The School for Bookbinding Arts

FEATURED WORKSHOP
Gold-Leaf Tooling on Leather
This course will serve as an introduction to working with gold leaf and applying or “tooling” it onto leather using heated line pallets or decorative handle tools. The course includes instruction in all the basics to get you going: adhesive sizings to attach the gold to the leather, how to use the tools, where tools can be acquired, and the different types of gold. Most importantly, students will be doing their practice under the watchful eye of master gilder Sam Feinstein. No prerequisite.
November 10 – 11
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
$295 + $150 materials
Hold materials fee until class
Samuel Feinstein
Sam is a private-practice bookbinder specializing in fine bindings, gold finishing, rounded spine clamshell boxes, and new bindings in period style. He trained at the North Bennet Street School in Boston under Jeff Altepeter and Martha Kearsley, graduating in 2012. He lives and works in Chicago, and his work can be seen on his website. He won the Award for Design in DeGolyer Triennial Exhibition and Competition for American Bookbinding in 2015. Sam’s entry featured his exceptional abilities with gold-leaf as utilized in bookbinding.

Space is limited! Call 540-662-2683 today and reserve a spot in this workshop.
FEATURED WORKSHOP
Marble & Make: The Perfect Pouch
This workshop moves students through the marbling baths for day one and then on to creating a finished, useful product with their marbling: The Perfect Pouch. Brittani has several adhesive methods for securing seams. Only a minimal amount of hand-stitching is needed to make this most perfect of pouches. No prerequisite.
August 8 – 9
9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
$295 + $75 materials
Hold materials fee until class
Brittani Locke
Brittani is a renowned marbling artist based in Frederick, Maryland, who has captivated the art world with her stunning hand-crafted patterns. With over 367,000 followers on Instagram (@thesoftasylum), Brittani has established herself as a leading voice in contemporary paper and fabric marbling arts.
Her distinctive approach to marbling has earned her recognition beyond traditional craft circles, with her work featured by major art influencers and publications.

Space is limited! Call 540-662-2683 today and reserve a spot in this workshop.
FEATURED WORKSHOP
Gilding Book Edges Using Gold Leaf
Fine bindings almost always include one or more gilt edges in their design. Learning to handle the leaf and apply it to a book’s edge is a touch of elegance and a wonderful skill for a binder to have. By knowing how to gild edges, a binder can use this skill to give any book the “Midas Touch.” No prerequisite.
November 13 – 14
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
$295 + $125 materials
Hold materials fee until class
Samuel Feinstein
Sam is a private-practice bookbinder specializing in fine bindings, gold finishing, rounded spine clamshell boxes, and new bindings in period style. He trained at the North Bennet Street School in Boston under Jeff Altepeter and Martha Kearsley, graduating in 2012. He lives and works in Chicago, and his work can be seen on his website. He won the Award for Design in DeGolyer Triennial Exhibition and Competition for American Bookbinding in 2015. Sam’s entry featured his exceptional abilities with gold-leaf as utilized in bookbinding.

Space is limited! Call 540-662-2683 today and reserve a spot in this workshop.
FEATURED WORKSHOP
Marble & Make: The Marbled-Edge Notebook
Customize the cover of a blank notebook, creating a masterpiece for yourself or to give as a gift. In edge marbling, dipping the edge of the book into a watery marbling tank seems like a recipe for disaster—but in fact it’s an artistic touch that takes a book from blah to breathtaking!
Under the expert guidance of marbler Brittani Locke, you will create a number of marbled sheets and then deftly marble the edges of a well-made blank notebook [proudly produced in the US by NewLeafPaper.com using 100% post-consumer recycled material]. The fruits of your labors will be used to create the glorious, marbled-covered notebooks you see pictured here—finished off with an elegant gold-tooled line. No prerequisite.
August 30
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
$240 + $50 materials
Hold materials fee until class
Brittani Locke & Jill Deiss

Space is limited! Call 540-662-2683 today and reserve a spot in this workshop.
FEATURED WORKSHOP
Beginning Paper Marbling
Without decorative papers our world would be all the poorer. Marbled papers grace the covers of books and are used in many other crafts including box making, matting & framing, and greeting cards. You will learn many traditional patterns with their origins in early Turkey. These patterns later spread throughout Europe starting in the 1500s.
July 25 – 26
9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
$295 + $70 materials
Hold materials fee until class
Robin Ashby
A lifelong student of history and art, Robin Ashby started his career as a bookbinder and marbler with studies at North Bennett Street School in Boston and The School for Bookbinding Arts in Winchester, Virginia. He continues to hone his skills under the regular tutelage of Regina & Dan St. John at their Chena River Studio in Amherst, Massachusetts. Robin also worked on the team that restored Andrew Wyeth’s studio and home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and heads the Audit and Compliance department for a global software company. Robin is the author of The Industrialist’s Brush: Watercolors of Harry E. Cann, Chester County, Pennsylvania West Chester [PA]: Lucky Hill Road, 2022.

Space is limited! Call 540-662-2683 today and reserve a spot in this workshop.
FEATURED WORKSHOP
Shell & Combed Shell Paper Marbling
Marblers, do not miss this workshop where you will be studying directly with the originator of the acrylic-pigment shell pattern. Prior to Robin Ashby’s development, the stone pattern could be made with acrylics, but not so the shell pattern (which required water-based pigments to form). By studying the historical formulas for the shell pattern committed to print in Fichtenberg’s 1852 book on marbling recipes, Mr. Ashby began his experiments (or spells, as some might say): Gall and oil, potash of chloride and metal salts, give up your secrets! The results are indeed nothing short of magical! For further excitement, students will learn the combed shell pattern which became prevalent starting in the late 19th century. No prerequisite.
July 28 – 29
9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
$295 + $70 materials
Hold materials fee until class
Robin Ashby

Space is limited! Call 540-662-2683 today and reserve a spot in this workshop.
FEATURED WORKSHOP
Marble & Make: Blank Album Construction
This workshop will have your engines revving from the first moment. You’ll begin at the marbling tank where you will marble the paper that will become part of your album cover. You will then move on to create the blank album pages and craft the album cover. The cherry on the top will be setting type and then letterpress printing it for the title label on the front of your album under the direction of printer John Johnson. Oh, Wait! There is also whipped cream: finish off your album with elegant, gold-tooled lines! No prerequisite. Join us.
July 31 – August 1
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
$295 + $50 materials
Hold materials fee until class
Robin Ashby & John Johnson

Space is limited! Call 540-662-2683 today and reserve a spot in this workshop.
FEATURED WORKSHOP
The Retchōsō: Dual-Needle Japanese Tassel Binding
Developed during the Heian period (794 – 1185 CE), the retchōsō was used to record literature, poetry, and traditional Noh dramatic chants. This style is useful today as a sketch book, field journal, or chapbook.
Lana will demonstrate the beauty of raw pigments as she turns them into specially-formulated inks for woodblock printing. Please join us for this workshop that follows the bookbinding process through many stages of artistry. No prerequisite.
October 17 – 18
9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
$295 + $70 materials
Hold materials fee until class
Lana Lambert

Space is limited! Call 540-662-2683 today and reserve a spot in this workshop.
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