My name is Andrea Tsang Jackson of 3rd Story Workshop, and I'm a quilter, textile artist, and quilt pattern designer. Shortly after I started 3rd Story Workshop, I wrote myself a mission statement. I wanted to be intentional about the way I spent my creative energy, and one of the parts of the mission statement was to help people along on their own creative journeys.
Every quilt pattern that I have designed and class that I've taught since then has aimed to challenge the quilter, even in the slightest way. Maybe by establishing their quarter-inch seam allowance, trying foundation paper piecing or improv for the very first time, learning about half-rectangle triangles or quarter-square triangles, or trying to create a transparency effect with colour and fabric.
Many of the things I write about in Quilting are relevant to anybody who might call themselves creative. An amateur poet, or a creative cook. But this book is for quilters—any quilter who is inclined to reflect on their relationship to their craft. Why do I do this? Why is this important to me? How should I do it? And when should I do it? Also though, Why do we do this? Why is it important to us?
There are two ways a non-fiction book gets into the hands of a publisher. The first is the kind we all know about: An author, either on their own or through an agent, submits a proposal. That's not how Quilting came to us at Nine Ten. Quilting came to us the other way: We asked for it.
Many months ago, Nine Ten's publisher emailed Andrea and asked if she, by chance, had a book idea kicking around—specifically, a book idea she thought might be rejected by a larger publisher because they'd decide it's too fringe or would be difficult to market because it wouldn't fit neatly into a craft-book mould.
Why on earth would we ask for a book that other publishers would deem too hard to market??
Well, dear reader, the answer lies in how you think about the success of a book, and how you finance the book. A small press doesn't need to sell a gazillion copies of a book to make ends meet. Success, for us, is creating a book that connects with the right readers—readers who wish they could find books that don't fit the mould, who long for books that aren't like all the others. Indeed, this is what we small-press people live and breathe for. Connecting readers to books about the very specific topics they're passionate about, from perspectives that are hard to come by, is the wind in our sails. Obviously, it's crucial that we do find a market for our very niche books—we are running a business, after all. But our small press can thrive by publishing books that reach several hundred people who absolutely love them. Huge publishing conglomerates consider all kinds of amazing, inspiring, brilliant, niche ideas to be unmarketable because they don't fit a mould, and because they may not sell a gazillion copies. That's fine; all the best to the huge conglomerates.
Quilting is not a traditional craft book containing a dozen or more quilt patterns on a theme, with instructions on how to make them. While you are certainly invited to make quilts throughout the book, Andrea's focus is on the process of creating through quilting, inviting readers to explore what makes you tick creatively. Play with fabric and stitching, with shapes and textures, just for the sake of playing. It's as important to discover what you don't enjoy or find pleasing as it is to stick with what you know you love. Try techniques you've never tried before or stick with your tried and true—either way, experiment.
Andrea is incredibly thoughtful about her own creative practice, and in this book she invites you reflect on your own. She shares the inspiration and curiosity that led her to design and create a variety of quilts, and she invites you to be curious and intentional as you take the audacious step to stray from strict adherence to pattern by veering into where your own creativity and curiosity take you.
We believe this book belongs on the shelf of every quilter whose craft plays an important role in their life, whether they're so busy they only have a few minutes a week for quilting, or they have the luxury to quilt for hours at a time. Get inspired by Andrea's unique perspective, and accept her invitation to get to know your own creativity better, so you can enjoy quilting even more than you already do.
Quilting will be a softcover book, 8" x 10" in size and around 144–160(ish) pages in length; written, photographed, edited, designed, printed and bound in Canada on 100% post-consumer waste paper.
The book is structured in two parts. The first part features a series of essays about quilts Andrea has created and techniques she's explored, inspired by a variety of ideas, places or circumstances. Each essay raises questions for the reader to consider about their own life and their relationship to quilting and creativity.
The second part of the book is an Atlas composed of what Andrea calls Guide Maps, and this is where the quilting really comes in. It's also part of why we love the magnificent quilted "Q" on the cover (we intend to keep that concept as the cover design evolves)—because quests are a big part of what Andrea has designed for quilters. Each Guide Map leads the reader through exercises exploring line, shape, material, or technique. Could you make a quilt out of what you create doing these exercises? Absolutely, and in some cases you're told how to. But the focus here is on the process of creation, not the end result.
This book is already well underway. At our aforementioned request, Andrea submitted a non-fiction book proposal many months ago, and we contracted with her for the publication of Quilting. We are already, in fact, deep into the second round of edits/revisions of the manuscript. And while the title and cover may change in the coming months, the book designer has already nearly completed the design of the inside of the book.
May, 2024—Second-round revisions.
June–July, 2024—Copyediting and third-round revisions.
July–August, 2024—Layout.
September–October, 2024—Proofreading and indexing.
November, 2024—Print-ready.
January(ish) 2025—Fulfillment. You, dear backers, will get your books!
January–February 2025—Official release of the book. This is when it goes on sale in stores. (We'll tell you lots in updates after the campaign about how books make it to stores.)
February 2025—Fingers crossed, we will launch the book at a major quilt event (details still to be sorted—stay tuned!)
Our campaign goal is for the minimum amount we need to raise to produce the book; our actual budget is significantly higher than the minimum, so any amount we raise over the goal will help to cover those remaining costs without us losing sleep over cash flow, and to ensure the folks at Nine Ten are paid so this small press can stop being a startup and start running as a sustainable business.
Like many small presses, we do not offer our authors an advance against royalties, but unlike many small presses we do pay our authors a modest amount up-front.
An advance against royalties delays the author's earning of royalties from book sales until the advance is made up for. But crowdfunding our books helps us to mitigate much of the financial risk involved in making our books, because we already know we'll (at least almost) break even. So we provide a modest payment to our authors during the time of writing the book, and then they begin to earn royalties immediately when the book goes on sale. This is part of why we love crowdfunding our books, and why we thank our backers so enthusiastically throughout the production of our books—you make it possible for us to even slightly alter the model of book publishing. None of our authors ever have to worry about their book "earning out" before they start to earn royalties.
Now, for that huge slice of the budget in the chart above. It costs over $20,000 to print most of our books—because they are full-colour, printed domestically on recycled paper. Why do we do things so expensively, on purpose? First, because our books are gorgeous (if we do say so ourselves), and we know that we are not alone in appreciating gorgeous, physical books we can smell and flip through and learn from and be inspired by.
Second, because our love for physical books does not absolve us of our responsibility to behave as though we are in a climate crisis—which we are. We do not want trees to be cut down to make our books, even if those trees were planted specifically for this use, and even if paper made from trees is less expensive than recycled paper. Here in Canada, we are lucky to have an extraordinary producer of recycled paper, based in Québec, that makes their 100% post-consumer waste paper in a biogas-powered facility. The paper is gorgeous and it feels amazing. It is quite expensive, and it's worth it not only for its quality but also so that the materials our books are made from do not contribute to the crisis we face.
Finally, it's extremely important to us to support the Canadian publishing ecosystem so that it continues to exist long into the future. This is also good for our business—printing in Canada means we receive our books around 6–7 weeks after they go to the printer; our books don't need to be shipped around the world (which also helps to limit the negative climate impact of our books). If we printed overseas, our books would spend at least that long on a container ship. It already takes an age to make a book; we don't need to add months onto the end of it just for shipping, and our poor nerves are already frayed by running a small press—we don't need the added anxiety of more variables we can't control, like disruptions to port operations, political unrest on shipping routes, or canals going dry from climate change (all disruptions we've seen just in the last couple of years).
We will provide detailed updates to you throughout the book's production, providing explanations of how books are made, how an author and editor work together, and how a tiny new publishing company gets off the ground with the help and support of our community (that's you!). We welcome questions about how or why we do things, and we've heard from backers of our previous campaigns that they found our updates incredibly informative, and entertaining.
Because the author, Andrea, lives in Halifax, NS; and the publisher and fulfiller-of-Kickstarter-rewards lives in Vancouver, BC—nearly as far from Halifax as you can get in Canada—we're offering signed book plates as an add-on (instead of offering signed books). Book plates are stickers that are mostly blank, for sticking into the front of a book. Andrea will sign these generously sized stickers in Halifax, then send the whole stack of signed stickers to Kim in Vancouver, and Kim will include them when she ships rewards to backers who select a signed book plate as an add-on.
We're also totally in love with the idea of the quilted "Q" on the cover of the book—the final version hasn't even been created yet, so it'll change! When the "Q" is finalized, we'll print high-quality, generously sized 3-inch (75 mm) stickers with it. You can select these as an add-on.
Andrea Tsang Jackson is a textile artist, quilt designer, author and teacher. After working in various design fields and settings ranging from architecture to museums, the quilting medium called to her as a way to explore place, belonging, and agency. She holds a Master of Architecture from McGill University and a Master of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. With her art, Andrea strives to push the limits of the quilting medium by exploring scale and dimension and moving traditionally domestic objects into the public realm. Her work often celebrates community and collaboration, and explores ideas of belonging. The rich history of quilting also heavily influences her practice; she sees it as an extension of community across time. Andrea’s first book, Patchwork Lab: Gemology, was published by Lucky Spool in 2019. Andrea lives in Kjipuktuk / Halifax with her husband and two sons.
Over her more than two decades working in crafts and publishing, Kim has written or co-authored seven books and edited countless others; founded, run and eventually sold an online crochet magazine; served as editor of Interweave Crochet; and spoken and taught at conferences across North America. In 2020, Kim co-founded Nine Ten Publications and its flagship online magazine, Digits & Threads, with Kate Atherley. Kim lives with her family in Vancouver, BC, on unceded xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) territories, where she weaves, reads genre fiction, and never quite manages to learn to sew her own clothes.
Get an early copy of the book, to ship as soon as books arrive (before the official release date when it becomes available in stores).
Est. Delivery Jan/Feb 2025
You want to support this project and get a little something as a thank-you, but you're not into the book itself? We get it! Snag a 3-inch (75 mm) circle sticker of the quilted "Q" from the cover of the book (to be updated as the cover design evolves). Since you may not be into quilting, you can decide what the "Q" stands for. Like... quartz! Or queueing. We Canadians do love an orderly queue.
Est. Delivery Jan/Feb 2025
The PDF e-book version of the book, delivered to you digitally. The e-book will be identical to the print book, except any links in the text will be clickable. (When you select a digital reward tier, you will not be able to choose any physical add-ons. If you'd like to get the ebook and also a print book, signed book plate or sticker, choose one of those reward tiers, then select the e-book as an add-on.)
Est. Delivery Jan/Feb 2025
Get two books so you can gift one to someone you think will love it (or donate one to your guild library!). Not everyone knows and loves Kickstarter—this is a way to help someone you love benefit from the support you're providing for the making of the book, and gives you the gift of putting a smile on their face when you hand them a copy of their very own.
Est. Delivery Jan/Feb 2025
Quilting is social, and this reward is for folks who quilt together, whether as part of a guild or an informal group. Get 5 slightly discounted books to share between you, and save on shipping since the books will all be sent in one package. Use the money you save to get special snacks for when you get together to work through some of the book's quilting quests together!
Est. Delivery Jan/Feb 2025
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