Overheard a guy at the craft fair say leather is cheating

I was tabling at the local book fair last month and this older gentleman walked by my booth, saw my leather-bound journals, and muttered to his friend that using leather is just cheating. It got me thinking about how some folks in bookbinding see materials like leather or even certain book cloths as shortcuts, you know? I use both paper and leather for bindings and I honestly think each one has its own set of challenges. Has anyone else run into this kind of gatekeeping about materials?

2 comments

2 Comments

hollyramirez10d ago

Friend had a stained glass teacher claim pre-cut pieces were basically cheating, which is wild given how much work assembly takes.

the_kevin10d ago

Is it just me or is this kind of gatekeeping everywhere now? I see it with woodworking too where some guys act like using power tools is cheating compared to hand tools. Meanwhile both ways get the job done just with different skills and effort. Leather's got its own challenges like getting the grain right and making sure it doesn't warp or crack. I'd rather see people making stuff than worrying about what counts as "real" work.