Showerthought: Should bookbinders aim for perfection or embrace happy accidents?

I spent last Friday trying to salvage a binding where the glue bled through the spine cloth. My first instinct was to scrap it and start over. But I kept looking at it and honestly the stain pattern kind of looked like a tree branch. I showed it to my buddy at the Portland meetup and he said it had character. Now I'm torn. On one hand I paid $15 for that cloth and wanted it clean. On the other hand maybe a little mess makes it feel handmade instead of machine made. Anyone else ever kept a mistake because it looked better than the original plan?

3 comments

3 Comments

amy_martin10d ago

Yes! Kept a crooked spine on purpose once. Added so much charm.

jessem5912d ago

Have you ever made a mistake that turned out to be the best part?

josephbailey12d ago

Buddy of mine tried to fix his own sink on a Saturday. Used the wrong pipe glue. Everything held but the drain ended up slightly crooked. Ended up being the perfect angle for his strainer to catch every bit of food scraps. Still works like a charm five years later.