The Deadbeat Club publishers have been crushing it lately with some amazing titles. I have a few of their books in my collection so when I went to Printed Matter’s Los Angeles Art Book Fair one of my top priorities was to find their booth, introduce myself to Clint Woodside - the founder, and see what new titles they had out.
Once I got to their booth, I was immediately drawn to Taylor Galloway’s book “I Can Feel You Dreaming” (Deadbeat Club publication #85). The book looks simple at first, but it so well printed and has a handcrafted feel to it. The images are wonderful, they allow the viewer to have their own interpretations of them, and they allow for unique experiences every time you revisit the book. The copy on display was a special edition with a small print from one of the images in the book which I loved. I like trains to begin with but the way the image is framed is absolutely perfect, I dig it. Taylor’s book gave me the opportunity to introduce myself to Clint.
Clint made a solid first impression, he knows his craft and is passionate about it. I told him how much I enjoyed owning a copy of Ave Pildas’s book Star Struck and I told him how I met Ave and Ian Bates at their book signing at Arcana Books. We started talking about Taylor’s book and how the Special Edition version was editioned to only 30 copies. Clint was showing me an artist proof and the other person in their booth said that AP copy was all they had left, that the edition had sold out. I guess I made a good impression on Clint because when I said I would still buy an AP copy because I liked it that much, he turned around and pulled out #30 of 30 which he had apparently set aside. I like to think Clint wanted to find a good home for the last copy of the special edition. If that’s the case, I am thankful I struck up that conversation. I am still pumped up about adding this book to my collection.
I have had a number of conversations with publishers over the last few years, Clint definitely stands out. I know I will be adding more of Deadbeat’s titles to my collection over time and I understand why Ave decided to publish one of his most important books with Clint.