Spring Bookbinding Workshop
Description
Make your own book from scratch
Spend a Saturday afternoon learning the very satisfying art of bookbinding, and go home holding a book that didn’t exist three hours earlier.
Saturday 31 October · 12:30–3:30pm
Richmond, Melbourne · Tickets from $95
Complete beginners welcome. No bookbinding experience needed and everything you need is provided.
From loose pages to a finished book
In this three-hour workshop, I’ll teach you how to make your own Coptic-bound commonplace book from scratch.
We’ll start with loose pages and an empty cover. You’ll learn how to prepare and fold your pages, construct your cover and sew the exposed binding by hand. Slowly, everything comes together into a beautiful, completely usable book.
There’s something a little magical about learning how an object you’ve used your entire life is actually made. By the end of the afternoon, you’ll be able to open your book, write in it, fill it with things you want to remember and say, quite legitimately:
I made this book.
Your commonplace book
A commonplace book is essentially a home for all the things you don’t want to forget.
Quotes from books. Recipes someone gives you. Ideas scribbled down at 11pm. Exhibition tickets. Poems. Recommendations. Plans. Strange things you overhear at the pub.
People have kept versions of commonplace books for centuries. Yours will be bound using Coptic binding, a traditional technique with a beautiful exposed spine that allows the finished book to lie completely flat when opened.
It will also be made with heavier 130gsm paper, making it suitable for journaling with less bleed-through.
What's Included
Your ticket includes the full three-hour workshop, everything you need to make your book, use of bookbinding tools during the class and, of course, your finished handmade commonplace book to take home.
You’ll also receive a little Commonplace Starter Pack, so you’re not faced with the existential horror of a pristine blank first page when you get home.
If making one book immediately gives you dangerous ideas about making twelve more, you can also choose a ticket that includes your own set of bookbinding tools to take home.
FAQs
- What is included in the take home tool pack?
The take home tool pack includes everything you need to continue your bookbinding journey: an premium wooden-handled awl, curved bookbinding needle, and bone folder.
- Do I need any bookbinding experience?
No. This workshop is designed for complete beginners, and you’ll be guided step by step through the process.
- What will I make?
You’ll make a pocket-sized handmade commonplace book using beautiful papers, thread and traditional bookbinding tools.
Depending on how the class progresses, we will also take some time at the end to start filling in your commonplace book.
- What should I bring?
If you use reading glasses for close work, please bring them, as bookbinding involves stitching and small details.
You may also want to bring an apron which can prevent your clothes getting dirty. It is not required to enjoy the class.
We may have some time at the end to start working on the commonplace book. If you have any ephemera, paper cuttings, or fancy pens you might want to use to start filling it in, bring those along on the day.
- Will I get to choose my cover?
Yes. Covers will be pre-prepared in a curated selection of colours and patterns, and you’ll be able to choose from the available options on the day.
- Is the workshop suitable for children?
This workshop is best suited to adults and older teens, as it involves sharp tools and fine handwork.
- What is the refund policy?
If you can no longer attend and the refund period has passed, you’re welcome to transfer your ticket to someone else. Otherwise, you will be refunded 98% of the ticket price if you cancel within 7 days of the event.
- Is this venue wheelchair accessible?
Unfortunately the venue includes a steep set of stairs and is not suitable for wheelchairs.
Gallery
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