We were lucky to catch up with Nate McCall recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nate, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Making a living as an artist can be extremely stressful. Some months are great, but others can be very lean, and with the rising cost of living, that makes things hard.

But, I’ve been working since I was 12 years old – 25 years, and full time for 19 of those. For 7 of them, I worked both full time as a bookbinder and full time in demanding jobs. I’ve had my fill of working for other people! The last two years working exclusively in bookbinding have been amazing, and despite the stress, I would never go back (unless of course it was a question of starvation or losing the house). It’s a pretty amazing feeling to be able to support yourself and your family from your art that you’ve worked so hard to get good at.

Short answer: I’ve never had a more fulfilling job.

Nate, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a bookbinder who specializes in fine bindings. I started out primarily making custom journals on Etsy, but have transitioned more into the fine and rare books space in the last couple years (though I still make the occasional blank book for people). I mostly take on individual commissions, but I have some bindings available at Lux Mentis Booksellers, and I also occasionally do edition bindings of 10 or more copies for publishers.

I got into the craft after discovering it as a hobby on Instagram back in 2013, and in 2015 I started my business to start selling my books on Etsy. Back then I was called McCall Company Handcrafted Goods, because I initially planned to offer more than just books: candles, wooden home goods, and possibly even furniture. But I pretty much immediately fell in love with bookbinding and advancing my skills there, and I changed my business name to McCall Co. Bindery & Book Arts in 2021.

Most of my work has been done in a historically-inspired style, but I’m also working to expand my modern design binding portfolio. I rebind books from all eras and in any style – I’m happy to take requests from clients, but I have no shortage of ideas, so a design request is definitely not required when discussing a new commission.

Weird, new, and unusual are my favorite types of projects, so even if you don’t see an example of what you’d like in my past work, don’t hesitate to ask!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Start putting an emphasis on quality and craftsmanship and less on speed and convenience. Algorithms, shipping deadlines (looking at you, Etsy), and cheap imitations all put pressure on artists to be constantly churning out new work, and it gives them less time to put their best work into each project. That’s one of the main reasons I stopped selling on Etsy. Bookbinding is not quick; if it was, it wouldn’t be worth it. The ever-increasing pressure that Etsy puts on its sellers to have an Amazon-like turnaround time is unrealistic, and is a huge detriment to the art. Why would you even want handmade anything if it didn’t take time to make it? The point is that it’s better than anything a machine can make. I would love to see a new platform emerge that allows artists to sell on their own terms.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

That failure is a bad thing. I’m largely self-taught, and there’s only so much you can learn from a book or video telling you what to do. The best way to learn is to fail – in my experience, knowing what NOT to do is so much more useful than knowing what TO do. So many things can go wrong in any creative endeavor. No manual can prepare you for all of them. But if you have experience in failure, you a) know what to avoid, and b) you know how to fix it. Almost any mistake can be fixed in bookbinding, but you just need to know how.

I think the saying goes something like, “The master has failed more times than the novice has tried”.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mccallcobindery.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/mccall_company
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/McCallCompany

Image Credits

Nate McCall