VACATION NOTICE: The studio will be closed from Monday 11/25 to Friday 11/29. There will be no shipping or production during this time. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
VACATION NOTICE: The studio will be closed from Monday 11/25 to Friday 11/29. There will be no shipping or production during this time. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
I am very excited to be adding this new portfolio design to my website. Many artists and designers are finding that printed portfolios are no longer suitable for presenting their work. Thankfully new technology and streamline tablet designs have now made it possible to present this same work conveniently and efficiently in a digital format.
This drop spine flip top presentation box has a magnetic flap closure and can be custom made in one or two of the 37 colors available. As with all boxes and portfolios in the online store, the Portfolio for iPad can be personalized in a number of ways. Foil stamping and embossing of a name or logo are 2 of those options.
There are also many style and sizes of pockets that can be added to the inside lid liner. The Portfolio for iPad can viewed flat on a table or the cover can be inverted to create an easel. For more information please contact kristin@kdbooks.com
I just wanted to share some photos of portfolios that I’ve made recently that use inlays to add compositional interest and a little splash of color to book covers. Using the inlay as a background for foil stamping is particularly effective but in the case of the Sila Portfolio and the Dionne Portfolio the inlays speak for themselves as simple colorful shapes. Inlays can be made in all geometric shapes and sizes and can be placed anywhere on the book’s front or back cover. They can now be added to custom built portfolios in the online store. When ordering online I recommend sending a pdf for accurate size and placement of your inlay.
Large format portfolios are now available online. There are 3 new standard sizes;
13 x 19 landscape
19 x 13 portrait
20 x 15 portrait
Each style of portfolio; hidden screw post, exposed screw post and coffee table, can be ordered in these larger sizes and all are customizable with one or two of the 37 colors of bookcloth.
Hinged pages and hinge strips are also available for each of these sizes.
If you need a size that is not offered on the website please call or email to discuss placing an order for a custom sized portfolio.
You’ve spent countless hours and a nice chunk of change putting together the perfect portfolio presentation and now it’s time to show the world what you have to offer. Â At this point the last thing you want is to have your portfolio mishandled and damaged in it’s travels.
Fortunately this has only happened to one of my clients (that I know of) but it was devastating enough that I felt it was important to share some tips to ensure the safe delivery and return of your portfolio. Â While this post focuses on the shipping of portfolios, it also applies to transporting your portfolio to face to face meetings. Â Accidents happen and while you probably feel confident hand carrying your portfolio to visit potential clients, you can’t always prevent unexpected events. It could be bumped around in the car on the way to the meeting or someone could brush your arm the wrong way and cause you to drop it. Â For this reason it’s always best to overprotect your portfolio.
damaged box
Treat your portfolio as you would the art that it holds. Â Our portfolios are extremely sturdy and well built but they are presentation pieces that need to be protected. Â For this reason I recommend that your portfolio is packed with extra care and more padding than you think it needs. Â UPS and FEDEX do a great job but they don’t know or care what’s inside the boxes they are delivering and Handle with Care tags do little to change the way that packages are treated.
perforated foam
One of the simplest and least costly ways to create an appropriate shipping container is to start with a basic cardboard box that is at least 4″ larger than your portfolio in all directions.  Since you are trying to make a good first impression be sure to use a clean, new, unmarked box.  Purchase some heavy duty foam from a shipping supply company or a foam company.  The Foam Factory sells perforated foam sheets, called Pick and Pluck.  The perforation allows you to create any sized cutout in the foam. Use this in combination with solid foam pieces to create a form fitting nest  around your portfolio.  Choosing foam over paper or bubblewrap is preferable for a few reasons; it makes it easier for your potential client to re-pack the box for return shipping, it looks much cleaner than bunched up pieces of paper and it prevents the portfolio from shifting during shipping.
If you have a bit more to invest, there are many companies that offer standard and custom made hard shipping cases.  Many of these are marketed as computer or instrument cases but can be used for just about anything.  Take a look at Janal Cases, Quick Cases and Pelican Cases for some possibilities.  Many of these are crush and waterproof and come with a lifetime guarantee.  You’ve invested a lot in creating your portfolio so it’s a good idea to invest just a little more to protect it.  If you have any questions or would like further recommendations please don’t hesitate to call.
Another item that I’ve been getting a lot of requests for is hinge strips. Many of my clients print their own portfolio pages and use the templates that I include with all portfolio orders to punch the holes for the screw posts. This works out great but in the case where a client wants to use a heavier weight paper the issue of page turning always comes up. Lighter weight papers turn just fine on their own when put into screwpost books but when you get past about an 80lb paper the page will want to spring back which makes the portfolio viewing less than a perfect experience. Scoring the page where it will fold is a good solution to this but it isn’t ideal.
The hinge strips that are now available in the online store are essentially like my hinged pages only without the page attached. I start with a strip of 100lb paper and adhere a 1″ strip of thin starched fabric to that. Then, leaving a 1/4″ gap or gutter, a 1/4″ wide layer of adhesive is laid down along the outer edge of the fabric. The paper strip gets hole punched and bound by the screw posts.
There is a release paper on top of the adhesive strip that gets peeled off so that the printed page or photograph can be securely attached. When the page is turned, only 1/4″ of the back of the page is covered by the fabric hinge and the pages turn with ease and lay completely flat.
Hinge strips are available in both black and white and in 8 1/2″, 11″, 12″, 14″ and 17″ lengths.
Over the past year I’ve received many requests to add slipcases to the website and now, with the launch of the new site, they can be ordered online. As with all of the portfolios and presentation boxes available online, the slipcases can be covered in any of the 35 linen or metallic fabrics.
At the time of ordering, it is important to know the thickness of the stack of pages going into your portfolio otherwise the slipcase will not fit properly. To get an accurate measurement, stack up the pages along with anything being mounted to them and place your ruler at the thickest point of that stack. You will choose this measurement from a drop down menu when you place your order. This will be added to the thickness of the portfolio itself to ensure a proper fit for the slipcase. If you are ordering either the hinges pages or the polypropylene sheet protectors along with your portfolio you should just measure the materials that you’ll be inserting or mounting.
You can find more information about slipcase here:
To add a bit of extra pizzazz to your portfolio consider a 2 color foil stamping of your logo.
This is a portrait format 11 x 8 1/2 hidden screw post portfolio with a spine cover. Â This portfolio is a great example of a very simple design that delivers a big punch.
The logo really makes a statement on the red fabric cover because of the splash of light blue next to the white.
In order to do a 2 color foil stamping using just 1 logo die, the blocks of color need to have at least 1/16th of an inch between them.
This option will be available in the new online store soon.
I just finished this exciting project with Bobby Namba of Trapeze Editions. It was an edition of large format, 18 x 14 folios to house a set of 3 prints from LA based artist David Choe. The folios were covered in a slightly metallic black bookcloth and were then beautifully screen printed in silver or gold depending. The inside left panel was covered in a heavyweight drawing paper where the artist will create an original drawing for each folio. The right inside panel is finished with a matte black bookcloth and accented with metallic corners that secure the prints.
These limited edition folios are being sold by Trapeze Editions and can be seen, along with details of the artwork, in their website store.
Exposed Screw Post Wooden Portfolios are now available in the online store. I will be adding Hidden Screw Post version soon as well as a larger variety of woods and finishes.
I’ve been getting many requests for wooden portfolios recently and because of the high level of interest I will be adding some standard sizes to the online store very soon, hopefully by mid April. The portfolios will be available in the same 7 sizes that the bookcloth versions are and to start will be offered in 3 different woods, most likely walnut, ash and teak and 3 finishes. The ordering process will be simple and foil stamping, colored cloth liners and pockets can be added to any wooden portfolio. The standard hinged pages as well as polypropylene pages will fit these as well. Stayed tuned and check back soon.
This drop spine flip top presentation box has a magnetic flap closure and can be custom made in one or two of the 37 colors available. As with all boxes and portfolios in the online store, the Portfolio for iPad can be personalized in a number of ways. Foil stamping and embossing of a name or logo are 2 of those options.
