We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeff Becker and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jeff, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I kind of bounce around in life, so it was more of an accident than a conscious choice. I was searching for a journal & either did not like the ones I saw or the ones I liked were too expensive. So I took a class at Two Hands Paperie & learned how to do a simple Coptic binding. I also bought a book by book artist Keith Smith, Non-Adhesive Bindings Vol 1. I went back to Two Hands a month or two later & asked the owner, Diana Phillips, if she offering any more classes. She remembered me & that I bought the book & told me “You know enough, go do something.”
So I looked thru the book & found a binding dating from the mid 1300s, called the Longstitch/Linkstitch.
I made one & showed it to Diana and she said it looked good. Good enough to sell in your store I asked?
She said Yes. A few months later she asked if I could teach a class on that binding. I said Yes and I was off & running.
I also play the mandolin with the Mad Dog Blues Experience, The Renegade Roosters, & the Hippie Buckaroos.
I like that bookbinding is methodical. You are allowed to take your time whereas playing music is more emotional, is in real time, & requires you to listen & make adjustments instantly.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started out making pottery. I went to an open studio tour in Tucson and saw a throwing demo. I asked the woman if anyone could do it, & she looked at me like I was a little crazy & said “yes,”I started taking classes and began to sell my pieces in a few stores. After a few years my company transferred me to Boulder & I didn’t have a space for a pottery studio. That’s when I took the book binding class. I enjoy making things and both pottery & book binding changed the way I look at things. I was no longer someone who was a consumer, if you will, I was someone who made things. Both pottery & bookbinding became an outlet, a way to express myself. And other people liked my work enough to buy it. It gave me confidence and I felt better about who I was & my place in the world. That moment in Tucson changed my life. I feel we all have a creative side & maybe we even go a little crazy if don’t have an outlet for it. I encourage everyone to try something. Even if you’re not great at it I believe it helps us. My music is also very important to me. It’s not a business I started but, like pottery & book binding, it’s about creativity, & showing yourself to the world & having an outlet for your voice. I’m not sure that my art stands so much apart from others but is more a part of a continuum.
These endeavors have helped me realize that in so many instances a problem’s solution is up to you & no one else. You need to take responsibility. And that’s OK.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to pARTiculars, the artist co-op I belong to and Two Hands Paperie. I like to wander around the Denver Art Museum & the Kirkland museum. I enjoy eating at The Post & Bastien’s Steak House in Denver. I like to find little family run businesses. Some my best times have been spent in places like that.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
For bookbinding: Diana Phillips, the previous owner of Two Hands Paperie.
The current owners of Two Hands Paperie, Mia & Gerald Semingson for their continuing support.
All the folks at The Book Arts League in Lafayette, CO.
Nancy Missbach, book binder, who sadly passed a way some years ago.
My wife, Katia who encourages & helps me make the journals.
pARTiculars Art Gallery & Teaching Studio in Lafayette, CO, an artists’ co-op that I am a part of & where I sell my books.
All my loyal repeat customers.
For music:
Barbara Jo Kammer for inviting me to play with the Hippie Buckaroos, Mad Dog Friedman band leader for the Mad Dog Blues Experience (who is also profiled on your blog), & Dan Harris band leader for the Renegade Roosters
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FatCactusStudios
Image Credits
Katia Becker