Village Bookshop

Village

villagebooks.co

Create a space where all interesting and creative, independently and self published publications would be accessible and available in town. People could come and interact and engage with this excellent print matter from all around the world
Bring stuff from outside the city into the city, publishers from around the world and also provide a space where creatives working and studying in Leeds could get exposure for their work and what they're doing. 
Second floor is a not for profit gallery space, collaboration with the artists village are exhibiting. 

What self publishing is?
Small staple bound rough and ready publication, this is quite limiting and it has now evolved in a big way. Anything that is independently published and creatively published could fit under the umbrella of a 'zine'. 

Why Self-Publish?
The age of the internet, where it's so easy to get your work seen, but the audience is seeing everyone's else's work at the same time. When you are reading a zine, you are only reading that person's book, seeing, touching smelling it entirely focused on that person's creative output. Creating something permanent, and outlook for a project. Book end a project with a physical output. 

Applications for self publishing?
Fairly limitless, (colophon foundry), creating a book about something that you have a passion for and our interested in, but also showcasing your talent as a designer.  'Made, Melbourne, Nourished Journal). Comes out every January. Wax Magazine (New York). Catalogue, (Library Paper), showcasing what they're about and communicating their ethos and aesthetic to people. Producing a book with someone else is a great opportunity to influence and change how that work is perceived by people. 

What we look for?
Heavily focused on photography books. Overall it is about creating an object, all the elements come together saying the same thing, every single element of the book says something about the content inside, forming a cohesive artefact that someone who picks up, gets immediately. Inspiration of how to think about books and how to look at each individual aspect together. 

Concept
Foundation for any good book, and how this concept is communicated. Is it obvious from picking up the book what it's about. Should have an under arching idea, the umbrella idea, all other elements come together to communicate this. Jigsaw puzzle book idea. 

Format
Has the potential to communicate a lot about the book and drive the idea. (Until death do us part). Max Siedentopf /Funny Money, book in response to tendency that tourists have, paying locals to take their picture, implicit bargain. 

Design
Encompasses everything, the whole book itself, layout, how the content is presented on the page. Should you be able to see the hand of the designer when looking at a book of someone's work. (Matthew Connors - Fire In Cairo). 50% bleed to full bleed photographs on the page. Zooming in on a situation, focusing on clarity, goes from abstract image to straight up portrait. End of the book is actually bound backwards. 

Print
Different ways to print a book, what suits the work and what suits the content. can drastically influence how people perceive the work. Reproductive print techniques, lose details in the image, decaying through repetition. (This is the same ocean, Melbourne). 5 colour risograph. Playing around with print techniques, experimenting and manipulating the content to look something new. Doesn't have to be printed the same all the way through. Paul Fung, Catalogue, loads of different print techniques throughout the book, contrast creates a change in how people look at the images. 

Paper Stock
Can change the feel and look of images and photographs. What works with what you're trying to say. Bartleomeo Celestino (Surface Phenomenon). Juxtaposition creates an interesting effect, shows hoe the designer can influence the work through layout. 

Binding
A lot of things to play with, loads of different binding methods that can be experimented with.  A book doesn't necessarily need to be bound. Changing the colours of stitches you use. 

Details
Spot varnishing, foiling, interesting little touches that people can do. It has to suit what you're trying to say. Every single copy could be unique, playful and fun. Doesn't have to be super expensive to make it successful and interesting. Little things, not going overboard, cheaply can enhance the book as a product. 

Book as a Product
Make something that you can sell and get out into the world. How they sit on a shelf and competing alongside lots of other books, (Israeli Girls). Thinking about the accessibility of it, commercial considerations. The best way to look at selling books in shops is that idea of exposure, people picking it up, flicking through it, more valuable than money and the price of selling a book. 

The Self-Publishing Community
Engage with this community, a lot of familiar faces which you meet all of the time Offprint, book fair in London. Engaging with that community more than anything else, you should pick up other people's books, pick up as many books as possible, see what other people are doing. 

Examples
Christopher Nunn - Ukrainian Street Dogs
Christopher Nunn - Holy Water
Tripod City - Gold Dust
Charlie Kwai - Overtime
Edward Newton - Flowers and Weeds
Ursula Jernburg - Characters of Jante
Slava Lopez - Illa