I quite like the idea of exposing the thread, of showing the work that goes into a book while also being aesthetically pleasing. And these books that you've posted videos for, Abby and Erin, are beautiful. Here's a relaxing and beautifully-shot video of binding a book with plexiglass boards--I quite like the mix of old and new technology that it creates in the final product.
The obvious drawback to handmade/bound books will be in terms of production. These methods are fabulous for short runs, special numbered/signed editions (like poetry presses often publish numbered broadsides as promotional items to give out at readings), or gifts like Erin mentioned.
We usually saddle-stitch booklets for courses, though, probably because we're thinking of portfolio projects as tools for us in terms of design as a business and most business entities will think of cost and ease of production as a balancing factor with the appearance of the finished product. Which isn't to say that a more unique project wouldn't be a bonus in a portfolio. Or that there aren't boutique presses that make more individualized decisions about how a book appears. Or that we shouldn't always consider alternate ways to design a product, especially when those decisions reflect the content and the audience of the book(let).
Since it is an industry standard, though, I thought I'd post a way to control stapling more effectively when making a one-off as a comp or final product for classes/portfolio items if you're not using a professional printer. Jeanne showed us in Type II how to insert the staples by hand, and this blog post shows step-by-step how to do so, as well as a method of using an open staple with an eraser under the pages to catch the ends of the staple instead of having them fold over on their own, which is kind of genius and I may have to try:
