Blind Walls Gallery: the museum on the street

In conversation with: Sandra Heshof

Over 340 pages with unique stories, beautiful images, interviews with artists and the famous Breda murals. The first edition - with an edition of 1000 pieces - was sold out in no-time. But not to worry: the presses are already running at full capacity. The second edition will be available in February!

Blind Walls Gallery is the museum on the street

More than 90 murals tell the stories of Breda. International artists work on an ever-growing collection of murals in this Brabant city. The murals tell stories about Breda's past, present and future.

The fifth anniversary of Blind Walls Gallery could not go unnoticed. Founder Dennis Elbers wanted to immortalize this with an anniversary book. "With a team of experts we went to work. The idea came from Graphic Matters, the design was made by George & Harrison, bindery Patist was responsible for the binding and we (NPN Drukkers) for the printing", says Sandra.

Basis of the design

The jubilee book is a work of art in itself. It has a colourful cover with the all telling text 'a painted history of Breda'. To see this with your own eyes, the inside of the cover is also a map, with which you can easily - and in real life - wander along all the murals.

'However, depth can be found throughout the book and can be sought when the reader feels the need through the use of excerpts'

Jolinde van Gelderen, designer at George & Harrison

"The paintings, because of their strong visual character, form the basis of the book. However, more depth can be found throughout the book and can be sought when the reader feels the need through the use of excerpts. The years of these stories determine the order of the walls in the book and help the reader to navigate through the pages," says Jolinde van Gelderen, designer at George & Harrison.

Dennis Elbers, creative director Blind Walls Gallery: "We wanted a book that combines both street art and cultural heritage. That combination makes it accessible to everyone. For residents of Breda, street art lovers and tourists. And if I'm going to make a book, it has to be one that can win prizes.

The colorful Blind Walls Gallery book has truly become a beautiful anniversary book."

Under the spell of the book

"It certainly turned out to be a beautiful book!", says Sandra. "When I received the first complete book from the binder, I sat down in a corner by myself; heartbeat in my throat, looking at the end result in my hands. I was really impressed. The whole thing just made sense. The next moment the book is handed over to the client. And then it goes fast. All of Breda was under the spell of the book.

The total production time took six weeks and the book sold out in one week with 1000 copies. Sales went faster than the production process. I've really never experienced that before."

'It took six weeks to produce the book and - with 1000 copies - it sold out in one week!'

Sandra Heshof, NPN Drukkers

The process at NPN Drukkers

Sandra: "At the end of May last year we received specifications from design agency George & Harrison. The application was extensive and had a lot of options. In the meantime, Dennis had started a crowdfunding campaign for the book, so we could also determine the budget. In August we finally got a 'go'.

The challenge was mainly in the combination of all the expanded pages, the different paper types and the finishing. Here too - as we saw earlier at AkzoNobel - the printing possibilities were part of the design phase. This would not be a standard production. I immediately called in the expertise of Mike Silva of Boekbinderij Patist. I have already made many special productions with them and they are technically very good".

A race against time!

"In early October, the blank dummy was delivered. With some minor adjustments, we could get started. It became a race against the clock. Especially when the print run was increased. Super of course - and normally it doesn't take any extra time - but the whole book had to be assembled by hand.

At the end of October we received the complete file of George & Harrison. All images were converted and lithographed where necessary. When I saw the complete proof, I was really impressed. With each step in the process you get a better idea of what it will really look like. Of course, it's always exciting to see whether the designer and the client are equally enthusiastic. And whether you translate their idea onto paper in the right way," says Sandra.

'Whether we would recommend NPN? I wouldn't just do it; we do it!'

Dennis Elbers, creative director Blind Walls Gallery

Result

Dennis: "The trick is to make a book that appeals to others enormously. And it is very nice to hear that people who have received the book, indicate that it has become so much more than they expected. Both in quality and in finishing and content. It now feels more like a limited edition because it is available in a limited edition."

This limited edition is still being expanded. The second batch is expected in February. "The sales of the first edition went so quickly that there was soon talk of a second edition. These thousand books will be printed with a soft cover. Which is cool, because that way the first edition really remains a collector's item", says Sandra.