A customer in Portland once told me my headbands were too tight

I was making a custom journal for her about five years ago, and she said the book wouldn't lay flat because the headband was pulling too hard. I always thought a tight headband was just part of a solid binding. I tried her suggestion to ease up on the tension, and the next book opened perfectly. Has anyone else had to unlearn a 'rule' like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

zara_coleman23d ago

Ever think some rules are just habits we never questioned? I used to press way too hard when sharpening pencils for sketching, thought it gave a cleaner point. Turns out I was just snapping the lead half the time. A friend watched me do it once and was like, why are you fighting that pencil?

clairec7823d agoTop Commenter

Totally! It's like how people hold a pen in a death grip when they write. My hand would cramp up in school because I thought you had to squeeze it that hard. Turns out a light touch works better and your writing doesn't look so tense. We just copy what we see without asking if it's actually the best way.

leep335d ago

The death grip thing hits close to home. So what makes us hold onto bad habits even when they clearly aren't working? Is it just the fear of looking dumb if we try something new? Or do we get some weird comfort from doing it the hard way, like we earned the struggle?