I’ll be traveling for the next few weeks (Egypt this year!) so I may be late with an entry or two. I’m still accessible by email so don’t stop writing, and I’ll be back before the end of the month (in time for Thanksgiving for those who celebrate such things). If you want to follow our adventures in travel, check out my personal blog at alanirwin.com

Enjoy!

Bookmark Collectors Virtual Convention – Link

We are getting more announcements from other bloggers, including Olga Sotomayor Sanchez’ Coleccionista Chilena de Marcapaginas – Link

And Natalia Crespo’s Marcapaginas Blog – Link

Bookmarks In the News

Inspired by a souvenir leather bookmark from the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, Lauren has written a fascinating article about the political effort it took to bring the exposition to San Diego, at BiblioBuffet - Link

Deanna Dahlsad at Collectors’ Quest has some insights from collectors which she pulled from reviewing a book aimed at librarian curators – Link

Here’s a nice post about her collection of bookmarks, by Lone Star Librarian at Speed Of Light – Link

Contests :

The San Gabriel (California) Library is having its 30th annual bookmark design contest – Link

The Wilmette (Illinois) Public Library is holding a children’s bookmark design contest for their Art Awareness Month – Link

Here’s a fun bookmark contest where you leave a link with a photo of the snack foods you eat when reading, and the prize bookmark is hand made lace – Link

Contest Winners:

The Cronwall (Canada) Public Library will announce the winner of their Remembrance Day Bookmark Contest – Link

Make Your Own Bookmark

A folded paper Japanese Girl bookmark, at Cargo Networking – Link

Using art paper scraps to make bookmarks that can also be used as a business card, by Lowell and Son – Link

TATBiT TaTs:

Here’s a rectangular bookmark with a butterfly tatting pattern – Link

A hairpin lace pattern – Link

A fun Crazy-Daisy-Eight pattern – Link

Bookmarks For Sale

Corner bookmarks with small Japanese Dolls, by Jesslyn at Heart Echo – Link

Some Christmas themed bookmarks at Impressive Inscriptions – Link

On-Line Bookmark Collections

Inside Books: Bookmark of the Week:

A magnetic bookmark featuring Wallace and Gromit – Link

Coleccionista Chilena de Marcapáginas:

Some pictures from Olga’s latest bookmark exhibit at a collector’s fair – Link

Collecting Bookmarks:

A bookmark from Turkey featuring Ebru art – Link

A colorful children’s bookmark from Finland – Link

A Latvian bookmark made from leather with an embossed image – Link

Forgotten Bookmarks:

An older color photo, with classic 70’s clothing – Link

A really cute children’s drawing of the Statue of Liberty – Link

A quick note with a book count inventory – Link

A beautiful vintage advertising bookmark which includes a calendar from 1889 – Link

Eew, a packaged hair net made from human hair – Link

Hand Made Bookmarks:

A bookmark made with an image of Emily Dickerson, by PaleBlueRobot at Green Thing – Link

Miscellaneous:

Here’s a bookmark with a family crest and picture which was made to be a keepsake gift – Link

2010 Bookmark Challenge:

Once more Jen fesses up on her progress towards the 2010 Bookmark Challenge with announcements about needlepoint groups and design contests – Link

I’ve been laying the groundwork and checking in with other bookmark bloggers and manufacturers, just making sure I wasn’t onto some crazy notion that made perfect sense to me and no one else. And what I found is that there was A LOT of interest, excitement, and ideas about a convention, and about how accessible a virtual convention can be.

So now, we’re going public. The website can be found at:

• www.bookmarkcollectorsvirtualconvention.com
• www.bookmarkcollectorsconvention.com
• www.bookmarkconvention.com
• www.bmcvc.com

The official website is the last one in the list (also the shortest!), but any of the names will get you there (and the longer ones may be easier to remember). There you’ll find a lot of documentation and descriptions.

So what is a virtual convention? Well, here’s the official press release:

FIRST VIRTUAL CONVENTION FOR BOOKMARK COLLECTORS

On February 20 and 21, 2010 the first convention for bookmark collectors will take place online. For 24 hours, bookmark collectors from all over the world will meet to give and attend seminars, view galleries, shop, swap, and socialize with other collectors and enthusiasts. For many collectors, this will be the first time they will have the opportunity to meet and discuss their passion with other enthusiasts, live.

If you collect bookmarks, make bookmarks, or are curious about bookmarks; if you are interested in ephemera, biblio-paraphernalia, craft samplers, book history, small art, or collectibles; or if you are interested in seeing the first virtual convention for collectors of any sort, then stop by the website and register for the Bookmark Collectors Virtual Convention.

Convention Website: www.bmcvc.com or www.bookmarkconvention.com

Contact: Alan Irwin, info@bmcvc.com

Lauren Roberts, lauren@bmcvc.com

For announcements and updates, read the blog or subscribe to the newsletter

At the website you’ll find the current plans. But, it’s still early and not everything has been set. We are still looking for input, ideas, and participants.

So please add to the discussion, either in the forums, by adding a comment here, or writing to me at the convention address. This is a chance to create something we can all enjoy and learn from and an opportunity to add to the hobby regardless of our “collectors credentials”.

Enjoy!

Bookmarks In the News

Articles:

An interesting encounter over a bookmark led to a book about Tombstone Arizona, including the shootout at the OK Corral – Link

Contests :

The Candid Canine is holding a contest with a Sherlock Holmes shaped bookmark as the prize – Link

Bookmarks For Sale

You can buy a bookmark featuring Barack Obama from Amazon – Link

Free:

Some promotional bookmarks for the book Rampant are available at Cornucopia of Reviews – Link

On-Line Bookmark Collections

Mondopunt:

A reference to two new bookmark blogs and events happening in September – Link

A beautiful set of bookmarks from the Rioja Alavesa, a wine region in Spain – Link

Collecting Bookmarks:

A magnetic clip bookmark with an image of the American flag – Link

Forgotten Bookmarks:

A photograph from a 50th wedding anniversary – Link

A blue flower pressed between the pages of a book – Link

Hand Made Bookmarks:

A scrapling bookmark at Just For Fun – Link

A paper bookmark and card shown at Teri’s Cards and Toppers and made as part of a Tuesday Taggers challenge – Link

A stitched bookmark made on a scrap of linen, at The World’s Largest Collection of Smalls – Link

A paper, fiber, and plastic bookmark, made by Tina Janiga at When Life Gives You Scraps – Link

Some nifty polymer clay baubles make up the ornament on this hookmark at Zuleykha’s Polymer Clay – Link

Another Tuesday Taggers challenge bookmark featuring a photo, at A Work of Heart – Link

A second bookmark from A Work of Heart, this one is on paper and has a nice saying – Link

Miscellaneous:

Mushroomgarden is the proud owner of a new Gorjuss bookmark – Link

A bookmark promoting “For My Right To Have A Family” day in Bolivia – Link

I am safe, as is my home and family. The weather changed significantly for the better over the weekend, and thanks to amazing work by the fire response teams the fire is currently 70% contained, most evacuees are back in their homes, and the air quality has dramatically improved.

So, I’ve gotten a bit behind in mainting the bookmark links. I should be caught up by this Friday, so look for the catch up entry on Saturday.

Take care everyone, and hug your loved ones!

Alan

For more official information – Link 

For some photos of the fire – Link

Enjoy!

Bookmarks In the News

Articles:

Laine Farley over at BiblioBuffet uses examples of her amazing collection of vintage Easter bookmarks to illustrated her discussion of how bookmarks were used in the Easter season in the last couple of centuries – Link

Towards the bottom of this article on artist Dianna Wilson is a mention of the hand painted bookmarks that she collects from members of her art guild to serve as thank you gifts for volunteers at her local library – Link

Contests :

Swansea Mall in Swansea (Massachusetts) is sponsoring a bookmark contest for kids with the theme Adventures in Books – Link

Over at Bead Happily Ever After, there’s a contest with a beaded bookmark for the prize – Link

The author Deborah Kerbel is giving away five bookmarks promoting her book Mackenzie, Lost and Found to commenters at Katie’s Bookshelf – Link

Contest Winners:

Eric Zou received an honorable mention for his bookmark design in the Massachusetts School Library Association’s annual bookmark design contest – Link

Make Your Own Bookmark

A great tutorial on making some amazing ribbon bookmarks, by Lori McCroskey at Clearly i Stamp – Link

Bookmarks For Sale

Paper Avenue sells some very clever metal clip bookmarks made by RAS - Link

Etsy:

A beautiful bookmark made by the artist Sybile from one of her paintings – Link

A cute yoga themed bookmark set, by Minica Marks – Link

On-Line Bookmark Collections

Punto de Papel:

Twelve bookmarks from the US that promote reading – Link

Mirage Bookmarks:

A very fun bookmark from the German publisher Ars Edition – Link

Mondopunt:

Six bookmarks published by the Mexican magazine Crónicas y Leyendas (Chronicles and Legends) which is dedicated to compiling the legends and oral histories of Mexico City – Link

Flikr Images:

A nice bookmark shaped image from a coffee package, by (struck by lightning)rc – Link

A very nice bookmark received from swap-bot member Kipita, by Leelerbaby - Link

A lovely fairy image on the cover of a folded bookmark, image by Clarian’s Hawk * Arlene – Link

Hand Made Bookmarks:

A lovely ATC bookmark with a nature theme, at Stamping Rika – Link

A cool bookmark hand stitched with icons from the Mario video game, posted at the Instructables forum – Link

Miscellaneous:

Here’s Genevieve’s amazing collection of bookmarks, including a her trades – Link

The Library History Buff website is “Promoting the appreciation, enjoyment, and preservation of library history”, and has a page dedicated to library themed bookmark collection of proprietor Larry T. Nix – Link

An interesting bookmark found in the pages of a Twilight book – Link

And here’s and odd one found in Confessions of a Subprime Lender – Link

Here’s the Geisha Bookmark made from folded paper, at Paper Craft Central – Link

2009 Bookmark Challenge:

Another post with quotes about books and illustrated with a beatiful hand made bookmark ornament – Link

In addition to the photo of a very nifty hand-stitched bookmark, midway through the post is an announcement of a bookmark-stitching contest at Pine Glen Designs – Link

Buried at the end of her post on a Battle of the Books, Jen offhandedly mentions a Battle of the Bookmarks contest, which sounds like a great idea to me – Link

Enjoy!

Bookmarks In the News

Articles:

Amazing! The reason I greedily consume every article by Frank X. Roberts is that no one else I know could cover a topic like found bookmarks in the Middle Ages. And, he includes illustrations! You’ll find his work at BiblioBuffet - Link

I do enjoy these articles about athletes and teams encouraging kids to read, and using bookmarks as memento of the event. Here, the University of Arkansas Razorbacks autograph the bookmarks of kids attending their library readings – Link

Project Bookmark Canada will place plaques with excerpts from Canadian authors’ works at sites throughout Canada, and the first will be in Toronto at the end April – Link

Mauro at The Russian Tearoom has a list of things he’s used as bookmarks – Link

Contests :

Studio618 is holding a contest where the winner will receive a bookmark based on the contest’s new design – Link

Etsy artist ArtbySteven has a contest where he is giving away bookmarks with his original designs, the contest is described at Rozzi’s Sweet Peas – Link

Contest Winners:

Minna Wang won the Massachusetts School Library Association’s annual bookmark design contest – Link

Make Your Own Bookmark

Instructions on making a corner bookmark with a tag embellishment, by Vivian Low at Cottonbud Design – Link

Here’s a fun kids project based on the theme of altered bookmarks, by Jennifer Hollowel at Suite 101 – Link

Here’s a tutorial along with the template to print and cut out these colorful clip style bookmarks, by Lynn at Jinjerup – Link

A short description on working with bark (yes, tree bark) to make a bookmark, by Twinkle Toes at Cut Out and Keep – Link

Here are templates for bookmarks that can be printed and colored and help teach the short vowel sounds in English, by Chrissie at Flip Flops and Applesauce – Link

Bookmarks For Sale

A Valentine’s Day themed bookmark personalized with a name, made by Olive Kids and available at Gifts Favor – Link

Etsy:

Some clip style bookmarks with sports themed ornaments, by Fiddlers Creek Designs – Link

On-Line Bookmark Collections

Punto de Papel:

Eight beautiful bookmarks with illustrations from the works of Julio Romero de Torres – Link

Mondopunt:

Bookmarks in the latest series from the publisher Salamandra – Link

Bookmarks promoting books published from a literary series – Link

A large set of bookmarks with an Easter theme, but mixing religion and tourism – Link

Flikr Images:

Very nice bookmark with an illustration of an owl reading a book with some swallows in a nest, by tpcat - Link

A hand knit bookmark with multiple heart design, by Cyndiva – Link

A nifty, hand made journal with an end paper over a built-in ribbon bookmark, by vicklw - Link

A nicely stitched image of a puppy on this fabric bookmark, by wolfmom2ac – Link

Hand Made Bookmarks:

A small cross-stitched bookmark, made by Tatyana at The World’s Largest Collection of Smalls Too – Link

A bookstore’s free bookmark altered by an art student, done by Mare Odomo – Link

An interesting ribbon bookmark with an ornament made from a domino that’s been stamped and decorated, by Terri Moore at Craft Stylish – Link

A bookmark made from punched paper cupcakes and clear contact paper, by Meg at Mega Craft – Link

Another hand made bookmark for the owner’s Twilight book, by Waffle at A Stamping & Chirping Corner – Link

2009 Bookmark Challenge:

I really want to point out the beautiful handmade bookmark ornament in this post discussing literacy news sites – Link

Here’s another handmade bookmark that’s illustrating a post with quotes about books – Link

A summary with photos of the third annual Bookmark Make-It-Take-It craft event in Anchorage (Alaska) – Link

Illustrating her post with some ribbon bookmarks with her handmade ornaments, Jen discusses trying her hand at making the ribbon itself (and we’ll see how often we can reference each others site) – Link

Okay, there’s an online needlework trade show that includes a contest where you can get a free bookmark pattern, stitch the bookmark pattern to get another free bookmark pattern (this repeats a few times), and when you make them all (3) you are entered into a contest (must be a needlework thing) – Link

Enjoy!

Bookmarks In the News

Articles:

An interesting article on poetry and bookmarks, both bookmarks mentioned within poems, and bookmarks that have poems on them, by Laine Farley at BliblioBuffet - Link

Here’s an update on that stolen Hitler bookmark that was recovered in Seattle. The suspect has pleaded guilty – Link

Contests :

The first annual Healthy Brain bookmark design contest is being sponsored by the Alzheimer Society of Brandt (Canada) – Link

Contest Winners:

Here’s an article recognizing Calvin Twombly, a 7 year old honorable mention winner of the Massachusetts School Library Association’s bookmark contest – Link

Brooke Elliot is the winner of her division in the same Massachusetts bookmark contest, themed “School Libraries: Learning for Life” – Link

Jennifer at The Literate Housewife Review announced the 25 winners of her contest to be the first members of the Bookmark It, Bookmark of the Month Club – Link

Swaps:

You swap bookmarks that contain your mini book reviews, at Swap-bot – Link

This is another book review bookmark swap, but internationally focused – Link

Make Your Own Bookmark

A tatting pattern for a cross shape that can be used for a bookmark, by Barbara Tozzano at Fortune City - Link

A video tutorial on making beaded book thongs, at Ashley Dupre Memoirs – Link

Another tutorial on making a corner bookmark from an envelope, at Cut Out + Keep – Link

Bookmarks For Sale

WARNING: this bookmark is shaped in the figure of a man which can be squashed in the pages of a book. Named the Dead Mark Bookmark, it’s available at Suck UK – Link

Etsy:

Here’s a Gorjuss bookmark titled I Found My Family In A Book – Link

And another Gorjuss bookmark, this one titled Ruby - Link

The House Of Mouse is selling a bookmark that can be customized with any of their mouse images – Link

On-Line Bookmark Collections

Punto de Papel:

Another (HUGE) collection of Harry Potter bookmarks; these are from the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Link

Mirage Bookmarks:

A lovely brushed steel bookmark, engraved and cut out with an image by Gustav Klimt , for sale from Mirage Bookmarks – Link

A vintage bookmark from a French perfume company that also serves as a scented sample card – Link

Mondopunt:

A big set of bookmarks from Greece which highlights the native birds – Link

A lovely set of illustrations that promote several popular operas to a younger audience – Link

Flikr Images:

A beautiful vintage Christmas card and bookmark, posted by RipTheSkull - Link

The last post brought me to the Flickr pool Vintage Bookmarks, which is pretty fun to scan through – Link

Hand Made Bookmarks:

A lovely little bookmark tatted from some sample thread acquired in an exchange, from Joy In Tatting – Link

A ribbon book thong with a Parisian theme, by Mad Red Hare – Link

A personalized bookmark and card, by Peanutos – Link

Another bookmark and card by Peanutos – Link

Icons from the Galaga game are cross stitched into this bookmark, and it appears the bookmark isn’t available on Etsy anymore – Link

Here are a few handmade bookmarks that I believe are made on clothespins, by Deanne at Just Wasting Time – Link

Miscellaneous:

This competition came and went, but the bookmarks used as prizes are intersting to look at, posted at Reading Matters – Link

Goodbye 2008

As I look back on the past year, two bookmark related items stand out as personal highlights for 2008. First, are the Bookmark Bookmarks posts that I’ve been able to publish every week. It’s been wonderful to see the prized bookmarks that other collectors have posted; the hand-crafted bookmarks made by talented artisans, for themselves, as gifts, or for sale; the interesting range of competitions put on for bookmark designers; and the latest bookmark related news and articles. I’m happy to be finding all of these wonderful tidbits, and I’m really happy that I’ve been getting the posts out on a (fairly) consistent basis.

The second bookmark related highlight for me this year has been meeting other collectors: face to face and collection to collection. Although bookmark collecting is a globally active hobby, and other collectors are really only an email, facebook post, or group message away, sitting across from another collector as we “ooh” and “aah” over each other’s collections is uniquely satisfying. I had the good fortune of meeting several times with Lauren Roberts of BiblioBuffet fame – who lives in my home town. And we also met with Laine Farley this last year, which meant that for a few hours we had a real bookmark collectors meeting. That was wonderful.

Hello 2009

So now I’m looking forward to 2009, and thinking about this opportunity to make some changes. I have a healthy skepticism about New Year’s resolutions, but I also appreciate this season of renewal.

And so I see two changes that I’d like to make in the next year which will build on accomplishments of the last. First, I’d like to be posting more than once a week. I believe the current Bookmark Bookmarks schedule makes sense. Once a week provides a good balance of content and frequency. Inspired by all the posts I find from other collectors, I’d also like to be posting more of my collection, at least once a week. There are also collectors’ issues that I’d like to be discussing, some specific to bookmark collectors, others to ephemera collectors, and some issues that are universal to anyone with the collector’s gene.

My second goal for the new year is to spend a bit more time with the bookmark collector’s community. I’ve seen various attempts at collector’s forums, and I’ve mainly been a passive observer (“lurker” being the common term). I’ll be supporting these other groups on the inter-webs, so look for my name and feel free to say “hi”. I’ve seen how participating with a group of fellow collectors makes this whole experience much more rewarding. And maybe someday we’ll all be able to gather a bit more frequently to share our collections.

So those are my reflective thoughts on a day that seems insistent on such things. I wish you all well in this new year, and I hope you find some truely wonderful treasures for your collections!

Enjoy!

Bookmarks In the News

Articles:

Laine Farley has the first part of her Bookmark Travelogue posted at BiblioBuffet, where she starts her discussion of the bookmark collecting highlights of her recent trip to Ireland – Link

Contests :

Another call for entries into The Bookmark Project at the Koffler Centre of the Arts (Toronto) in conjunction with their annual Jewish Book Fair – Link

Contest Winners:

In a very mixed-emotion story, the winners of the Colne Road Library’s (U.K.) bookmark contest were awarded at the party saying good-bye to the library on its last day – Link

Swaps:

An exchange of hand drawn bookmarks, at Carol’s Drawing Club, a forum for artists of all levels – Link

Over at Swap-bot there’s a new bookmark swap – 2 partners, 1 bookmark each – Link

Another Swap-bot swap, but this one’s a bit different. 5 postcards and a bookmark that show off the sender’s country are to be swapped with someone from another country – Link

Make Your Own Bookmark

A fine tutorial on making a corner bookmark, by Nicole at Crafting Happens – Link

Bookmarks For Sale

A set of classic looking bookmarks designed by the artist Rory Skagen – Link

Some more wedding favor bookmarks, these are heart-shaped and from Little Things Wedding Favors – Link

Clear Prospects makes a magnetic bookmark as a promotional item – Link

A post on how personalized bookmarks are an incentive to read, at Impressive Inscriptions – Link

A set of bookmarks created with magnifiers, from Eurofan - Link

The Food Bank at St. Mary’s

If I understand this correctly, Art for Food is a blog maintained to showcase the items for sale that were made at workshops to raise funds for The Food Bank at St. Mary’s in Seattle (Washington State). I’ve got a set of links to the bookmarks that were made (and are very nice!) -Link

Round blue beads and space needle charm – Link

Round green beads and space needle chanrm – Link

Pink hearts and clubs – Link

Blue green fish with sand dollars – Link

Gold filigree bead – Link

Amethyst silver with space needle – Link

Etsy:

A cute bird shaped paper bookmark in a library pocket, by MissesKwittys - Link

On-Line Bookmark Collections

Marcapaginas: Alia

With her first post in some time, Alia knocked my socks off with her collection of 15 gorgeous Art Nouveau related bookmarks – Link

Flikr Images:

Catamini’s latest bookmark image – Link

Hand Made Bookmarks:

A cross stitched poppy bookmark, by Theresa at Miss Honey Down Under – Link

Some crocheted flowers used to make bookmarks, by Sarah at Wake Up And Live – Link

Miscellaneous:

At the end of her post, Debbie shows off her Wizard of Oz bookmarkat Friday Friends Book Blog – Link

There’s something inspiring about talking with other collectors (especially when they have such impressive credentials). I had a great time talking about our collections, methods of collecting, and experiences collecting. I left inspired to spend a bit more time planning, organizing, expanding, and displaying my own collection.

Since that meeting, I’ve also spent some time thinking about how much I enjoyed sharing experiences and exchanging ideas. And, as I’ve recently been thinking about some new directions for the Bookmark Collector blog, I plan on experimenting with some interactive blog posts to try and share that same experience with more of you, the collectors who stop by this site. We’re connected worldwide, and we come with different experiences and a lot to learn from each other.

So, look forward to upcoming posts on bookmark naming conventions, categorizing bookmarks, displaying bookmark collections, and bookmark pricing summaries. Plan on leaving thoughts, ideas, opinions, and experiences. We can’t all meet for dinner at a restaurant on the beach with a beautiful view on a sunny day, but we can recreate that exchange of ideas and stimulating discussions.

Thank you Lauren and Laine and let’s hope we can do it again sometime.