On day 241, Noah Scalin took a loaf of bread out of the oven, stared at it, and wondered would happen next.

“That was one of those days when I had no idea if it would work,” says Scalin of his medium of choice on that particular day of his ambitious Skull-A-Day project.

The year was 2008 and Scalin had committed himself to creating an image of a skull out of a new material every day. It was an ambitious personal undertaking, but as word got out about his Skull-A-Day project, people around the world were pulled into the journey. Each day they waited to see what he would do next.

Scalin never failed to deliver.

Cut to 2014 and Scalin has built a platform for speaking, writing, and creating art based on his very successful, widely praised 365-day endeavor. He even wrote a book about it called, simply enough, Skulls. The Book was a hit. A top seller at Chop Suey Books in Carytown, as well as book stores around the world. He must have composed a very appealing and convincing query letter for the book to have entered publication as it is slightly out there, but then that’s the power of an impactful query letter! But there was one problem: the book was only half the story. The documentation for the book was cut short in favor of a timely release at the end of the project. After that yearlong journey, the entire collection of skulls-made with everything from embroidered thread and neon lights to bed sheets and flower petals-was never compiled in one volume.

That is, until now.

When the first book went out of print in 2010, Scalin and Ward Tefft, owner of Chop Suey Books, started thinking of a way to maintain the excitement and inspiration that still surrounded the project. Tefft, for his part, not only hosted the launch of the book in 2008 but had consistently sold copies since its publication. He saw firsthand how much joy it gave his customers. “It’s just one of those projects that really captures people’s imaginations,” says Tefft.

Scalin, too, saw the impact of the work. At that point he had been lecturing and creating work inspired from the book for two years. That autumn they got together and began to stir up plans for a new book. It would be three years until those ideas would begin to take shape.

In 2013, the simple concept was created: Chop Suey Books would fully publish the first complete collection of the Skull-A-Day project. But while simple in concept, this meant an independent bookstore in a small city would do the work of publishing, printing, and distributing a book of art. No small undertaking. “I didn’t expect he wanted to be a publisher in the true sense,” laughs Scalin. “But he didn’t want to make it an art book…because that really limits who has access to it. He wanted to take the full responsibility and make it affordable.”

For Tefft it was a labor of love, “This book had to be. Not only for the creativity, but also for the inspiration. I was willing to put money on it.” As the conversation evolved, there was the question of what Tefft would call his new publication company. Scalin joked, “What are you gonna say, Chop Suey Books Books?”

Ward liked it and the business that would support the new endeavor was born.

Their approach was truly DIY. Finding contacts through word of mouth, Tefft found a broker who helped coordinate the printing of the book. Meanwhile, Scalin pushed on the layout, building out the full story chronologically, slice-by-slice, skull-by-skull. With these gears in motion, the duo engaged fans by creating a Kickstarter campaign in June of 2014. It was a leap of faith that would gauge if there was a hunger for the book. But it was also a push to make the experience a truly shared one; not just between friends but the wider world as well. “That was a nail-biting month,” recalls Scalin, “but we raised $2,000 over our goal. It really showed us how much people wanted the project to happen. It was really humbling.”

And the results of their efforts are beautiful. The book captures every skull created over the course of the year of the project. It’s organized chronologically with a description of how the piece came together, what materials were used, and Scalin’s thinking behind it.

All of this is bound in a beautifully designed hardcover piece perfect for the Guggenheim or a coffee table of a Richmond apartment.

This seemingly simple project between an independent bookstore and a local artist is an expression of a true Richmond collaboration. Two friends coming together to see a book published was just the beginning. Both Tefft and Scalin sacrificed time, sanity, sweat, and cash to bring the project to life. They also brought together a group of fans-both old and new-to seek support, feedback, and a helping hand.

But it was more than that; they wanted to build a local precedent for what you can do when you pursue possibilities within your own community. “This is a model for other independent bookstores. Think about what you can do when you collaborate with artists in your community. Instead of looking outward to survive as a small business, look inward …look into your community. It could change the way you see your city,” says Scalin.

After seven years, with the help of a community of friends and fans, Scalin can finally consider his project fully baked. And as it turns out, the results are amazing.