#oread binds

with art by @isolabellz

This story is truly one of the most unique fics I have ever read! It is an absolute masterclass in temporal storytelling where one point of view moves forward in time while the other moves backwards...

In this fic Ilya and Shane spend four months playing hockey in Switzerland during an NHL lockout, suddenly sharing not only a hockey team but also a house, routines, a life. And then abruptly need to return to their separate realities.

Already while reading I knew that I absolutely wanted to bind this story and immediately envisioned a Switzerland-focused cover design. Which was further inspired by the Swiss flag mug that Shane remembers as one of the things he collected while living in Zürich.

And then luckily I stumbled across the absolutely gorgeous and special art that @isolabellz created for the fic - look at those Zürich skyline vibes and the whole NYE scene comic, I mean.... Thank you so, so much for letting me use your pieces!

I really like that not having a Cricut or the option to print on canvas always challenges me to get creative with my covers - this time I chose to use stickers for the title which mirror the block font of the typeset and the cutout made it possible to still show the art on the cover.

Anon author, wherever you are - thank you for this absolute masterpiece that will stay with me for a long time!! [and also thank you for inspiring me to get out of my binding hibernation and motivating me to make my second ever typeset]

„There was nothing simple between them after all. Whatever edges time had sanded down were still rough enough to catch.“

Sometimes you find the fic and sometimes the fic finds you – and sea change most definitely found me. I had just read the wonderful The Isle of Ogyia by @citrusses (make sure you read that gem of a story!) - and thus was already in the mood for more sea vibes when @eleadore's fresh-off-the-press fic appeared in front of me and lured me in with its stunning art header.

So I dove in and was absolutely swept away….by the delicate poetic prose (“layers of studied indifference shaved away by one easy look” 🫠), by this story that is so immersive and both so gentle and rough. And it’s not just just Draco and Harry’s relationship that is beautifully written as it slowly unfolds - it also has such a unique and creative take on Harry’s relationship with his mother. 

Already halfway in I knew that THIS would be the fic I want to bind as a little surprise for my dearest binder friend Anna @annaadmires for our meetup.

Also, I finally(!) wanted to endeavour typesetting and a single-chapter 40.000 word story seemed absolutely perfect. I kept it quite simple for my first attempt but wanted to integrate the feeling of the SEA™ and of course eleadore’s gorgeous art! 

Probably the most special and nerve-wrecking and absolutely lovely part for me was that for the first time I had the honour of making an author copy!! And when sending it out I just couldn't resist adding a little nod to eleadore's short yet excellent drarry thesis. Ehehehe.

It was an absolute joy making these little binds and especially the three different yet matching versions of the cover - one for Anna, one for Ella, and one for myself.

I absolutely cannot wait to read it again – you absolutely should, too!

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Cover: Hand foiled with foil quill on smooth 180g craft paper by Paper Poetry

I’ve been wanting to read this fandom classic for such a long time yet I always knew I wanted to do it in book form rather than on the screen. So I decided to do a blind bind for myself...

This project is basically an ode to @haxkattpress beautiful typeset which informed most of my design choices – do check out the post of her original bind, it is magnificent!

I wanted to keep the vintage feeling of the typeset and decided to go with a very reduced cover and focus on materials. And I knew that the dark green leather I already had at home would be perfect for what I had in mind! The idea was to make it look like an old children’s book but with a bit of a playful modern font.

I really like how it came out but it was also a long way to get there, Working with real leather is always a challenge and especially with a thick one like this. Also the foil quill did not stick evenly in all places and my case was way too small for the text block (why do I never learn!?) which made casing in quite the challenge.

BUT I love how smooth and round the leather turned on the spine, how much the endpapers fit to the typeset, how the gold and dark green interact and overall I think I did manage to pull off the classy look that I had envisioned.

Thank you so much @haxkattpress for sharing your incredible typeset with me and @letteredlettered for allowing me to bind your story! I cannot wait to read it! 🫶🏻