FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Why won't you take every project that is submitted to you? 

A: We are a small team of five people—only three of which work in production. Since opening in 2022, there have been few months where we have not struggled to pay rent. If we are slow to complete a project, it's because we needed to take another project to pay rent. In total, six hands make the thousands of books you see come out of our studio. We make all books by hand and while that may seem surprising, most binderies make their books by hand, and traditionally that hand-labor is paid minimum legal wages or less. Each of the people who have those hands also have conditions that limit their individual capacity to sustain unreasonable expectations and/or physical stress—our studio rejects white supremacy culture in which these conditions are normalized. Each of the people creating your project also have limited tolerance for performing undervalued labor, informed by the traumas that have preceded your project. We pay production staff $35/hr, a little more than double minimum wage in California. We wish this amount could be more and believe that it will be one day when our studio can provide it. If you are reading this and work in a bindery for minimum wage or less, please reach out, let's talk about it!

It is unfortunate to feel like we need to say this, but we are not anything like Amazon, we do not wish to be anything like Amazon, for these reasons we hope you will not treat us like we are or want to be like Amazon. If you need something to be created in similar conditions and timelines to Amazon, you should get your books made with Amazon. 

We will never request anyone on our team to compromise their wellness to complete your project, no matter the expectations—if this is an issue, please do not contact us. If you cannot wait for your order, please request a refund. We put a tremendous amount of care into our work, much too often to a fault. We do our best to meet client expectations while honoring the reality that the materials and processes we use have natural qualities and behaviors. For example: we cannot make paper less paper-y, we cannot make toner printing less toner-y, we cannot make glue less glue-like, we cannot make foil stamping less like plastic being melted into materials with heat and pressure. When materials and processes are not working together, we do not force them to work together. Sometimes the submitted framework of a project is antithetical to some or all of these parameters, in which case we are likely not the studio for you.

If it is important to you that we have fun and are not harming ourselves to make your project, we are likely the studio for you. 

 

Q: Why won't you make more than 500 books? Don't you want more money?

A:

We are a small team of five people—only three of which work in production. Since opening in 2022, there have been few months where we have not struggled to pay rent. If we are slow to complete a project, it's because we needed to take another project to pay rent. In total, six hands make the thousands of books you see come out of our studio. We make all books by hand and while that may seem surprising, most binderies make their books by hand, and traditionally that hand-labor is paid minimum legal wages or less. Each of the people who have those hands also have conditions that limit their individual capacity to sustain unreasonable expectations and/or physical stress—our studio rejects white supremacy culture in which these conditions are normalized. Each of the people creating your project also have limited tolerance for performing undervalued labor, informed by the traumas that have preceded your project. We pay production staff $35/hr, a little more than double minimum wage in California. We wish this amount could be more and believe that it will be one day when our studio can provide it. If you are reading this and work in a bindery for minimum wage or less, please reach out, let's talk about it!

It is unfortunate to feel like we need to say this, but we are not anything like Amazon, we do not wish to be anything like Amazon, for these reasons we hope you will not treat us like we are or want to be like Amazon. If you need something to be created in similar conditions and timelines to Amazon, you should get your books made with Amazon. 

We will never request anyone on our team to compromise their wellness to complete your project, no matter the expectations—if this is an issue, please do not contact us. If you cannot wait for your order, please request a refund. We put a tremendous amount of care into our work, much too often to a fault. We do our best to meet client expectations while honoring the reality that the materials and processes we use have natural qualities and behaviors. For example: we cannot make paper less paper-y, we cannot make toner printing less toner-y, we cannot make glue less glue-like, we cannot make foil stamping less like plastic being melted into materials with heat and pressure. When materials and processes are not working together, we do not force them to work together. Sometimes the submitted framework of a project is antithetical to some or all of these parameters, in which case we are likely not the studio for you.

If it is important to you that we have fun and are not harming ourselves to make your project, we are likely the studio for you. 

 

Q: I need my books cheap and fast, but also high quality. Why is your pricing so expensive? 

A:

We are a small team of five people—only three of which work in production. Since opening in 2022, there have been few months where we have not struggled to pay rent. If we are slow to complete a project, it's because we needed to take another project to pay rent. In total, six hands make the thousands of books you see come out of our studio. We make all books by hand and while that may seem surprising, most binderies make their books by hand, and traditionally that hand-labor is paid minimum legal wages or less. Each of the people who have those hands also have conditions that limit their individual capacity to sustain unreasonable expectations and/or physical stress—our studio rejects white supremacy culture in which these conditions are normalized. Each of the people creating your project also have limited tolerance for performing undervalued labor, informed by the traumas that have preceded your project. We pay production staff $35/hr, a little more than double minimum wage in California. We wish this amount could be more and believe that it will be one day when our studio can provide it. If you are reading this and work in a bindery for minimum wage or less, please reach out, let's talk about it!

It is unfortunate to feel like we need to say this, but we are not anything like Amazon, we do not wish to be anything like Amazon, for these reasons we hope you will not treat us like we are or want to be like Amazon. If you need something to be created in similar conditions and timelines to Amazon, you should get your books made with Amazon. 

We will never request anyone on our team to compromise their wellness to complete your project, no matter the expectations—if this is an issue, please do not contact us. If you cannot wait for your order, please request a refund. We put a tremendous amount of care into our work, much too often to a fault. We do our best to meet client expectations while honoring the reality that the materials and processes we use have natural qualities and behaviors. For example: we cannot make paper less paper-y, we cannot make toner printing less toner-y, we cannot make glue less glue-like, we cannot make foil stamping less like plastic being melted into materials with heat and pressure. When materials and processes are not working together, we do not force them to work together. Sometimes the submitted framework of a project is antithetical to some or all of these parameters, in which case we are likely not the studio for you.

If it is important to you that we have fun and are not harming ourselves to make your project, we are likely the studio for you. 

 

Q: Why do you take so long? Where's my order? 

A:

We are a small team of five people—only three of which work in production. Since opening in 2022, there have been few months where we have not struggled to pay rent. If we are slow to complete a project, it's because we needed to take another project to pay rent. In total, six hands make the thousands of books you see come out of our studio. We make all books by hand and while that may seem surprising, most binderies make their books by hand, and traditionally that hand-labor is paid minimum legal wages or less. Each of the people who have those hands also have conditions that limit their individual capacity to sustain unreasonable expectations and/or physical stress—our studio rejects white supremacy culture in which these conditions are normalized. Each of the people creating your project also have limited tolerance for performing undervalued labor, informed by the traumas that have preceded your project. We pay production staff $35/hr, a little more than double minimum wage in California. We wish this amount could be more and believe that it will be one day when our studio can provide it. If you are reading this and work in a bindery for minimum wage or less, please reach out, let's talk about it!

It is unfortunate to feel like we need to say this, but we are not anything like Amazon, we do not wish to be anything like Amazon, for these reasons we hope you will not treat us like we are or want to be like Amazon. If you need something to be created in similar conditions and timelines to Amazon, you should get your books made with Amazon. 

We will never request anyone on our team to compromise their wellness to complete your project, no matter the expectations—if this is an issue, please do not contact us. If you cannot wait for your order, please request a refund. We put a tremendous amount of care into our work, much too often to a fault. We do our best to meet client expectations while honoring the reality that the materials and processes we use have natural qualities and behaviors. For example: we cannot make paper less paper-y, we cannot make toner printing less toner-y, we cannot make glue less glue-like, we cannot make foil stamping less like plastic being melted into materials with heat and pressure. When materials and processes are not working together, we do not force them to work together. Sometimes the submitted framework of a project is antithetical to some or all of these parameters, in which case we are likely not the studio for you.

If it is important to you that we have fun and are not harming ourselves to make your project, we are likely the studio for you. 

 

Q: I need my project to be completely perfect, that means no mistakes. Can you make sure that it is completely perfect? 

A:

We are a small team of five people—only three of which work in production. Since opening in 2022, there have been few months where we have not struggled to pay rent. If we are slow to complete a project, it's because we needed to take another project to pay rent. In total, six hands make the thousands of books you see come out of our studio. We make all books by hand and while that may seem surprising, most binderies make their books by hand, and traditionally that hand-labor is paid minimum legal wages or less. Each of the people who have those hands also have conditions that limit their individual capacity to sustain unreasonable expectations and/or physical stress—our studio rejects white supremacy culture in which these conditions are normalized. Each of the people creating your project also have limited tolerance for performing undervalued labor, informed by the traumas that have preceded your project. We pay production staff $35/hr, a little more than double minimum wage in California. We wish this amount could be more and believe that it will be one day when our studio can provide it. If you are reading this and work in a bindery for minimum wage or less, please reach out, let's talk about it!

It is unfortunate to feel like we need to say this, but we are not anything like Amazon, we do not wish to be anything like Amazon, for these reasons we hope you will not treat us like we are or want to be like Amazon. If you need something to be created in similar conditions and timelines to Amazon, you should get your books made with Amazon. 

We will never request anyone on our team to compromise their wellness to complete your project, no matter the expectations—if this is an issue, please do not contact us. If you cannot wait for your order, please request a refund. We put a tremendous amount of care into our work, much too often to a fault. We do our best to meet client expectations while honoring the reality that the materials and processes we use have natural qualities and behaviors. For example: we cannot make paper less paper-y, we cannot make toner printing less toner-y, we cannot make glue less glue-like, we cannot make foil stamping less like plastic being melted into materials with heat and pressure. When materials and processes are not working together, we do not force them to work together. Sometimes the submitted framework of a project is antithetical to some or all of these parameters, in which case we are likely not the studio for you.

If it is important to you that we have fun and are not harming ourselves to make your project, we are likely the studio for you. 

 

Q: Wow, I love what you guys are about. How can I get involved? Do you do internships? 

A: We are generally against unpaid labor and do not advise volunteering for any rate that you would deem as undervaluing your time—we believe that in most cases, voluntary undervaluing of your labor will result in resentment.

We also acknowledge that apprenticeships can be transformative, positive experiences, and are working to create avenues where labor performed can be compensated.

Until then, you can look forward to there soon being appointment-only library days where you can spend time in our library and peruse our collection. If in a hurry to learn bookmaking, we would encourage you to take one of our classes or workshops. 

 

Q: How can I support you in a tangible way? 

A: It is sometimes difficult to admit, but we will always need help sustaining this work. Our biggest struggles are rent and standard operating expenses (paper, printer lease, fabric, etc.)—when folks (primarily large institutions) pay late for the work we did for them, our whole operation freezes because we can't pay for the basics to operate.

To help ease this:

• You can make tax-deductible donations to us through our fiscal sponsor Sixty Inches from Center. Just specify to them that your donation is to support our project. 

• You can sign up for our Patreon for occasional in-depth newsletters about the happenings in our studio (we're trying to get better at being more consistent with those).

• If you are trying to get rid of some printing or binding equipment, paper, etc., we often could use that too, just reach out. If you'd like to help us by purchasing a piece of equipment, please reach out and we'll share what we're most in need of at the moment. 
  
  
• You can share our work with people, online, word of mouth, however—let them know we exist and are trying to provide a non-exploitative space for artists and publishers to produce and publish their work in conditions that uplift them rather than compromise their self-worth and/or put them into debt. 
  
  
• If you are a teacher, most likely your institution has an arts library or special collections library. Please request your librarian to buy our books so you can teach with them in your classes.