I don't know about you, but I love a good story about how a product came about. I thought I would share this with you because I found it so interesting!
The teflon bone folder is made by a family owned business. The inventor of this fabulous tool is a gentleman who has been a chemical engineer with over 30 years of experience. Part of his experience stems from the Ukraine, as that is where his family immigrated from over 18 years ago. When I met Yan over the phone I felt an instant bond with him - it was his accent. It is the exact same accent of my uncle. I too am from parents who immigrated to Canada (mine immigrated 82 and 74 years ago - they met and married in Canada). It turns out that both of my parents were born in almost the exact same location of the world as Yan. It is indeed a small world! But back to Yan's story.
He started this business about 7 years ago as a coating business and accidentally expanded into the bookbinding/conservation tool industry, and NOW the papercrafting world Ü. In meeting with a local bookbinder who needed assistance with her tools the discovery was made.
This bookbinder was also in a family business, passed down through her father over 40 years ago. They met with her in her bookbinding shop. Here she had all kinds of projects she was working on, such as old family bibles that needed restoration to books she was putting together for local schools. Yan was very interested in her business, being it was something he had no experience in, but respected highly being that it required much patience and expertise. She shared a lot about the business and happened to show them her bone folder that was actually made from metal! When they saw how she applied this bone folder they noticed that she had to be extra careful in sliding it because the metal being so dense, and the corners being rough left burnishing marks, as well as it was hard on the papers.
Yan's brain started "ticking", he's a very innovative man. So the story goes that it was indeed an accident that the discovery was made that there was a need for this tool, but if it wasn't for the vision that Yan had, this tool may not have never been invented. By the way, it is safe to say that when the bookbinder tested out the new product, she LOVED it! Customers now range across the United States and as far as England, New Zealand and further. The family is very proud of their tools and love being part of such a talented and creative industry.
The bone folders are made from Teflon unlike traditional bone material (or metal as in the first case). This composition gives the folder non-stick qualities, thus when you use your bone folder with glue it will NOT stick (such as for making boxes, bookbinding or now papercrafting!) or if you run it down the paper as you score your card you will not "shine" your paper as with the typical bone folder. They are also chemically inert, non-corrosive and non-contaminating. This makes it an ideal tool for conservators. So if you want acid-free, this is truly acid-free.
Recently at a conference in New York City, the 100th Anniversary of the Bookbinder's Guild, there were many individuals there that are current customers and everyone raved about the Teflon Bone Folder's. Testimonials are that "Once you touch one of these, you really can't put it down."
Well I kid you not - I feel the exact same way! I will never go back to using my old bone folder again and that is why I had to find this resource to share with all of you. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did when it was shared with me. Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful weekend!