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The Interweb is a great thing. It removes borders and
boundaries and makes everything accessible to all. Or at least to those who
have computers and an Internet connection. For bookbinders and conservators
that means that we can order and use the best materials from across the globe
regardless of where they originate and wherever we are.
I'm grateful that I can order from Colophon Book Arts
Supply and have it appear on my doorstep. It's wonderful. Same for Chena River
Marblers, Hiromi, Hollander’s, Ernest Schaeffer, Talas and others. This is how
it’s possible to make a living binding and conserving books while living on the
backside of a desert mountain range.
But I think that we sometimes forget the benefits of
buying directly from sources across the pond.
Both Harmatan and Hewit sell directly to customers in the
States. I think most of us know this but don’t take advantage of it as often as
we should. Most of us know Harmatan and Hewit from Standards, or various other venues
around the country. Marc Lamb is at Harmatan and David Lanning is at Hewit.
Harmatan sells goatskins in a wide range of colors and in nine
finishes. Hewit sells calf, goat, alum tawed, pigskins, and vellum plus
equipment and supplies. Go to their sites and look around. Have your credit
card handy—you’ll want to use it.
None of this is new, or unknown, of course. Everyone knows both companies make great
skins. I think that most of the skins
I’ve used since I started this about 26 years ago has come from those two
companies. We also all know that Marc
and David are great people. And we know
we can buy direct, but many don’t.
It seems clear that Brexit has done a number on them, well,
all of the UK. Who knew that shooting yourself in the foot might not be the best idea?? Gee, maybe you google it before you vote. Maybe?
But it also has done
something for us, in the stronger dollar next to the pound. It’s like Brexit put everything in England on
sale. Funny thing is that even with the
“sale” situation it benefits them if we buy from them even at our reduced
price.
I think what discourages people from ordering directly is
concern about shipping charges. But last week I ordered one yard of book cloth from
Talas and the charges were $21.50 for the cloth and $18.47 for shipping. I'm
not saying that Talas isn't justified to charge so much to ship one yard of
cloth—they need to stay in business. What I’m saying is that you can't
look at shipping charges from England and assume the charges within the States
will be much less. You’re going to be
stunned when you see how much it costs to ship a bone folder across a dozen
states.
David says, "Shipping rates to the United States are
very competitive, so should not come as too much of a shock to the
wallet." Maybe I should order a yard of book cloth from Hewit and see what
it would be. Harman’s rates for leathers are also reasonable and fair. Marc
says he recently sent a 12-skin order over here for $90.
To me there are two main advantages from buying directly.
Available stock. How many green Harmatan Fine
Leather skins do you think a domestic distributor has in stock? Or how many red
Hewit Chieftan skins? The selection is going to be much better at the factory.
If you want a fire engine red Chieftan of a certain size, the folks in Scotland
will be able to look through more skins, probably from differently dye lots
too, to find the color you're looking for. Skins come in different sizes
so more choices can help there as well. Here's a picture from Harmatan showing
what they had around when the class stopped by for a visit several years ago.
Enough to make you either drool, or plunge into a life of crime.
Secondly, they both offer the ability to modify or select
the thickness of the skins. Why not just get skins the thickness you want
without having to buy them and then send them off to a splitter? Hewit will
shave skins down as requested. Harmatan will split them.
Both companies sell a variety of skins for a variety of
purposes. They also make it very easy to buy across currencies. Did I already
mentioning that with the current political situation in England the pound is really
low, so it’s almost like everything over there is on sale. Take advantage!
Hewit also sells all kinds of other stuff as well,
including leather dye. The Hewit leather dye is fantastic, light-stable, and
easy to use. I talked with the author of a study of leather dyes who said that
Hewit dyes are the best ones available in the States. (The way I use it is shown in this YouTube
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqQND_lV1ew )
Hewit also sells
finishing tools, glaire, paper, cloth, other tools and equipment, really
everything you’d need to do binding. It’s a great resource.
Harmattan has chosen to stick only to leathers, but what a
selection.
Of course it will take a bit longer to get your order from
the UK unless you choose the fast, expensive option. We in the Guild would love
it if you would buy directly from them is to buy from them at Standards. It's
in Charleston in a few weeks and in Tacoma in 2017.
Heck, Hewit will sell you leather for your bagpipes. I bet
if you buy enough of them they’ll send you a kilt for free. Or at least a can
of Haggis.
Their sites are:
And, finally, probably the new British national anthem: http://tinyurl.com/j2szozu
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