designer bookbinders · NEWSLETTER OF DESIGNER BOOKBINDERS . NO 180. WINTER 2017. d. esigner bookbinders. contemporary book arts

NEWSLETTER OF DESIGNER BOOKBINDERS NO 180 WINTER 2017

designer bookbinderscontemporary book arts

2 introductionFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


EditorialWelcome to new Fellow Nicky Oliver and new Licentiate Richard Beadsmoore! Both very well deserved honours!

I’m (finally) doing a design binding by taking a class with Kathy Abbott at City Lit. I remember why I could never find the time to do a fine binding on my own! I’m gaining an even deeper appreciation of what so many of you do with such ease. I must admit that I feel a bit of an interloper amongst you. I’m really a conservator, but I have always felt that a good conservator should be a good binder. And it’s a lovely and satisfying way to develop handskills!

Please mark May 12, 2018 in your calendars. It’s the next Open Day at St. Bride’s. This will again be a part of London Craft Week. Demonstrations will be happening all day, so please do come. Volunteers will be needed on the day to help with various tasks. If you would like to write a review of a demonstration or of the day, please get in touch at [email protected]. There will be a members exhibition, so get binding!

Best, Talitha

2017 MEETING DATES

Saturday 20 January 2018 DBPL

Executive Committee

Saturday 24 February 2018 Applications

Fellows and Licentiates

Saturday 28 April 2018AGM/Spring Meeting

Winter Spotlight 2017The main event in the last quarter of 2017 features the Annual UK Bookbinding Competition. I attended the judging day and was delighted to see so many well-made, well thought out bindings. The number of entries was up by 50% from 2016, a great indicator of the importance of the competition. Please put it in your schedule to produce one next year.

Comments from the judges and the list of winners are on the following pages. I hope as many of you as possible were able to see the show at St Bride’s. If you missed it the winning bindings will be on show in central London at Shepherds in January. Details of next year’s set book are also in this newsletter. Get your copy early as they sell out fast.

Hannah Brown is now in place as DB’s new Publicity and Events Manager. She is busy collating lists, feeding our news to social media and making sure that everything runs smoothly. Please get in touch with her at [email protected] with any queries.

If you have any events you know of that should be advertised or promoted, not just in the UK but also from abroad, send it to Talitha Wachtelborn, our newsletter editor, at [email protected]. We want to make sure the newsletter publishes as much information as possible for book related happenings around the world.

There’s much to look forward to in 2018. DB is again participating at Collect at the Saatchi Gallery in February (free tickets available on request), followed by the wonderful biennial Fine Press Book Fair in Oxford in March. If you’ve never been then you have a treat in store. We will again be participating in London Craft Week in May, held at the St Bride Institute. It staged our first Associate’s Exhibition and I hope that even more of you will enter next time. And then there was that amazing trade fair…

I wish you all a good holiday season and that many good things will come your way in the New Year.

Cheers,

Lori

NEWSLETTER DEADLINES

SPRING ISSUE 1 February 2018

SUMMER ISSUE 1 May 2018

notices 3Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


ON THE FRONT COVER

Haein Song, Emily Dickinson: Selected Poems, 2017

Notice of Election for the Executive CommitteeApril 2018-2020.

The term of service of the present Executive Committee will come to an end at the AGM on Saturday 28 April 2018 and nominations are now being invited for the 2018-2020 term of office. It was agreed at the Executive Committee meeting in April 2016 that an election for an Executive Committee would take place in 2017 for a one year term, and in 2018 for a two year term.

The Executive Committee is made up of the President and eight other members; four Fellows, one Licentiate, one Associate and two others from the membership. The Executive Committee meets four times a year and meetings are held in London.

The Executive Committee is responsible for ensuring that the activities of Designer Bookbinders run smoothly. Keeping control of exhibitions and activities is a major area of the Committee’s work, as well as responsibility for developing the work and services of the Society. The work of the Executive Committee is central to the success and vitality of Designer Bookbinders, and being part of it is varied and interesting.

The closing date for nominations is Saturday 20 January 2018. Any member of Designer Bookbinders is entitled to both nominate and stand for election, and should there be a greater number of nominees than seats, ballot papers will be sent out with the Spring Newsletter. The elections will be held in April 2018.

If you are interested in standing as a member of the Executive Committee and would like further information please contact the Secretary.

Nominations should be sent to: Wendy Hood, Secretary, Designer Bookbinders, 24, Junction Road, Bath, Somerset, BA2 3NH. Tel: 01225 342793Email: [email protected]

Applications to become a Fellow or Licentiate of Designer Bookbinders.

Applications to become a Fellow or Licentiate of Designer Bookbinders will be considered at the next Fellows’ meeting on Saturday 24 February 2018.

Fellows of DB are elected on submission of their work and are considered to have achieved the highest standards in both design and technique. Fellows are the exhibiting members of the Society.

Licentiates are elected on the basis that their submitted work displays the potential in design and technique for them to be considered as candidates for Fellowship within a period of seven years. They also have the opportunity for their work to be shown in the Society’s exhibitions. DB is keen to encourage new talent and each Licentiate has two Fellows appointed as mentors to help develop their design and technical skills to the highest possible standard.

To apply you must be a practising bookbinder either born or resident in the UK, or have practised in the UK for at least five years for Fellowship and three years for Licentiateship and be resident in the UK when you apply.

If you are thinking of applying you may find it helpful to talk to a Fellow about your work.

Applications for Fellowship and Licentiateship should be received by the Secretary by Saturday 27 January 2018 (four weeks prior to the applications meeting).

For more information and details on how to apply please ask for a Fellow and Licentiate Pack from Wendy Hood, The Secretary, Designer Bookbinders, 24, Junction Road, Bath, Somerset, BA2 3NH. The pack can also be found in the Members’ Handbook. Email: [email protected] Tel: 01225 342793.

4 from afarFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


Writing about bookbinding in our country is not an easy task: book historians have tried hard to write an overview of today’s bookbinding story, but very rarely, if ever, managed to do it. With the input and help of Cristina Balbiano d’Aramengo, this article will try to give readers an idea of what is going on in Italy in bokbinding.

Italy has a long tradition in bookbinding going back to the 14th century, when the peninsula wasn’t yet a single country (it wouldn’t be until 1861). Historical bookbinding workshops are known and have been studied. During the last century, particularly after the 50-60s, Italian education implemented academic paths and young people were led towards universities that lacked technical and craft training. In the 60s, there were no schools or training programmes involving craft and fine bookbinding. Only professional institutes ruled by the Salesian Ecclesiastical Order offered training for various craft professions including typographers and bookbinders. Although the teachers were practising fine binding and were also known abroad, the school training was more oriented towards library binding processes, so that the students could, after finishing school, work in publishing fields on large scale production.

Afterwards, the “Istituti d’Arte” (Art institutes) trained “Maestri d’Arte” (Art Masters) in various fields, including bookbinding and book restoration. Unfortunately, in the last reformation law these schools were shifted to programmes mainly centred on graphic design, leaving only one school to keep up the tradition: the Scuola del Libro in Urbino. Without any official school, the only way to learn bookbinding was self-taught or through local cultural associations such as Prova e Riprova and Professione Libro.

Prova e Riprova, based in Torino since 1989, organises craft bookbinding and book restoration classes for amateurs as well as international exhibitions, trips and events about bookbinding. Some of the amateurs who learned bookbinding through Prova e Riprova achieved a remarkable level and were recognised and rewarded in international competitions, including those organised by Designer Bookbinders.

Professione Libro opened in 2005 in Milan thanks to Cristina Balbiano d’Aramengo. It now constitutes the reference point for bookbinding education, giving a wide range of workshops with professional Italian and international tutors teaching traditional and

Bookbinding in Italy contemporary bookbinding techniques.

The renewed interest in crafts and ‘Made in Italy’ is driving a re-evaluation of craftsmanship as a professional opportunity and is not simply a synonym of “homemade”. Instead, it implies great quality, attention to detail and high-level skills. This change hasn’t yet reached education institutions and ministers (but we hope it will soon), so educational programmes in schools for craftsmanship still need to be re-evaluated.

With book conservation it is completely different; now part of the conservation-restoration training follows international guidelines and translates into a codified five year university course. It includes historical, artistic and scientific training, giving the book conservator-restorer a proper education with sound scientific basis and is now, in 2017, very different from a craft bookbinder’s job.

With the lack of proper and recognised training, the new wave of interest for bookbinding in universities comes from the design field. Graphic design schools, such as he Politecnico di Torino or NABA, the Fine Arts Academy and the Professional Training centre CFP Riccardo Bauer in Milan include bookbinding workshops held by professional tutors. New designers are doing a kind of reverse path, from digital design back to “analogue” and tangible methods such as letterpress and bookbinding.

So, who’s the professional Italian bookbinder now? Many traditional “Botteghe” are still running, carrying on the tradition with a contemporary twist. Sometimes these workshops are still run by the original family (such as the Giannini family, where Maria is the 6th generation of bookbinders since 1856). Sometimes they were passed to apprentices who later became masters (like Bottega dei Gozzi, opened in Modena in 1902 and now run by the “heirs” of the last apprentice,

Workshop at Professione Libro.

from afar 5Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


Pierangelo Faggioli).Some of these are known in the design binding field and have won awards outside Italy in international competitions: Fabrizio Bertolotti, bookbinder for Còdina, founded in Milan in 1955 by Giovanni Còdina, now run by the sons Tiziano and Natale; and Luciano and Paola Fagnola, father and daughter, who run the Bottega Fagnola in Torino, a workshop born in 1955 as a simple bookbindery that expanded the business during the decades to box making, tooling, book and paper restoration, fine and design binding and, now,

also teaching and training.The vast majority of bookbinders are working solo (Ivo Guzzon, Luigi Castiglioni, Sybille Pino, Milena Alessi). Some of them come from bookbinding training, in the field or at schools, or abroad at the Centro del Bel Libro in Ascona (Cristina Balbiano d’Aramengo, Paola and Luciano Fagnola, Luigi Castiglioni and Attilio Grossi, President of Prova e Riprova, studied there). Some are trained as book and paper conservators and include bookbinding as a complementary activity. Some young designers have a degree in graphic design and are now applying their knowledge to developing products that involve craftworks such as letterpress, silkscreen, embroidery or bookbinding.

Italian craftsmen who are very focused on their work have not completely overcome the old idea of “keeping the professional secrets between the workshop’s walls” and are not used to the idea of networks and associations. Linguistic barriers can also be a factor. Older Italian bookbinders have stayed inside the borders, so very few faces and names are seen at exhibitions or conferences. Even book dealers and bibliophiles within the country do not know them

and tend to look abroad for binders.ARA Italia was the main national association that made a connection between the national and international network, facilitating the exchanges of ideas and knowledge through conferences, trade magazines or materials and tool supply. Due to the lack of people and resources, ARA has been inactive in the last years and its last exhibition was organised in 2010 at the Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome.

In this fragmented scenario of single operators not travelling much outside the country, a figure like Carmencho Arregui is a remarkable and eminent exception: She is a Basque who took residence in Italy over 40 years ago and is well known internationally for her Crossed Structure Bindings developed and taught since 1992. However, she is almost unknown in Italy.The profession is little known in book-related fields, so it follows that it is almost ignored by the general public. This excludes the two international competitions and exhibitions that took place in Macerata in 1998 and 2002. Nowadays there are some efforts to create fine/design binding exhibitions touring around Italy, but these aren’t yet organised by people with knowledge in the field.

Despite the fragmentation and the lack of education, the few names that are known within and outside the borders are keeping up their work as bookbinders and teachers, spreading the art of bookbinding with passion and ensuring quality. Their experience is shared with a new generation who exhibit a craving to learn and practise. We like to see this as some small seeds that have the chance to grow into beautiful and strong plants, with sound roots and branches reaching a long distance.

Paola Fagnola

Pieces for Piece, Paola Fagnola, 2014.

Exercises de Calcul, Cristina Balbiano d’Aramengo, 2011.

6 new fellowFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


Nicky Oliver

I had a childhood filled with making ‘stuff’. My teenage years were filled with making ‘things’. I studied illustration and graphic design in art colleges, then university. Here I was introduced to more tools, more equipment and more materials. All of which enabled me to develop a palette of techniques. My original plan was to leave university with a plump portfolio full of delicious surface designs and illustrations and romantic notions of getting into an animation studio designing backdrops or into a textile company who wanted to recreate my pieces for fabrics.

Then I discovered bookbinding. That was in 1996.

In 1999 I met Mark Cockram at London College of Printing while studying a HND in Bookbinding. A few years after that, I

attended his bindery, Studio 5, and was introduced to Design Binding. A miniature explosion erupted inside my head, like droplets of ink on wet paper, and I realised that I could finally use my palette of techniques and combine them with this wonderful craft.

I think of myself as a Maker first and a Bookbinder second. I don’t consider myself as a traditional Bookbinder and my education certainly hasn’t been that of one. I have hunted and gathered my knowledge over the years; a workshop here and there, tuition in private studios; bookbinding books and a huge thank you goes to my bookbinder friends who shared their time and knowledge with me.

I spent a few years working in various binderies and would sporadically attend Studio 5, slowly building up my hand skills. At the end of each day I would go back to my small workshop to practise and experiment until the wee hours. Mark encouraged me to become a member of Designer Bookbinders in 2008 and to enter their annual competitions. In 2010 he successfully persuaded me to apply for my Licentiateship. It was also around this time I established my own place: Black Fox Bindery.

All of the factors above have enabled me to develop a particular approach to my design bindings. Every book is different. Each one has its own voice, rhythm and tone. The content will influence my design. I read, study and research the text before the creative process begins, which will go through several stages. Quite often my first ideas are discarded after having undergone the various processes. But the idea still needs to be explored – exorcised even. It is the process that is vital. This is where the ‘happy accidents’ can occur, an unplanned incident or the marrying up of different techniques, each of which have been honed over many years.

I work from inside the book to the outside. The endpapers and doublures are designed first then the rest of the binding can take shape, moving onto the edges of the pages, the end-bands, and then the cover. So the essence of the book spills from within.

I believe that it is important to always find time to play and experiment. This keeps the love of any craft alive. Recently I have taken a momentary side step from the book form and have started to collaborate with other craftspeople such as a handbag designer and an upholsterer. I dye different types of leather and then incorporate them into their pieces. This gives me the opportunity to return to my surface design background which in turn allows me to explore new techniques. All this feeds back into my ever growing palette, creating fresh ideas for my bindings.

Nicky was elected Fellow of the Designer Bookbinders in February 2016.

new licentiate 7Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


Richard Beadsmoore

It is now eighteen months since I became a Licentiate and I’ve finally got round to writing a few words about myself. My aversion to paperwork in a way explains why I’m now a bookbinder. I had a long and very enjoyable career as a sound designer in Radio Drama for the BBC and was privileged to work with some of the country’s finest actors and writers. Gradually though I was persuaded to take on more and more of a management role – any followers of the television comedy “W1A” will see where this is leading! I’ve always been an avid reader and collector of books and while working, had done some evening classes at City Lit with Nesta Davies, but even if I managed to make the start on time all I really felt like was a quick cup of coffee and a snooze on the tube home. One day I saw the light – actually an advert for Kathy Abbott’s fine binding course at City Lit – and I decided it was time to take early retirement and channel my creative side into physical objects rather than plays that would fade into the ether.

I duly took Kathy’s class for one day a week for four years during which time I also studied gold tooling with Tracey Rowledge and various other short courses. I had some success in competitions, coming third in the fine binding section of the Society of Bookbinders International Competition in 2013 with a binding of Shakespeare’s sonnets and that same year winning the student craft prize in the Elizabeth Soutar competition. As a result of which my binding of “Through the Woods” is now in the collection of the National Library of Scotland. I was now feeling more confidence in my abilities and after some soul searching (did I really need the extra pressure?) I decided to apply for Licentiate – and much to my amazement got it.

As a ‘late developer’ I feel I have a lot of catching up to do, particularly never having been to art college, and to that end I’m now studying with Mark Cockram at Studio 5.

I don’t know that I have a particular style, preferring to be guided by the text, but on reflection most of my bindings do have gold on them somewhere!

Venus and Adonis, 2016

A Shropshire Lad, 2016

The Songlines, 2011

8 lcbaFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


London Centre for Book Arts is an artist-run, open-access studio providing education programmes for the community and access to printing, binding and publishing resources for artists & designers.

Being artists ourselves, and passionate about artist books and artist-led publishing, we were acutely aware of the lack of support for emerging artists outside of universities. We wanted to create a space open to everyone, regardless of background, education, or expertise. A place to pool resources, skills and ideas to help one another and to grow and strengthen the book arts and artist-led publishing community in the UK.

The studio is based in Fish Island in east London, just across the canal from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in what was once known as “Printers’ Paradise,” the heart of London’s print industry. We ended up in Fish Island serendipitously, but we like to think that we’re playing a modest part in keeping the local heritage alive.

The Centre as it is now is the result of borrowing elements from other existing models (other open-access studios within the UK, and book centres across the US), and of five years of experimenting in real-time with the public, studio members, artists, publishers, and between ourselves, to find out what works best, and what can be sustainable.

In August this year, we successfully completed a Kickstarter campaign to expand and improve the studio to meet the needs of our members and community. As of now, we are in the midst of turning our plans into action: to repair and replace key bits of equipment; building and organising a new space dedicated to reprographics and publishing; refurbishing our new additional studio space dedicated to workshops and a new and expanded reference library.

In 2016 we were approached by Pavilion Books to write a book based on our popular bookbinding workshops at the Centre. It turned out to be quite an undertaking, along with all of the other projects we had on at the time, but we managed to put together something of which we are both proud, and had the pleasure of working with our talented friends Yuki Sugiura (photography), Jay Cover (illustration), and Makoto Yamada (design). The UK edition of the book was launched in August this year, and the US edition will be published by Princeton Architectural Press in November.

Being such a small organisation, it often feels like we’re having to keep a lot of plates spinning at the same time. Things do get easier as time passes, and none of it would have been possible without the help of our volunteers and the support of our growing community.

London Centre for Book Arts

Letterpress printed poster designed by Jay Cover for our Kickstarter campaign.

Simon Goode teaching bookbinding in the new expanded studio.

Pavilion Books / Yuki Sugiura

wessex 9Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


At the heart of it all is a belief in sharing . We started the Centre because we realised that the economic and political realities of being an artist (particularly in a city like London) meant that you can’t do it on your own; it takes a whole community of artists, designers, technicians, craftspeople, educators, students, and hobbyists to pool resources and expertise. By no means are we the first group of artist to come to this conclusion, but we think that sharing, or working

The Wessex Guild of Bookbinders was formed with the aim of keeping alive and promoting the craft of bookbinding on a non-professional basis. This was in 1968 after the class at the Bournemouth Municipal College, run by Eric Burdett, closed.

Over the years the Guild has met in various locations, ranging from a convent, via a manor house, to its current location in a chicken shed! During this time membership has fluctuated from a mere handful to the dizzying heights of today’s 24 members.

The move to the current location was brought about, after 30 years, by the loss of the extremely generous patronage of the Hanham family and it was a very real possibility that the Guild might cease to exist. On first inspection, the portion of old chicken shed on offer, some 4 miles north of Wimborne Minster, was less than inspiring. It had a dirt floor, a pile of soil, a broken tractor, no water and very dubious electric lighting along with what appeared to be about 100 years’ worth of general rubbish and cobwebs. BUT it was affordable, just.

The enforced move was a shock; to survive, subscriptions had to increase from £15 a year to £200 and membership numbers needed to increase. In the past the Guild had tried to let people know that it existed, but there was little urgency. The small group of “silver haired” binders were quite happy with their lot and had little need to alter the situation.

In the four years since the move, membership has more than doubled and a concerted effort has been made to promote the Guild, including a website. The Guild has also established itself within the local community, with its ‘Make a Book’ session a regular and popular attraction at the annual Wimborne Minster Literary Festival. The Guild has also trained members of the congregation of a local church, and supplied materials, to enable them to repair their hymn books. It runs regular beginners’ courses and works with a local school to teach bookbinding to years 10 and 11.

Next year will be The Guild’s 50th anniversary and a major part of the celebrations will be the staging of an exhibition at Walford Mill Craft Centre, in Wimborne Minster. The exhibition is aimed at the general public and will showcase work by Guild members. As well as having static displays of bookbinding, each Saturday during the exhibition, members of the Guild will demonstrate different aspects of bookbinding.

The exhibition runs from Saturday 13th of January to Sunday 25th of February.

www.wessexguildofbookbinders.co.uk

together, is the only real model for creating and establishing a fair, dignified and sustainable way of work.

Simon Goode & Ira YonemuraFounders and directors of the London Centre for Book Arts

www.londonbookarts.org

The Wessex Guild of Bookworkers

10 judges reportFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


Every book - worked, folded and stitched - is a Pandora’s Box, and each book is embossed with “Do Not Open”.

An invitation to disobey - tumble down a narrative rabbit hole and plunge into a wealth of all things flattist. A tactile world of fore-eges, endpapers, heads & gutters, forwarding & finishing, rich leather smells - a Babylonian bookshelf of the new & the traditional, the imaginative & the personal. The Caucus-race is over. But who has won? Impossible comparisons. “Everybody has won, and all must have prizes.”Oona Grimes, artist and visiting lecturer at Ruskin School of Fine Art

Can you judge a book by its cover?

Not altogether! It is about design, structures, materials and techniques and when it all comes together, in harmony, you have a winning binding. This is a thing of beauty and we were privileged to see such bindings on the Designer Bookbinding judgement day. It was fascinating to witness the originality and thoughtfulness of nearly every entry. Some were striking in design but slightly missed on some of the technical detail, others were brilliantly innovative but not enabling sufficient engagement with the subject matter. There was imaginative use of materials with minor flaws in the finishing and then there were volumes that achieved a balance of all ingredients. It seems the most beautiful can be the simplest and purest design and technique. This approach is sympathetic to content, enables this art form most expression, and, in the judges’ opinion, exemplifies a winning formula.

Thank you for enabling me to observe such beautiful bindings and congratulations to all entrants for every piece was a delight.Helen Esmonde, past Master of the Stationers’ Company

Some 50 or so bindings were set out on the table, divided into set-book entries and open choice ones.

The judges were initally asked to select the first two prizes for the set-book and we each went round them all, carefully assessing them and then each selecting

two or three bindings which we felt were contenders for the two top prizes in their category. So, there were eight or nine bindings on a separate table for the four of us to consider. The standard was high and we could probably have awarded the prizes to several of the books, but it didn’t take long for the favourite to emerge, followed after some discussion, by the second. We all loved the pristine simplicity of Haein Song’s binding using alum-tawed leather and spare tooling. The handling of the materials was exemplary and every aspect of the design followed through, echoing the simplicity of Emily Dickinson’s poetry and her life (and decision always to wear white). The second prize had something of the same delicate approach to the subject but using purple leather and butterfly imagery, again beautifully made and conceived.When it came to selecting the winners of the open-choice book, the subjects and the scale of the bindings was very varied. We were comparing apples with pears. Again we scrutinised every aspect of the bindings from the forwarding to the finishing to the design and in some cases, the presentation. I found the winning binding almost straight away, but I thought that perhaps its small scale and simple construction might rule it out with my fellow judges. However, we all agreed that Richard Beadsmoore’s little binding had what we were looking for: very good use of interesting materials and technique and a simple, but very effective and contemporary design. Having awarded prizes for two leather bindings in the set-book category, we found we had rewarded non-leather bindings for the open-choice – not deliberately but because we all wanted to acknowledge the diversity of binding and artist books and the two winners had approached the binding in such interesting ways.

There were so many bindings that we would have liked to reward in one capacity or another and we were able to do that by awarding some of the other prizes for particular aspects of the work. But there were so many others which deserve encouragement.As in previous years, I found that the set-book produced the better bindings - the discipline of having to bind a given text and reading and researching it seems to bring more thoughtful results.Angela James, Fellow of Designer Bookbinders

I was delighted to be invited to join the judging panel for the Designer Bookbinders 2017 Competition. To see such a variety of imaginative and beautiful book bindings for the set Folio Society book Emily Dickinson Selected Poems was a real pleasure. To be able to pick up and hold the books and examine carefully and see the exquisite and unique treatment of the bindings from their outer covers, endpapers, doublures, head and tail bands, page edges, etc. was a very satisfying

Designer Bookbinders Annual Competition 2017 - Judges report

judges report 11Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


experience. It also made for some difficult decisions but we were unanimous in our admiration for the book that has won first prize for the set book competition. The simplicity and elegance in its binding, appropriateness to the poetry and inside engravings and the poet herself, and astonishing skill in its creation, made it the stand-out choice. Just beautiful!

We then turned our focus to the open choice entrants. I found this a much harder task as there was such a variety in the books chosen to bind and in the approach. But again there were a handful of bindings that simply stood out and these made it to the top table. After much deliberation, the winning entry was chosen. The originality of the binding, materials used, and skill in execution made it a most covetable item.So many of the entries deserve recognition and the standard of entry was very high, so I am pleased that there are a host of other prizes to be awarded.Julie Farquhar, The Folio Society

THE JUDGES FOR 2017 WERE:

Julie Farquhar, The Folio Society

Helen Esmonde, Former Master of the Stationers’ Company

Oona Grimes, Artist and Visiting Lecturer at The Ruskin School of Art and The Royal College of Art

Angela James, Fellow of Designer Bookbinders

The exhibition of the 2017 Competition took place atSt Bride Foundation from 17th November - 29th November 2017.

The exhibition will tour to Shepherds from 18 January to 1 February 2018. 30 Gillingham Street, London, SW1V 1HUMonday to Friday: 10am - 6pmSaturday: 10am - 5pmSunday and Bank Holidays: Closed

Haein Song, Emily Dickinson: Selected Poems 2017

12 heroic works in BostonFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


The opening of Heroic Works at North Bennet Street School on Thursday 2 November was a grand affair with a blockbuster guest list.

On show were the 28 Prizewinners and 9 USA binders. The 1st prizewinner, Andrea Odametey was also present and gave a talk about her work. Simon Eccles and Miguel Gomez-Ibanez, President of North Bennett Street School, gave speeches.

Heroic Works: Grand Opening Night at North Bennet Street School, Boston, MA

The next day, the two DB curators also gave talks: Lester Capon on his conservation work in Ethiopia and Sue Doggett on her creative approach to bookbinding.

Lester talked about his continuing work on the 6th. Century Garima Gospels manuscripts and other early artifacts. Descriptions of the work undertaken were accompanied by descriptions of the conditions in which the work was carried out in the northern highlands of Ethiopia.

Sue Doggett’s talk covered aspects of her working practice; methods, materials, approach to design and some of her interests outside the book world. The overall aim of the talk was to share her ideas about what design binding is and why she makes books. The question, ‘in a world filled with visual objects, how does the design binding function?’ was explored through a series of case studies on recent bindings and commissions: ‘Lac des Pleurs’ by Gaylord Schanilec, History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund and Spiritualists and Suffragettes, an artist’s book designed and made by Sue herself.

two points east 13Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


Designer Bookbinders Open Day and Associate Members Exhibition at St Bride 2018As part of London Craft Week, DB and St Bride will again be collaborating in an open day on Saturday May 12th from 10am-5pm.

The Associate Members exhibition will be taking place again, books will be on display throughout the day and visitors will be able to vote for their favourite binding. The winner will receive a £50 voucher for Shepherds Bookbinders, sponsored by DB and Shepherds.

There will be an exhibition of work by Fellows and Licentiates in the Layton Room, throughout the week.

The popular suppliers fair will be back again with a range of exquisite leathers, unique hand decorated papers, tools and books.

Throughout the day there will be free events for visitors to enjoy including demonstrations, tutorials and have a go sessions. This year booking will not be necessary and events will be open to everyone.

Volunteers will be needed throughout the day to direct visitors and help with the activities, so if you are coming for the day and could spare an hour or two it would be much appreciated.

More details will follow in the New Year, so save the date and get binding!

Two Points East in sheets

Written and published by Judith Ellis, this lavishly illustrated and highly readable history of the East Anglian coast is available to binders in nine folded, uncut sections. Measuring approx. 20cm x 14cm when trimmed and with 136 pages, the book is printed on good quality heavy paper.Now, due to an error at the printers, and to our good fortune, more copies were produced than were ordered, so Judith is kindly offering copies to binders at a nominal cost of £5 per copy plus postage. If you are new to design binding this book would be an ideal starting point to work with – a high quality book to bind from scratch rather than just another boring blank book! If you are a tutor, maybe it is an opportunity for students to get into design bindings? There is certainly plenty of content to draw inspiration from, including the history of the coastal towns of Norfolk and East Anglia, its geology and natural history, fishing, boatbuilding and other industries, its folklore and its people.To simplify things for Judith, I have agreed to hold a stock of the books for distribution so if anyone would like copies, contact me, let me know how many copies you would like and we can sort out payment which I will then pass on to Judith (first-come first-served!). Let me know if you have any queries.

Glenn Malkin

[email protected]

14 exhibitions and competitionsFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


After last year’s success, Designer Bookbinders will be presenting again at the prestigious international art fair for contemporary objects ‘Collect 18’ in London. New work of Fellows, Licentiates and invited Associates will be on show (and for sale). Also one of the four dedicated spotlight-stands on Collect will focus on fine bindings. The Crafts Council has invited Annette Friedrich to present her new body of work ‘Woolf I – IX’. Please do all come and make this a reason to come to London. We will have an ample contingent of free tickets that will be available to DB members (ticket at the door: £15). We will send an email around nearer the time.

Date: 22nd to 25th of February, Saatchi Gallery, Chelsea, London

DB at Collect 18

Exhibition Tour

The exhibition, entitled Heroic Works, comprising the 28 prizewinners and a further 9 selected bindings, will tour to:

North Bennet Street School 3 November – 22 December150 North StreetBoston, MA 02109 USA(28 prizewinners and 9 selected USA binders only)

This exhibition tour to Boston is in memory of Lisa von Clemm. Members of DB know what a great influence she was in many aspects of the Society’s activities. She was, however also a devoted supporter, advocate, patron, colleague and friend of the North Bennet Street School, and served on the School’s Board of Directors (1989-2014), maintaining a Hunnewell family connection to the School that began in 1911, and she remained actively interested and involved until her death in March 2016.

Annual UK Bookbinding Competition 2018 THE SET BOOK 2018 Ray Bradbury: The Illustrated ManIntroduction by Margaret AtwoodIllustrations by Marc BurckhardtThe Folio edition is 234 x 156mm, and 216 pages.

‘A poet in all he writes, too full of imagination to be anything but a prophet’. John Betjeman

The Illustrated Man is Ray Bradbury at his very best – sixteen startling tales that built on his breakout collection The Martian Chronicles and paved the way for his dystopian masterpiece Fahrenheit 451.

At first glance, this is science fiction rooted firmly in 1950s America – the paranoia of McCarthyism, apocalyptic fears of the Cold War, concern about colonial ambitions, racial segregation and the dangers of television. But as Bradbury’s stories rise before us, we find that the questions he asks, and the anxieties he explores, are universal.

In her insightful introduction, Margaret Atwood explores Bradbury’s unique talent and how encountering his work in her formative years shaped her own writing.

The Bookbinding Competition is sponsored by Designer Bookbinders and The Folio Society and is open to anyone resident in the UK with the exception of Fellows of Designers Bookbinders. Charity registration No. 282108.

Via PayPal via the Designer Bookbinders website. You do not need a PayPal account to use this service. (http://www.designerbookbinders.org.uk/competitions/annual_competition/annual_competition.html)

By cheque made payable to Designer Bookbinders to: Lester Bath, 25 Ffordd Ffrydlas, Bethesda, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 3BLWhen ordering the set book from Lester Bath, please include your email address.

Every entrant must bind the set book, but we welcome open-choice books and artist’s books. The closing date for entries will be October 13th 2018.

NEWSLETTER OF DESIGNER BOOKBINDERS NO 178 SUMMER 2017


exhibitions 15Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.

Oxford Fine Press Book Fair

The 2017 Oxford Fair has been postponed until 24-25 March 2018. It will now be held in the Kassam Stadium Conference and Events Centre in Oxford, details of which can be found at www.thekassamstadium.com.

Sint Niklaas 21st Bookbinders´ Fair BelgiumSunday 9 April 2018 11:00-17:00

‘t BAU-HUISSlachthuisstraat 609100 SINT NIKLAASBelgiumhttp://www.boekbindbeurs.nl/en/content/sint-niklaas

This exhibition will illustrate the graphic design of handwritten manuscripts and inscriptions for the first thousand years of English, across the Middle Ages.Showcasing the Bodleian Library’s rich holdings of medieval manuscripts in English, ranging from Old English picture books or notes scratched into herbals, through fragments of medieval songs scribbled on spare pages, to masterpieces framed with illustrations and gold, or new page designs for practical tasks, such as manuals for handling swans. It will cover the experiences of both the makers and the users of writing: how craftspeople planned and made books, and how readers responded to their designs.To show the likeness to modern craft, Designing English will be shown for the first two months alongside Redesigning the medieval book: a display of contemporary book arts inspired by the exhibition, through a workshop and competition.

1 December 2017 — 22 April 2018

ST Lee Gallery, Weston LibraryWeston Library Inofrmation desk 01865 277094

Opening times:Monday to Saturday 10am-5pmSunday 11am-5pm

Designing English

A display of newly created artist’s books inspired by medieval manuscripts.The books on display will be taken from a recent competition which invited contemporary bookbinders, papermakers, calligraphers, illustrators, graphic designers, hand press printers and other artists to submit their designs. The winner and a selection of entries will be on display in Blackwell Hall to run alongside the exhibition Designing English.

1 December 2017 — 21 January 2018

Blackwell Hall, Weston LibraryWeston Library Information desk 01865 277094

Opening times:Monday to Friday 8.30am-5pmSaturday 9am-5pmSunday 11am-5pm

Redesigning the medieval book

Gallery HoursMon-Fri 11am-6pmSat 10am-5pm

THE INTERNAL MACHINE

FELICIA RICE: COLLABORATION AND METAMOR-PHOSIS

FACULTY FELLOW: MARK COCKRAM

All exhibits open October 6-December 16, 2017

Degrees of Innovation :: Alumni of the Mills College MFA Program in Book Art and Creative Writing

Exhibition Dates :: October 13, 2017 through January 14, 2018

Location :: San Francisco Center for the Book, 375 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, CA

NY Center for Book Arts

SF Center for the Book

16 courses and moreFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


16 coursesFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.

DB Masterclasses 2018The Spring 2018 season of DB Masterclassses is now available for booking. Each Masterclass will be held at the St Bride bindery in Central London with a maximum class size of only 6 students, so, early booking is recommended.

Payment can be made by cheque or Debit/Credit card. To book places please contact Wendy Hood: Email [email protected] / Tel: 01225 342793

Terms & conditions and further information at:http://www.designerbookbinders.org.uk/teaching/dbmasterclasses/dbmasterclasses.html April 14-15 Rachel Ward-Sale - ‘Endpapers’

During this two-day practical workshop students will learn about different types of endpapers and their applications. There will be the opportunity to try several of the styles, with and without leather joints. We will also cover some techniques for decorating endpapers and students may bring papers to experiment with.Cost: £200Materials cost: TBA

May 19-20 Lori Sauer - ‘The Visual Language of Bookbinding’

Half seminar and half hands-on, the class will take an in-depth look at how creating visual narratives can be mapped and approached. Exercises designed to hone and stimulate ideas form the basis for later discussion.Students will gain a better understanding of how to channel their vision into intelligent and positive resultsCost: £200 Materials cost: TBA

June 16-17 Julian Thomas - ‘Edge Gilding’

The workshop will begin with a demonstration of edge gilding. Students will then be taught in detail how to gild both a deckled and a solid edge. Preparation of albumen glair, gilding boards and sharpening of the scrapers required to prepare your edge will also be taught. Cost: £200Materials cost: £5

DESIGNER BOOKBINDERS BURSARIES Designer Bookbinders is pleased to have the opportunity to award bursaries to provide financial assistance towards the cost of the current programme of DB Masterclasses and Joint DB/SoB Workshops.

The bursaries are aimed at:

UK binders who need financial help to cover the class fees.

• Bursaries of £150 will be awarded to contribute to the cost of a DB Masterclass.

• Bursaries of £100 will be awarded to contribute to the cost of a Joint DB/SoB Workshop.

Overseas binders who wish to travel to the UK to take part in the classes and need help with travel costs.• Bursaries of £200 will be awarded to contribute

to the cost of a DB Masterclass or a Joint DB/SoB workshop.

The normal terms and Conditions for bookings will apply to the Masterclass and Joint Workshop series.

The number of bursaries is limited and they are available to bookbinders and practitioners of the craft who are seriously and actively pursuing ways to extend their skills and learning.

Applications will be accepted anytime after classes are announced but MUST arrive no later than 3 weeks prior to the class date. Participants who have already booked for the remaining 2017 masterclasses are eligible to apply immediately.

Anyone who wishes to take advantage of these bursaries is asked to email or write to the DB Secretary naming the Masterclass or Workshop of choice. They will then be asked to complete an application form to be considered before an award is made.

If you would like any further information please contact the Secretary, Wendy Hood at [email protected] , Tel: 01225 342793, or write to 24, Junction Road, Bath, Somerset, BA2 3NH.

DB/SoB Joint CoursesApril 3-4 Hannah Brown - Surface decoration techniquesBradford-on-Avon

March 24-25 Lori Sauer - Strapped-on case in fabricDaffodil Barn

April 28-29 Abigail Bainbridge - Bookbinding according to DiderotLCBA, London

30 June-1 July Nesta Davies - Mastering MiniaturesDaffodil Barn

Workshops take place on a Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm with suitable breaks. The fee for each workshop is £150 plus a charge for materials provided by the tutor and payable ‘on the day’.

For all enquiries and further information, please contact Sarah Burnett-Moore by email: [email protected].

courses 17Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


Bookbinding courses

centro del bel libro asconaDieter KläyViale St. Franscini 30P.O. Box 2600CH-6501 BellinzonaSchweiz(+41) 91 825 11 [email protected]://www.cbl-ascona.ch/en

City LitKeeley Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B 4BA(+44) 20 7831 7831www.citylit.ac.uk

Dillington HouseIlminster, Somerset TA19 9DT(+44) 1460 258 648 [email protected]://www.dillington.com/categories/courses/7/

London Centre for Book ArtsBritannia Works, 56 Dace Road London E3 2NQ(+44) 20 8510 9810 [email protected]://londonbookarts.org/

Mark Cockram - Studio FiveFirst Floor The Mews46-52 Church RoadBarnes London SW13 0DQ(+44) 208 563 2158 [email protected]

The Montefiascone Conservation Projecthttp://monteproject.co.uk/en/study-programme/

New York Center for Book Arts28 West 27th St, 3rd FlrNew York, NY 10001(+1) 212-481-0295http://centerforbookarts.org/

North Bennett Street School150 North Street, Boston, MA 02109(+1) [email protected] https://www.nbss.edu/

Penland School of CraftsPO Box 37 (street address: 67 Doras Trail) Penland, NC 28765(+1) [email protected]://penland.org/index.html

Professione LibroVia Angelo Del Bon,120158 MILANO - ITel/fax: (+39) 02 3944 [email protected]://www.professionelibro.it/

San Francisco Center for the Book375 Rhode Island StreetSan Francisco, CA 94103(+1) [email protected]://sfcb.org/

West DeanNr Chichester, West SussexPO18 0QZ(+44)1243 [email protected]://www.westdean.org.uk/

18 courses and moreFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.

NEWSLETTER OF DESIGNER BOOKBINDERS NO 178 SUMMER 2017

Contact DetailsPresidentLori SauerHazel BankWoodborough RdBeechingstoke, PewseyWiltshire SN9 6HJUnited [email protected]

Hon. TreasurerJack London10 Pattison RoadLondon NW2 2HHUnited [email protected] Secretary and Membership SecretaryWendy Hood24 Junction RoadBathBA2 3NHUnited [email protected]

Designer Bookbinders PublicationsDB Publications Ltd.6 Queen SquareLondonWC1N 3ATUnited [email protected]

The New BookbinderDesigner Bookbinders6 Queen SquareLondonWC1N 3ATUnited [email protected]

Newsletter Editor and LayoutTalitha WachtelbornFlat 11, 44 Solomons PassageLondonSE15 [email protected]

Information on DB [email protected]@designerbookbinders.org.uk

18 db contactFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


BINDING re:DEFINED

2018 Workshops

The 2017 workshops were amazing with very inspirational tutors. The 2018 programme is now online and we kick off in April with a brand new workshop led by Paul Johnson, the wizard of pop-ups

The rest of the year has an eclectic mix of topics that will appeal to all. Please visit our website, www.bookbindingworkshops.com, email [email protected] or ring Lori Sauer on 01672 851638 for complete details.

BINDING re:DEFINED aims to inspire a wider appreciation of book structures and how they make an intelligent contribution to the aesthetic of the finished work. The focus of our carefully selected programme remains firmly in the tradition of well-crafted pieces that exhibit the best in contemporary design. We are based in Wiltshire’s beautiful Vale of Pewsey and are easily reached by road or rail.

South West London Bookbinding ClubWe are a small friendly group, who continued from a local authority bookbinding class. We share the costs, and are fortunate to have Midori Kunikata-Cockram as our teacher.

We meet once a week, on a Tuesday afternoon, for three hours, in three terms of ten weeks.

Our current venue is a Salvation Army Hall at World’s End in Chelsea, where we store the equipment, including presses and finishing tools. We have space for a few more bookbinders, at all levels.

If you are interested in joining us, please do get in touch with the organiser, at [email protected].

Fees are £110 per term (30 hours) which includes tuition and use of equipment, which we think is a bargain, particularly for central London!

new members 19Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.


Designer Bookbinders are pleased to welcome the following new members:

Juan Antonio Fernández ARGENTAC/ Virgen de Fátima, 6Pozuelo de Alarcón28223 MadridSpainT: +34 656 44 58 06E: [email protected]

Maria BADILLO RODRIGUEZRevillagigedo 89, int. A207Col.centro, Del. CuauhtemocCiudad de MexicoDistrito Federal 06070MexicoT: +52 55123257E: [email protected]

Caroline BAIN2 Sampey WayBillingboroughSleafordLincolnshireNG34 0NNT: 07903 080549E: [email protected]

Yoko BATO7 - 37 - 39 SakanoueKagoshima City891 - 0150Japan

Johann BURKHARDTBubu AGIsenrietstrasse 21CH-8617 Mönchaltorf ZHSwitzerlandE: [email protected]

Diego Martinez CASADOCalle San Francisco 18 Tercero11044 CadizSpainT: +34 659 027 141E: [email protected]

Jean-Pierre DURIX11, chemin de la Rente de Giron21000 DijonFranceT: +33 38 041 3535E: [email protected]

Sam ELLENPORT205 School StreetBelmontMA 02476USAT: +1 617 489 4707E: [email protected]

Paolo FERREIRARua do Carvalhido, 194PortoPT 4250 - 101PortugalT: +351 222085725E: [email protected]

Indy Art & Calligraphy LLC 518 E 13th StreetIndianapolisIN 46202USAT: +1 317-694-5966E: [email protected]

Agnes LEIJENWilgenstraat 85671 AD NuenenThe NetherlandsT: +31 0613585523E: [email protected]

Ho-Yee LIImagination Ltd25 Store StreetLondonWC1E 7BLT: 07828 701828E: [email protected]

LIBRARIUM SP. Z O.O.Janisławice 496-130 GłuchówŁÓDZKIEPolandT: +48 722222077E: [email protected]

Lam MARCELISZijlweg 952015 DE HaarlemThe NetherlandsT: +31 0235515066E: [email protected]

Designer Bookbinders Instrument and Articles

of Conduct and Appendices

The Constitution, Instrument and Articles of Conduct and

Appendices of Designer Bookbinders are available

to view online at www.designerbookbinders.org.uk.

A paper copy of the document can be made available to any member who is unable to see

it online.

If you would like a copy please contact Wendy Hood, the

Secretary, on 01225 342793 or by writing to 24, Junction

Road, Bath, BA2 3NH.

Tarja RAJAKANGASSylväänkatu 4 a 738200 SastamalaFinlandT: +358 40 5245661E: [email protected]

Beth THOMAS435 Larita DriveBen LomondCA 95005USAT: + 1 831 588 2640E: [email protected]

Pii TOPIOJiiririnne 402520 KirkkonummiLAPINKYLAFinlandT: +358 0400333370E: [email protected]


BY APPOINTMENT

TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN

MANUFACTURERS OF LEATHER

J. HEWIT & SONS LTD. EDINBURGH

J Hewit & Sons Ltd

LEATHER MANUFACTURERS

The 'One-Stop' shop for Fine Leather, Equipment, Tools,

Materials & Sundries for all Craft Bookbinding requirements.

12 Nettlehill Road - Houstoun Industrial Estate

Livingston - West Lothian - EH54 5DL - Scotland

email - [email protected]

tel - +44 (0)1506 444160 fax - +44 (0)1506 437749

Heated Gilding RollerThe Heated Gilding Ruler is a high quality temperature controlled silicone covered brass roll with an ergonomic handle to enable the comfortable application of real gold foil or leaf, or other matrices such as hot stamping foils to book edges, book covers, leather or other applications. Supplied with silicone heat protection mat, power controller, instructions & 3 metre heat resitant cable. CE Tested and Made in the UK.

Uses:- Edgegilding with gold foil or decorative

foils- Decoration of covers or endpapers

-decoration of papers or leather- Edgegilding with gold leaf

SpecificationsWeight 2.2kg.

Roll ~7cm x 4.8cmHandle length 65 cm

Temperature up to 185°C

Price £650Introductory offer + ppOrder online or [email protected]

Published by Designer Bookbinders, 6 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AT. Printed by TU ink, London

Documents

designer bookbinders · NEWSLETTER OF DESIGNER BOOKBINDERS . NO 180. WINTER 2017. d. esigner bookbinders. contemporary book arts