Our guest is Dimitris Koutsipetsidis, a bookbinder and toolmaker from Athens, Greece. In the first part of our talk, we discuss his early career and the chain of events that lead him to become a bookbinder.

Audio

Video

Listen to this episode on:

• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ibookbinding
• iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/ibookbinding-podcast/id1510257102
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaWJvb2tiaW5kaW5nLmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Q

Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

Join us on:

• Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/iBookBinding/
• Discord — https://discord.gg/TJY5FeS
• Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/iBookBinding/

Follow Dimitris:

• Blog: https://koutsipetsidis.wordpress.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dimitris_bookbinding_corner/
• Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBookbindersBench
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dimitrisbookbindingcorner/

Tools made by Dimitris:

• Blog Tool page: https://koutsipetsidis.wordpress.com/tools-for-bookbinding-εργαλεία-βιβλιοδεσίας
• Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBookbindersBench

00:00​ – Beginning
00:53​ – Early career and decision to start making books and bookbinding tools
02:58​ – Starting with leatherworking
05:04​ – The first bookbinding project
06:07​ – How much time did pass before Dimitris felt he had a new profession?
09:40​ – Making books while having a solid background in linguistics
11:34​ – What about any background in arts? Family collaborations
14:38​ – Exploring the Byzantine tradition of decorating bindings
17:11​ – Incorporating metal elements in bindings
18:27​ – Having or not having your personal style
21:48​ – Let’s talk about clients and interacting with them
25:27​ – The most unusual request from a client
26:28​ – The pressure of the Byzantine tradition
36:38​ – Teaching bookbinding during Covid-19 pandemic
41:55​ – Being overwhelmed with orders during the lockdowns
46:42​ – Is there a bookbinders’ guild in Greece?
49:26​ – What is a typical bookbinding enterprise in Greece?
50:56​ – Apprentices and guild members
55:28​ – Large trade binderies
1:00:06​ – Being an artisan in a global market and globalized world