The studio is quiet. The hum of the printing press starts before the first run.
This piece walks through every step — from the conversation in week one to the finished case in week three. It is meant to be read by the kind of person who wants to know what is actually happening behind the press's promise.
Week one — the story is written, by a person
A sundayfawn book is made over a few weeks. The story is written in the studio after a conversation with the buyer; the illustrations are commissioned for the reader; the cover is matte-printed. Edition of one.
The first thing that happens is a short conversation. Not a form. A conversation — what the reader is called, who they are to you, what specific things only you would notice about them. The dish their grandmother brought to dinner. The way the dog turns three times before lying down. The press cannot work from generalities. Grandma will not hold a person; the grandmother who put a sugar lump in her tea will.
The in-house writer then drafts the story — a real first draft, not a template name-swap. Sent to the buyer for one round of notes, usually small. Once the text is settled, it is locked. There is one file, one set of paintings, one cover.
Week two — the illustration
The illustrations are commissioned for the reader, depending on the story. The illustrations are calibrated to the register of the book — softer for bedtime and memorial registers, brighter for adventure.
Text and paintings go into the page layout, set in Fraunces — body on the storybook pages, a little larger on the memorial register where a looser line helps the reading. A digital proof is checked against the originals. The proof is the last moment the book can be changed.
The cover, matte-printed
The cover artwork — usually the reader's name, sometimes a small motif beside it (a thistle, a hummingbird, a particular breed of dog) — is set in the press's house typography and matte-printed at the size of the finished cover. The cover is used once, for one book.
The proof is checked against the artwork before the cover is finalised. Once the proof is clean, the rest of the book is assembled around it.
Week three — the inside pages
The book is a 32-page hardcover.
The book opens. The book closes. It feels like a book.
The colophon
The last page of every book carries a colophon — a small block of type, set in Fraunces italic, that records the press, the edition, and the date. sundayfawn. · edition of one · MMXXVI. It is a record that the book exists, that it was made, and that it was made for one named reader.
After the book is finished, the file is closed. The page layout, the paintings, and the story text are archived on a sealed drive for our own record, and not reused.
The book ships packed in a corrugated mailer with crush-pads. The book travels well.
A few weeks — and what it costs
From order to ship: typically a few weeks. The work is split across writing, illustration, printing, binding, and packing. The book is hardcover, one edition. The price covers the materials, the press time, the studio time, and the colophon signature.
The reason the book is a template-name-swap personalised book is $30 is, mostly, the writing and the painting. A template book uses one cover for thousands of books with the buyer's name dropped into a field. The press's book has its own printing file, its own paintings, its own colophon. The economics only work because we make one book at a time, slowly, on purpose — a longer accounting of which lives in the craft. The book that arrives is, we hope, a custom hardcover in the most literal sense.
Common questions
How is a custom hardcover book made?* Over a few weeks. The story is written by the in-house writer from your brief. The illustrations are commissioned for the reader. The cover is matte-printed for that one book. The book is hardcover. Edition of one.
Does the cover last?* Yes. The cover is matte-printed and protected by the hardcover binding.
How long does it take to make a custom hardcover book?* Typically a few weeks, from order to ship. The press does not offer a rush option. Each book is made one at a time. We do not batch them.
One book, made for one reader.
— A storybook no one else has ever read.