OK, it looks like my summer class at the West Kortright Centre will be August 10, 11 & 12 from 6-9 pm; here is the description. I’ll post the link for registration as soon as I get it. Let me know what you think!

In this workshop, students will learn techniques of hand bookbinding such as assembling the text, creating hard covers and covering them with a multitude of fabrics, marbled papers, and other materials. The finished projects can be used as journals or artists’ books, and can be replicated at home with basic art supplies for more book making.
Students will learn about paper grain, gluing techniques and working with a bone folder. We will be working with glue so wear an apron, smock or old clothes. Each participant gets a bone folder to use during class and keep afterward.

Although most books in the U.S. are made by machine, there is a small but active population of hand bookbinders spread across the country whose work ranges from conservative to cutting edge. They use everything from rag paper, linen thread and wheat paste to sheet metal and glass.
Equipment ranges from 19th century presses and cutters to Teflon spatulas and sheets of spun-bonded polyester, but in the end it all comes back to hand skills at the workbench.

Paper Moon Bookbinding was founded in 2006 by Amy Morris Pickens with the goal of making books which are beautiful and useful. She uses papers and cloth from Asia, Europe and the U.S., and has over a decade of experience in binding, sewing, non-adhesive structures, editions, repair & restoration and box making. Amy recently moved to Delaware County after living in Northern California; she is glad to be back in the Northeast and to be able to share her expertise with her community.

Here is an announcement from my friends in Hobart NY, the fabulous Book Village of the Catskills…

SPRING FEVER
BOOK SALE
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Every Weekend from Saturday March 27th through
Sunday, April 18th

Beginning Saturday March 27th and running through Sunday April 18th the Hobart Book Village will offer a “Spring Fever Book Sale” discounting books on Spring and pleasant outdoor subjects such as gardening, bird watching, home improvement, nature, camping, hiking, travel, fashion, agriculture, etc. These books will be available at 20% off their regular prices over the four week period. After a long Winter which followed a previously long rainy Summer and Fall the anticipation for a more enjoyable Spring is on the minds of many and the Book Sale presents a great opportunity to move in that direction. The bookshops are located on Main Street in Hobart and are open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm.

Along with the purchase of books, a limited supply of seeds, edible flowers, and if obtainable, wild leeks (ramps) are scheduled to be on hand to those on a “first come, first serve” basis. Visitors to the Book Village in need of some “spring tonic” are also invited to join the bookshop owners at the close of business on Saturdays at the newly opened tavern inside the Hobart Inn on Main Street for a cash bar happy hour from 5 to 6 pm. It will be a chance to chat about and see first hand the exciting changes that will be taking place in Hobart in the upcoming months.

At the conclusion of the four week sale on Sunday, April 18th, Deirdre Larkin, Horticulturist for The New York Metropolitan Museum’s Cloisters will speak on “The Medieval Calendar Year: Labors of the Month” which will enlighten any avid gardener or floral enthusiast. The lecture will be held at the Adams’ Antiquarian Book Shop on Main Street at 3 pm.

Johnny Appleseed, Mother Nature and the Bluebird of Happiness will unfortunately not be able to attend due to prior commitments globally, but word on the street is that Jack Frost will most certainly NOT be invited no matter who he says he knows. Those who are truly suffering from Spring Fever are advised to rest in bed, drink plenty of fluids and have someone else come to the Book Village to get those inspiring books.

Visit: www.hobartbookvillage.com

Hobart Book Village | 688 Main St. | POB 211 | Hobart | NY | 13788

Our new workspace is finally as it should be, and everything has found its right place. The big paper drawers and the guillotine were the tricky parts, but once they were right everything else followed.

The space is bright and much warmer than the old shop, and the windows look out into stone walls and woods. There are even multiple closets for all of the necessary and desirable supplies, and a place of pride for the all-important board shears used for cutting everything from gossamer thin Japanese tissue to cloth to heavy binder’s board. Mine is a Marshall, Son and Co. model, made in Boston, with a beautiful wooden bed and graceful cast iron legs and brackets. It has served me well and traveled across the country with me. Now it seems to be suited to its new home.

I hope to be blogging more frequently this year about projects, materials, techniques and the interesting people in and around the world of books and paper.

Paper Moon Bookbinding’s new space is fabulous- bright, perfectly sized and comfortable to work in- and I’m thinking about a new line of photo albums for Spring: cloth-bound primarily, although gorgeous wood and cork veneers have been taking up a lot of brain space lately. The other main obsession at the moment is bird- and egg-patterned papers. Maybe it is due to watching the birds outside the snowy window of the bindery…

Very blue bird with a beak extending onto the spine of the book.

This is a small vintage-style archival album with end sheets that have the most beautiful natural history-themed print of eggs from various birds.

Lovely perching bird in earthtones on the cover of a journal.

Ribbon gift/hang tag with a fabulous black bird and nest; this image was used in an antique hat advertisement.

Check out our new store!

PaperMoonBookbinding

Sell Handmade

If you are on Facebook, you may become a “fan” of Paper Moon Bookbinding.  Once connected, you can see additional pictures and galleries of recent projects.  You will also be able to receive updates and occasional special offers, such as free shipping.