iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Black Oak Bindery

thanacus.bsky.social @thanacus.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

After nearly 30 years of building stories around a D&D table, I’m writing The Brighton Threshold, a science-fiction novel. It’s about choices, probability, and technology reaching beyond a threshold we may not understand. Follow along: www.patreon.com/cw/NeilStout #SciFi #WritingCommunity

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Curious to hear people's thoughts: for handbound work, do you think a book needs to have a title on it? For me, I think it's better to have it than not, but if it doesn't work with the design, it doesn't work. The box will have the title and author anyway. #bookbinding #Scifi #bookcollecting

The cover of a handmade rebinding of the book Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The book is covered in blue and black leather.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Nice work! Is that the original spine and cover of the book?

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

My table is all set up in the art show at @laworldcon.bsky.social I have a few bindings available as well as some examples of work I can create for Kickstarter campaigns. #Worldcon #finebinding #bookcollector #fantasyauthor #scifibooks

A table showing several books standing upright.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Neuromancer by William Gibson. Full set of images and a description of the materials and design: www.blackoakbindery.com/neuromancer This book will be available in the art show auction at Worldcon this year! Swing by to see this one and a few other books I've made. @laworldcon.bsky.social 💙📚🪐

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Nice! I think it's definitely one of those books that benefits from rereads.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

It's done! With days to spare but Neuromancer is done 😅 I'll have fancy pictures on Tuesday but here's a quick look for now! I'll have this binding on display at the @laworldcon.bsky.social art show next week! #lacon #worldcon #WilliamGibson #cyberpunk #scifibooks

The corner of a binding of Neuromancer by William Gibson. The book is bound in grey leather and titled in green.

A grey leather book sitting in a clamshell box.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Take a class with me on how to create your own tarot deck box! Oct. 17th at the Terrorium Shop in Denver. You'll leave with a box that holds a standard deck plus the knowledge to create more in any size. You can register here: theterroriumshop.co/classes/ola/... #witchsky

A small box that is black and gold. There is a large crescent moon on the top.

A box open to reveal a tarot deck sitting inside.

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Reposted by Black Oak Bindery

Ramin Nasibov @nasibov.me · 12/08/2026

If you missed the solar eclipse, this is what it looked like:

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Progress on the endband for Neuromancer. A lot of the color choices for this binding revolve around the contrast between gritty cement structures and neon holograms. 🧶 #bookart #bookcollector #handbound #bookbinding

The top edge of a book showing a sewn endband in progress. The page edges are grey and the endband is yellow, pink, blue, and grey.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Thank you! Yeah, this is going to be a binding of Neuromancer

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." Neuromancer by William Gibson. I love this opening line so much that I thought it deserved a place in the design of this binding. 🪐📚💙 #Cyberpunk #bookedges #bookworm #bookbinding #bookaesthetic

The top edge of a book showing the painted page edges that look like TV static.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Ohh? 😍 Any you'd recommend keeping an eye out for?

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I learned a new endband technique! Wooooo! I've been taking lessons with Lang Ingalls and she taught me this technique that she learned from Luigi Castiglioni who developed it. I wanted the endband to be really random in appearance so this technique fit perfectly. #bookbinding #handmade

The top edge of a book showing a black and white endband.

A zoomed in image of the top of a book at the spine edge. The image is showing the process of sewing an endband.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I'm trying to portray the themes of identity, personhood and addiction with this design. It's definitely going to be covered in neon colors with probably grey leather for the gritty concrete of Night City.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

The chaos of design! I'm working on the cover design for Neuromancer by William Gibson. Full size drawings are helpful in determining layout. This draft has shown me that the silhouettes need to be larger and the lines thicker so they stand out more from the grid. #cyberpunk #bookbinding #scifi

A table top covered with a sketchbook, large drawing, a book, and colored pencils.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

I wouldn't say it can take a beating. Especially if you're opening it wide for sketching. If you want something more durable that is still relatively easy to do, I'd check out tutorials for Coptic stitch or Secret Belgian Binding.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Conversation Tree does such nice work. Can't wait to see the result!

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Thank you for sharing! It's always awesome when someone gets all the parts of the design. ☺️

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

They are representative of the ending of the book, so I had a reason behind it, but doing something that drastic at the zero hour is kind of my vibe. I always appreciate the flexibility in design my clients give me. ♥️

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

I had started with undyed leather thinking the red paint wouldn't be vibrant on the green leather but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it took the paint. When I was done with the binding and getting ready to send it to the client, I had the idea of painting the gold swathes across the cover.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

This book had so much content to work with. Literally since it was over 1,000 pages and figuratively because of the multiple timelines and points of view. The endpages are marbled paper by Geralyn Lance that I drew Zeta functions on with white colored pencil.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. When the recipient of this binding received it they said "Wow, I can really tell they read the book." That might sound obvious, but that's one of the best compliments I can get on my work. 💙📚🪐 #bookbinding #specialedition

A book standing upright with both covers open to the viewer. It's covered in green leather, has red drops of paint near the head of the book, and a hold design crossing from cover to cover.

A book standing upright with the fore edge facing the viewer. The covers are open to reveal marbled endpages.

The corner of a book covered in green leather. There is a gold design debossed into the leather.

The corner of a book covered in green leather. There is gold tooling and red paint on it.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

I've started production on the books for the Crown of Sea and Storm Kickstarter. All copies of the hand bound edition have gone which is awesome to see! The 1st pic is 3 of the books being pressed and the 2nd shows the difference pressing the signatures makes. #bookbinding #romantasy

A stack of book signatures being pressed between boards.

Two stacks of book signatures. One is more compressed than the other.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

I've started working on a run of special editions for the Kickstarter of Crown of Sea and Storm by Anthea Sharp It's a lovely stand alone fantasy romance! Get in touch if you'd like to have some special editions created for your next campaign! #authorlife #bookbinding #writingcommunity #writer 💙📚

The top edge of a handmade book that is in progress. The page edges are painted silver with blue speckles.

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Reposted by Black Oak Bindery

Locus Magazine @locusmag.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Folks, we are live! Thank you for your patience this year. The team has been working so hard to get this going despite major roadblocks. To see all of the amazing things our community has produced, visit the link in our bio or go to locusmag.com/igg26 youtu.be/ODl5yiDlA_0

youtu.be

Welcome to the 2026 Locus Annual Fundraiser!

YouTube video by Locus Magazine

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. I used silver foil and mica inlays to create an arch centered on the spine. For the keystone I painted the walls of the inlay area red. It's a small touch but I felt it was a way to highlight the symbolism of the keystone in the story. 🪐📚💙 #bookbinding

The spine of a leather bound book showing an inlay of mica.

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Reposted by Black Oak Bindery

Los Angeles Worldcon @laworldcon.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Your Hugo Nominating ballot can make a difference. There are a total of 7718 people with the right to cast a nominating ballot in the 2026 Hugo Awards. As of this morning, 1293 of those people have cast a nominating ballot in at least one category. www.lacon.org/hugos/

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

The page edges reverse as well: a field of red, marked with gold blood, signaling a shift in power and the violent upheaval required to make hope real.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Blues, Pinks, Violets, Obsidians, Browns, and Greens: each bring their own strength, sacrifice, and stake in the future. I decided to mirror some of what we see in the design for Red Rising. Here the red dots rise to the top and gold drops to the bottom.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

The lines sweeping upward across the cover are meant to feel like lift and momentum, representing a rising force that refuses to be pinned down. They're edged with colors to honor the ones that hope forward. A Red may have sparked the revolution, but the fire has spread.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

"We're the light, and we're spreading." 🐺 Spoilers below 🐺 For Morning Star, my final guiding concept was hope. For all the darkness in the series, the story ultimately bends toward light. There's a stubborn, hard-won belief that something better can be built, even when the cost is brutal.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Morning Star by Pierce Brown. Book 3 of the first Red Rising trilogy. Posting out of order but I've never claimed to be good at this social media thing. 🤷‍♀️ Design statement in the comments (contains spoilers). 💙📚🪐 #bookbinding #scifiandfantasy #custombinding

A copy of Morning Star by Pierce Brown standing upright. The book is covered in black leather and has both covers open to face the viewer. There is a large red circle in the center.

A book standing upright with the spine facing the viewer. Both covers are open to show the endpages. The page edges are red with splashes of gold paint.

A close up view of the corner of a leather bound book. There are strips of leather running across the cover.

The top of a closed book. The page edges are red and splashed with gold.

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Haha, yeah that was awful timing. There is a little creak but nothing like that 😂

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Black Oak Bindery @blackoakbindery.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

I try to stuff as much meaning into each part as I can, even the endbands if I think they can represent something from the book. I try to always keep my mind open to doing last minute adjustments to the design. Those are always the most delightful (and stressful).

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