a small and intimate group. Everything was prepared and provided including refreshments (yummy food) and all they had to do was bring themselves. By the end of the session, everybody left feeling satisfied, happy and very pleased. Not to mention the other freebies I threw in as well. Best of all, they asked when the next class is going to be, so I'm planning the next stage to continue the particular binding method they had learned.

Another beginners stab binding class will be held on the 21st December, for the moment all the spots are already taken. I'll keep you posted if a space opens up. If there is enough of you interested, I can do another class on the 25th December as well, providing you're not too occupied with it being Christmas and all, for me it's a public holiday that I get to rest from work. Just email me and let me know and I'll send you the details.

In the mean time, enjoy the pictures! Link is on the left bar up top.

There are 3 days left before the book giveaway contest ends on Sunday...

Proud Students

(L to R: Jaq, Alina, Intan & Zana)

Everyone's proudly holding their masterpiece.

More pictures soon.