Blog

Making a Visitor's Book

The Visitor’s Book was a bit of a maker project to use up some scrap paper that was destined for the recycling bin as we packed up for the move to the new location.

Inspired by how-to Youtube videos from The Unexpected Gypsy and Sea Lemon, I dug out the Makerspace’s bookbinding kit and used the ‘preloved’ paper to stitch a journal together.

Once I had made the journal, I wasn’t sure what to use it for. There are many uses for such a book, including making art or sketches, noting down favourite quotes, or even writing to-do lists and day to day notes.  I couldn’t decide.

Still feeling uncertain, I started by writing in a quote that had recently resonated with me. This became my starting point, and as ideas started to flow, I thought of creating a book for the new Makerspace, where visitors could ‘leave their mark’ with a message, a favourite quote, a doodle - or anything else.  It would be a prototype, just to test the waters.  That way, it didn’t need to be all that good, which made it seem achievable.

While putting the book together I had to continually remind myself:

• don’t overthink it, just give it a go

• don’t try to get it ‘right’ (there is no ‘right’)

• it doesn’t matter how badly it turns out

Being able to ‘let go’ has been an important part of the process of making the prototype.  When I was able to overcome my fear of trying something new, my uncertainty about the outcome, and my desire to ‘control’ the process, ideas tended to flow more freely.  Now that it’s finished, I’m glad to be letting the end product go, releasing it back into ‘the wild’ of the Makerspace from whence it came.  

Making the Visitor’s Book (Version 1) was a fun, enjoyable way to give a pile of scrap paper a second life. We’d love to see you in the new Makerspace, so please drop by, find the book and leave your mark.  You might even want to make a notebook for yourself!