This cloth covered clamshell box has a sloped bottom to fit the tapered thickness of the photo album it contains. This makes the top of the album level when the box is opened and holds the book more securely.The album is quarter bound in goat.
Building 10 presentation boxes for T-Mobile with my client [Publicis West](http://www.publiciswest.com/) involved constant information flow during the very short production schedule. My agency contact was finalizing design parameters even as production proceeded.The cloth, an exact match for the T-Mobile corporate color, was provided by my client and before it could be used for box construction..*Don - this box is beautiful - i can see ... the [potential] fraying issues you warned me about occurring near the back edge of the top of the lid. otherwise though i can't find any flaws. it's lovely!!!! AK*.This customer returned the following year for a second order of 10 boxes.
This Seattle wedding photographer requested a 13 x 13 inch album bound in cloth with a match clamshell box to contain it. The next image in shows interior details.
Hand paring the leather for a smooth fit is a demanding process, well worth the time. My boxes are made with double-wall construction. This adds heft, solidity and strength unequaled in simpler single wall boxes. Parts measured to the 1/2 millimeter yields a finished product that opens slowly because there is such a small gap for air to rush into as they open.
These full leather clamshell boxes (with cloth interiors) serve as portfolios for many. This well known photographer has custom dies on file with Dreaming Mind for titling his portfolios.
This customer’s copy of a Roycrofter’s edition (with illustrations by Dard Hunter) suffers from severe deterioration of the leather. Rather than undertake any restoration, she requested a clamshell box to protect her treasure. To eliminate abrasion of the delicate leather while allowing handling of the book I fashioned a protective Mylar enclosure; a box in a box.
This martial arts master wanted writings chronicling his five decades of study and achievement bound and boxed. Six copies of three books bound in rich brown, boxed in rich brown trimmed with chocolate. Brass dragon ornaments are inset on the sides. Drawers contain decorative bookmarks.
My customer provided decorative book marks for inclusion with this binding. The book marks are a bit thick for use without damage to the books so this drawer was created to house them. Drawers and compartments can be included in simpler boxes too. The thick walls of this box were needed to accommodate brass dragons inset in the box sides.
One simple way to remove a book from a slipcase is to pick the case up and tip the book out. Weighing in at nearly 20 pounds, this set makes the method impractical. A pull out platform simplifies the process. The "D" ring pull was a potential week spot in this system. Assembled prototype platforms were tested to 10+ pounds of pull with no sign of stress before final construction began.
This customer needed a container for a collection of 19th Century etchings. Peter lives on the other side of the country and has no email, so this project was very old school; phone and mailed sketches and samples. This 20 x 24 inch clamshell is quite imposing and should be a good home for the art work.
A San Francisco wedding photographer’s long time box maker and binder was scaling back her business. The photographer contacted me to see if I could step in to provide an equivalent service. The challenge has been to find material sources to match her existing line. Another repeat customer has been the welcome benefit of the effort.
Shown is an Ultrasuede and silk box with a silk inset (provided by the customer).
Here are the last two County Fair boxes, headed for Codex. These portfolios are available through Malulu.For this project, though I had a die made for stamping the title, I didn't use foil. Instead I inked up the die and printed the title and artist's name. The result was nicely appropriated to the subject and time.
My father is a fan of old westerns. I found these two copies of Zane Grey books with slight damage. The leather slipcases in saddle tan protect the books and made a modest gift into something my father shows with pride.
These cloth clamshell boxes were ordered by a customer who was entering her groups newsletters in a competition. The result?.*Hi Don. Yes the boxes worked out great. Our newsletter came in first place out of 12 entries!!!! Some people at the conference asked where did I get those so I passed along your name as a reference. My mom thought that was a great idea. Thanks again. WDM*
This box was made for a New York fashion photographer. She likes showing her work by dumping the whole lot out on a table for viewing, hence the removable lid.
Picking up a slipcase and tipping the book out into your other hand is fine if the book is not too large, or heavy... and you don’t have arthritis in your hands. A fellow book artist brought this volume of letters, 8" at the spine and asked for a slip case. The recipient, a woman in the final stages of terminal cancer, would not be able to tip the book out even if she was in good health. This pull ribbon passes all the way around the back of the book inside the case. Pull the bamboo handle and the book slides out where it can be removed.
A photographer ordered three different sized cloth covered clamshell boxes. To allow her to swap label cards for presentations, she chose label windows for the boxes. Though the boxes are different sizes, the windows are the same size on each box so she only has to make one size title card.
Most of the book cloth used at Dreaming Mind has too much texture to take hot-stamped foil titles well. A good alternative is a leather label. This label is on a clamshell box which houses a first edition a binding classic.
This very nice pair of reprints of the Lewis and Clark journals was boxed in a cheap red slipcase. Perhaps diminishing the value of the set in the eyes of a pure collector, the choice here was to discard the paper covered box and create this new leather slipcase in beige. The fine qualities of the books now show to best advantage.
In the foreground is a nicely printed contemporary copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Burgundy and beige leather turned this common copy of a classic story into a fine gift.
Three example of slipcase use. A sales presentation, a PDA case and storage container for a wedding album.