Life List Item – Checked Off The List!
Isn’t time funny?! It can pass so quickly at times and then, somethings feel like they drag on forever. And then, some things feel like they happen in the perfect time. I think it’s probably all an illusion and everything happens at the perfect time, but it doesn’t always feel like that.
This time though, it feels just right. Why? It just does.
A few years ago, when I started FMN Design and was exploring book vendors to print and bind the books I designed, I found Asuka Books. They were at WPPI when I attended the trade show and I loved their books. They provided a beautiful coffee table style album that I wanted to offer my clients. They don’t work with the general public so to have one of their books, you need to either be a photographer or a designer who provides the album to a client.
Their books are similar to what people would find with Blurb or an Apple Book but the quality isn’t comparable in the least. The binding is sturdy and the books are assembled by hand! The paper quality is awesome too. Being a designer and having produced loads of paper products over the years, to me, paper quality is important. I’m not a fan when the paper is too thin which can lead to tearing over the years. They use 100 lb. stock and it feels great as you turn the pages.
The color quality is great as well. There are so many book printers out there that don’t put enough emphasis on the print quality of their images. A lot of companies images wind up printing dark and muddy for just this reason. That means extra work for photographers and designers who want their images to look bright and crisp. Honestly, I don’t have time for that. Asuka prints true to what I send, so I know that as long as I send images that are color corrected to my standard, they’re going to print exactly the way I want. Perfect!
After signing up for their newsletter years ago, I saw that they highlighted one album a monthy as their “Book of the Month”. I mentally put that down on my life list. I wanted that, to be highlighted by their company for my album design. How cool would that be??!!
Well, it happened! For the month of September, 2010. Is that not one of the best 40th birthday presents?! I’m so excited and get to check that off my life list. Yay!! Thank you Asuka Books for such wonderful recognition. I’m beyond thrilled.
They picked the book I designed with the photography of Stephanie Williams. Her work is so beautiful and the locations that she shot these particular images at are awesome. The bamboo is so cool and unique. I just loved working with her and her photography. My publicist, Leila from Be Inspired PR connected the two of us and it turned out to be such a great match. Thank you Leila and Stephanie and this honor of “Book of the Month” is shared by us all!
Click HERE to see the album.
