This posting has humble beginnings from over a year ago.
When I began thinking about wedding albums and what sorts of things I value and appreciate when I think about wedding photographs, I kept coming back to to the same things after looking at countless album companies ~ high quality, lovely textures, and an heirloom quality look. Since my business is also green, I need to think about the practicalities of the albums I am offering and consider who is making them, where they are coming from and what sorts of materials are going into them. And so began an exhaustive search for a bookmaker and printer that would be interested in working with me on my eco-friendly project.
I soon began to learn that this would not be an easy task. I had troubles finding artisan bookmakers in Vancouver that had a style that I really liked and could see myself offering as albums. I also could not find any printers that would be able to do printing on fine art paper for a number of reasons ranging from cost to the longevity of the print in a book form. I put aside my idea after getting a few disappointing emails.
But I just couldn’t get it out of my head and picked up the search a number of months later.
I came across a bookmaker in Vancouver through another fellow photographer and immediately contacted her to set up a meeting. Her work was exactly what I was looking for and I felt so incredibly fortunate to have found someone to make the books. All I needed was printer to print the images directly onto a fine art paper~ which I still do not have at the moment but am currently affixing actual prints to the paper itself. This gives the book an overall vintage feel but I still do love the look of an actual printed fine art page and hopefully, one day, I can get my Epson printer and make my own!
Everything came together in the New Year and I had a number of samples made, which I am so pleased with. The books are made by a local artisan and I have carefully chosen the cover and papers as best I could. Ideally, I would like to have a local printmaker create some custom endpaper designs for my brand, but that will be a project for another day. I love the fact that the books are made in Vancouver which greatly cuts down on product travel, supports the local bookbinding craft, and the prints are developed at a popular, reputable photo and press lab that has an environmental statement. There are still upgrades to be done in terms of making a completely eco-friendly book, but I think this is a good start!
Here is the current line!
The Colour Options
I had colour swatches made to show what combinations I currently offer.
The Wedding Album
A 10×10 album with optional slipcase, torn paper edges, photo corners and imprinting.
The Parent Album
A 5×5 version of the larger album with the optional slipcase, torn paper edges and imprinting.
The Matted Album
A 9×9 matted wedding album with a variety of image openings. This particular item is not locally made but the company that offers these has a very strong green philosophy.
The Presentation Box
A 7×7 presentation box with 10 matted prints. The mats can either be displayed on a stand or framed. Matting is archival quality Museum rag. Opening sizes range from 3×3 to 3.5×5.
The Eco Album
A 5×5 pocket-sized album that is perfect to toss into your bag. You can find more details about this little guy here.
This is what I have for now. I do have a few boudoir albums on my to-do list and I would also like to get a flushmount sample created for those that would like a more modern feel as well as an engagement sample that guests can write well-wishes in.
Happy Friday! It’s a sunny day where I am so I’m going to get out and enjoy it!
