Four Keys Book Arts

New video tomorrow, but first, it's GIVEAWAY TIME! That's right, I'm going to give away this hand-bound copy of Douglas Cockerell's essential 1901 manual, 'Bookbinding and the Care of Books'.

Tomorrow's video will be all about how I made it, but WHY WAIT? You can watch the video right now, and qualify for a chance to win the book itself, over on my brand new PATREON page! That's right, I've finally gotten around to joining Patreon, and I've made a good start at adding lots of extra content over there.

Now fair warning, there is a paywall to watch videos there, but the giveaway is 100% FREE to enter, all you have to do is join the Patreon page with a free account.

Click this link for more details: www.patreon.com/posts/patreon-giveaway-127855451?u…

I hope to see you all there, and good luck to everyone!

Cheers,
Dennis

5 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 805

Four Keys Book Arts

Hi Everybody! @bittermelonbindery has launched a new YouTube series called ‘Awl About Bookbinding’ (omg I wish I thought of that title!) and Chanel has kindly asked for my thoughts on it.

The series is all about showcasing the people and institutions that are not only keeping the craft of bookbinding alive, but making it thrive. It’s her hope that it will open a door into the real world of the book arts for those of us who know it mainly from the internet. I have to admit, as a self-taught bookbinder who spends most of his time in a snow-bound shed in the wilds of (suburban) Canada, I’m her target audience!

Watching the first episode encouraged me to consider how I think about myself as a bookbinder and where I fit in the greater scope of the book arts. I also really enjoyed getting a peek inside the San Francisco Center for the Book to marvel at all of their wonderful tools! Whether you’re just making your first booklet or putting the final touches on your latest grimoire, there’s a little bit of something in there for everyone.

The world needs the arts and artists now more than ever, so I’m happy to throw my support to Chanel and her project, and I think you should too. If you haven’t seen her video yet, click the link and enjoy. And if you have seen it, go watch it again! Be sure to let her know that Dennis sent you ;)

As for me, I’ve got a few new ventures in the works, so stay tuned.

Cheers,
Dennis

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 177

Four Keys Book Arts

Hi Everybody!

There's a new video over on the Workshop channel - check it out here: https://youtu.be/yAPBZPmeqhU

What's that, you haven't heard about the second channel? Four Keys Workshop is where I've started sharing the projects I do in the background to support the main channel. If you (or someone you know) is into woodworking, tools, and other hands-on building things, come on over and check it out!

And for all you core channel folks, have no fear, more book-related content is in the works!

See you in the workshop!

Dennis

1 month ago | [YT] | 729

Four Keys Book Arts

I've re-edited my series on Dickens' classic tale into a single new 30-minute video, just in time for Christmas! What's more, I've added an approachable, how-its-made-style commentary to this one, so if you've seen the original series there's still some new content for you to enjoy. I've also remastered the audio, added new music, and done a bunch of other tweaking to make this video really shine.

You can watch the new abridged video here: https://youtu.be/H4UZu7uCscs

Of course, in order to fit an entire video series into a 30-minute chunk, some of the footage had to be left on the digital cutting-room floor, so to speak. But fear not, dear bookbinding friends, I have another gift in store!

I've gone through the entire original 3-part series and added a full caption commentary! Turn on subtitles for those videos and you'll be able to follow along with my full explanations for every step of the process, or leave them off and just chill out to the sights and sounds of the bindery. I've even given the series its own playlist to make things simple:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

As for me, I'm going to hang up my apron for a few weeks, but thank you all for making 2024 a simply amazing year! I'm deeply grateful to be able to indulge in this antiquated little craft, and to be able to share it with all of you. I've got some big plans for next year, so keep your finger on the the page! Until then, the very best of the festive season to all of you, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Cheers,

Dennis

4 months ago | [YT] | 651

Four Keys Book Arts

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to let you all know that my next video to go live is not technically new; it has actually been available as bonus unlisted content on the channel for a couple of months. The reason for that was I didn't want to distract from my installments of Dune until that project was done. But with that series all wrapped up now, the little bonus video of me making the marbled paper for Dune will be going fully public tomorrow. If you've already seen it, then of course thank you as always! But if not, feel free to use this link to watch it before it goes live tomorrow!

Cheers!

Dennis

11 months ago | [YT] | 60

Four Keys Book Arts

100K subscribers! What a thing to wake up to this morning!

I know it's terribly cliché to say, but I could not have ever hoped for such a thing when I started this channel. Back in 2019 I was just a guy in a dim woodshed, learning a new craft and filming it for his own amusement. Now here I am, still just a guy (in a slightly better-lit woodshed), with a much improved skillset (still not perfect!), but with the added bonus of a hundred thousand good people who seem to enjoy what I do. I am honoured, thrilled, and deeply grateful to all of you who have watched, commented on, and enjoyed my videos over the years. We have built this channel together. Thank you, thank you, a hundred thousand thanks to you all!

I would like to commemorate this milestone somehow, though I will have to defer any '100k Special' video for a while, as summer is a challenging time for me to create content. But that allows some time for planning, so drop some ideas (or questions) for me in the comments!

In the meantime, I put together a simple, relaxing, ASMR-style video from some B-roll that I think some of you might enjoy. It's a bit of a throwback to my first ever video: no music, no talking, just me doing my thing in real-time, and with no mid-roll ads to interrupt the relaxation. Look for that to drop today.

Again, thank you so so much everyone for your support! You are the best!

Cheers,

Dennis

1 year ago | [YT] | 766

Four Keys Book Arts

Hi Everyone!

Let the countdown begin! Over the past months I have received so many inquiries regarding books for sale, so I finally have some good news on that front. Every book pictured here will be available for sale in my Etsy shop as of Tuesday, June 27 at 3pm EST. The launch will include 4 springbacks, 8 hollowbacks in A6 size, 2 fairly-square case-bound journals, and of course 7 miniature books. Prices will be available at time of launch. Sorry, no holds or pre-sales. Thank you all for your interest, I’m so overjoyed (and a bit in awe, not gonna lie) by all the enthusiasm for what I do! Check my 'About' pages for links to the shop, though there won't be much to see there until the launch tomorrow. Thank you all once again, and I'll see you in the next video!

Cheers,

Dennis

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1 year ago | [YT] | 1,342

Four Keys Book Arts

Join me at 2 pm EST to chat and watch the premiere of the epic D&D Tome finale! This last installment has been a long time coming, but I think it will have been worth the wait, especially when you see the final touch I put on the cover (not pictured in the thumbnail). See you then!

Cheers,

Dennis

1 year ago | [YT] | 74

Four Keys Book Arts

Hi everybody, just a quick announcement for all of you who have been so eagerly awaiting the final installment of the D&D book series. The final parts of the binding required a lot of hand-work, and days and days of drying time, so thank you all for your patience. I have just now taken the book out of the press for the final time and it looks, well... to quote my wife, "freaking AMAZING". The bad news is that you'll have to wait just a bit longer before the video drops, as I still have quite a lot of editing to do. The good news is that I have made good use of all the time the book has spent drying, so I'm a bit further ahead on the editing than I normally would be. I'll be spending this weekend at my computer, so look for the video to appear sometime next week.

Thank you, thank you, thank you all who have followed this series, liked the videos, commented, and subscribed to the channel! All the support has been a great inspiration for me, so you all have my heartfelt appreciation.

See you soon!

Dennis

P.S. - Any guesses as to what I've done on the cover???

1 year ago | [YT] | 927

Four Keys Book Arts

Hi Everybody! Work on the big D&D tome is progressing well, though slower than I (and probably you) had hoped; too much life happening and not enough bookbinding. Unfortunately that means no new video this week, so my apologies for that, but here are some screengrabs to entice you. I'll have the next installment ready as soon as I can. Thank you all for your patience!

Cheers,

Dennis

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2 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 1,133