{"id":9838,"date":"2015-07-26T01:00:18","date_gmt":"2015-07-26T05:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/?p=9838"},"modified":"2025-09-15T15:47:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T19:47:32","slug":"bookbinder-of-the-month-ben-elbel-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/26\/bookbinder-of-the-month-ben-elbel-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Bookbinder of the Month: Ben Elbel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BreakfastAtTiffanys6-BenElbel\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I am wrapping up this month’s interview with\u00a0Ben Elbel<\/a>\u00a0by showcasing his recent binding of Breakfast at Tiffany’s<\/em>. Read on to discover the technique behind the decorative covers and what secrets lay within the binding.<\/p>\n

Breakfast at Tiffany\u2019s<\/em> is covered in beautifully decorated leather, which caught me by surprise. Having only seen this binding online, my initial guess is that the boards are covered in paper. Can you describe how you manipulated the leather to achieve such a wonderful range of color and texture?
\n<\/strong>Indeed it is leather, not paper. The technique consists essentially of glueing thin paper to suede leather and then sanding away the paper. I have never actually tried replacing leather with paper but I imagine that paper would probably tear during the process.<\/p>\n

\"BreakfastAtTiffanys4-BenElbel\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A few years back I was terrified about doing anything to a material. I used materials as they came from the suppliers and found it increasingly frustrating because bookbinding materials only come in a limited range of colours.<\/p>\n

I was working at Shepherds Bookbinders at the time and because we had a splitting machine there were bags full of beautiful suede that would go straight to the bin. So one evening after work I started messing around with suede, glue, leather dyes, papers, etc, having absolutely no idea what I was doing.<\/p>\n

There were a couple of ‘happy accidents’ and after some time, I had identified what had lead to those happy accidents and\u00a0found that I\u00a0had\u00a0a process, so simple that I was even able to teach it. I have a nice collection of these pieces and they are a great\u00a0starting point for a design binding.<\/p>\n

In this binding, you\u2019ve included a hidden component. The front cover opens up to reveal two panels of text, can you elaborate on your concept for this part of the binding? Does it have a magnetic closure?
\n<\/strong>The latest version of my dos rapport\u00e9 binding has boards made of two layers, hinged at the fore-edge. The two layers are glued together with a flange from the textblock in between. The aim is to provide a very strong cover to text attachment, but of course it is very tempting to see a design opportunity; why not include something in there, and shut the boards with magnets rather than glue.<\/p>\n

\"BreakfastAtTiffanys3-BenElbel\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The opportunity came with Breakfast at Tiffany’s<\/em>, the set book from Designer Bookbinders<\/a> 2014 Competition. At the time we were also producing menus for a hotel in London, and this is how a breakfast menu ended up between the two layers of the front board.<\/p>\n

\"BreakfastAtTiffanys2-BenElbel\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am wrapping up this month’s interview with\u00a0Ben Elbel\u00a0by showcasing his recent binding of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Read on to discover the technique behind the decorative covers and what secrets lay within the binding. Breakfast at Tiffany\u2019s is covered in beautifully decorated leather, which caught me by surprise. Having only seen this binding online, my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,68,13],"tags":[1834,1867,1843],"class_list":["post-9838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-binder-of-the-month","category-bookbinding","category-feature-book-of-the-week","tag-ben-elbel","tag-bookbinding","tag-breakfast-at-tiffanys"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Btis-2yG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9790,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/05\/bookbinder-of-the-month-ben-elbel\/","url_meta":{"origin":9838,"position":0},"title":"Bookbinder of the Month: Ben Elbel","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"July 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"For the\u00a0Designer Bookbinders International Bookbinding Competition\u00a0in 2009, binders were invited to produce a binding for the set book Water, a collection of poems and illustrations based on the the theme of water.\u00a0The set book was published by\u00a0Incline Press\u00a0in a limited, letterpress edition that included images from various talented illustrators and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "binder of the month"","block_context":{"text":"binder of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/binder-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Water2-BenElbel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Water2-BenElbel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Water2-BenElbel.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Water2-BenElbel.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9803,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/12\/bookbinder-of-the-month-ben-elbel-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":9838,"position":1},"title":"Bookbinder of the Month: Ben Elbel","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"July 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I love this structure developed\u00a0by Ben Elbel, which he appropriately named Onion Skin Binding. A lovely description inspired by\u00a0layering effect that creates\u00a0the mesmerizing maze-like spine. In this post I talk about this structure with Ben starting with its development to how he's adapted the structure. The Onion Skin is another\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "binder of the month"","block_context":{"text":"binder of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/binder-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/OnionSkin2-BenElbel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/OnionSkin2-BenElbel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/OnionSkin2-BenElbel.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9828,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/19\/bookbinder-of-the-month-ben-elbel-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":9838,"position":2},"title":"Bookbinder of the Month: Ben Elbel","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"July 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In Sonnet XVII, Dutch bookbinder Marja Wilgenkamp has reimagined Shakespeare by using a process developed by the artist collective\u00a0La Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Anonyme. The sonnet was initially read out aloud and recorded, which was then encoded into binary code. The code was then printed making it potentially accessible to the future. Offset\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "binder of the month"","block_context":{"text":"binder of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/binder-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Sonnet3-BenElbelandMarjaWilgenkamp.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Sonnet3-BenElbelandMarjaWilgenkamp.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Sonnet3-BenElbelandMarjaWilgenkamp.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Sonnet3-BenElbelandMarjaWilgenkamp.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13429,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2022\/11\/15\/new-year-new-workshops-2023-winter-spring-workshops\/","url_meta":{"origin":9838,"position":3},"title":"New Year – New Workshops \/\/ 2023 Winter\/Spring Workshops","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"November 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"FEBRUARY Dos Rapport\u00e9 Binding 2 Sessions \/\/ February 11 & 12 (Sat & Sun mornings) 9:00am \u2013 11:30am (CST) Register by January 31st Dos Rapport\u00e9 is an elegant binding created by Ben Elbel around 2005. Rapport\u00e9 loosely translates from French as something that comes back together. To create this unique\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "workshops"","block_context":{"text":"workshops","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/workshops\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/IMG_1757-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/IMG_1757-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/IMG_1757-1024x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13463,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/12\/winter-spring-2023-workshops\/","url_meta":{"origin":9838,"position":4},"title":"Winter\/Spring 2023 Workshops","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"December 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The blog is going to experience a makeover in early 2023. To get regular updates on upcoming workshops, please sign-up for the newsletter.\u00a0 FEBRUARY Dos Rapport\u00e9 Binding 2 Sessions \/\/ February 11 & 12 (Sat & Sun mornings) 9:00am \u2013 11:30am (CST) SOLD OUT - Wait List Dos Rapport\u00e9 is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "workshops"","block_context":{"text":"workshops","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/workshops\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9772,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/01\/july-bookbinder-of-the-month-ben-elbel\/","url_meta":{"origin":9838,"position":5},"title":"July \/\/ Bookbinder of the Month: Ben Elbel","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"July 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Boven Kamers\u00a0is a collaborative Dutch pop-up book between neuroscientist Gerard J. Boer, professor Harry B.M. Uijlings, paper artist Ingrid Siliakus and graphic designer\u00a0Moon Brouwer. The book contains a total of six laser cut pop-up spreads which send the reader on a tour through the human brain and its functions.\u00a0Printed in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "binder of the month"","block_context":{"text":"binder of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/binder-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/BovenKamer7-BenElbel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/BovenKamer7-BenElbel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/BovenKamer7-BenElbel.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/BovenKamer7-BenElbel.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9838"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9847,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9838\/revisions\/9847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}