Designer Bookbinders / Society Of Bookbinders Joint Workshops
The Designer Bookbinders/Society of Bookbinders Joint Workshops began in 2004 when the two societies discussed the need to provide high-quality training and workshops in bookbinding subjects following the closure of many college courses. The joint enterprise has helped to build a closer working relationship between the two Societies and to promote the craft of bookbinding more widely. A series of six weekend workshops are held every year at different locations around the country and cover a range of topics from traditional techniques to innovative structures. Tutors include many Fellows of Designer Bookbinders, respected book restorers, and well-known bookbinders from the UK and overseas. Participants enjoy the excellent teaching and the opportunity to exchange skills and experience with fellow binders over a weekend.
The workshops are currently being organised by Jane Adams (for Designer Bookbinders) and Wanda Robins (for The Society of Bookbinders).
Joint Workshops 2026
Welcome to our 2026 series of Workshops offered jointly by Designer Bookbinders and The Society of Bookbinders
These workshops offer structured, intensive learning from established teachers in a friendly and cooperative environment. Places are limited to allow maximum learning and individual attention.
We have kept the course fees for this year’s programme at the same level as last year and hope you agree they present excellent value. Fees for each workshop are £185 for members of either Society, £205 for non members. There is a materials cost for most workshops which is payable to the tutor during the weekend.
Bursary help may be available for members of the Societies. If you are interested in applying for a bursary, and are a member of DB, please contact treasurer@designerbookbinders.org.uk. If you are a member of SoB, please contact Wanda Robins at jointworkshops@societyofbookbinders.com
If you belong to both Societies you should apply to only one of them for a bursary.
To book please click on the button next to the course you are interested in. For any queries or further information regarding the workshops, or if the workshop you wish to attend is full and you wish to be added to the waiting list, contact Jane Adams at jointworkshops@designerbookbinders.onmicrosoft.com
WORKSHOPS
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Gold Lettering with Hand Tools
Glenn Bartley
The Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE
26-27 September 2026
For those with experience of gold tooling techniques, this workshop will explore the process for lettering both traditional and modern bindings with individual hand tools and type holders.
With over forty years experience as a bookbinder, Glenn will share his personal approach to hand lettering – an approach which draws on traditional techniques and incorporates methods better suited to today’s bookbinder.
Working on prepared leather panels and dummy spine blocks, the workshop will concentrate on the various aspects of hand lettering to produce neat and pleasing results. These include the choice of typeface and font size, the principles of layout and spacing, and the considerations of overall design. The different approaches used for traditional versus modern work will also be explored, as well as a look at the various materials that can be tooled successfully. Attention will also be given to developing methodical working practices which are the foundation of successful gold tooling.
This workshop is suitable for those with experience of gold tooling techniques.
Materials charge of no more than £35 to cover cost of leather panel and dummy spine and, additionally, students will be able to purchase gold leaf by the sheet if they do not have their own (current price is £2.80 per sheet but actual price is hard to predict).
Equipment list
As this masterclass course is aimed at those with some experience of gold tooling, participants should bring along the following:
• Usual personal small hand tools.
• Your own gold finishing equipment, ie gold cushion and knife, gold rubber (Blu-Tac), Vaseline, lighter fluid, cotton wool etc.
• Brockman BS glaire will be used, a fresh supply will be available.
• Real gold leaf will be available to buy (per sheet at cost), but a personal book of double thick leaf would be best.
• A finishing press if you can.
Items provided:
• Finishing stoves.
• Prepared practice panels and spine blocks.
• A selection of finishing tools and brass type & holders (but you may bring your own if you prefer).
Glenn Bartley studied bookbinding at Guildford College and subsequently worked for a trade bindery in Oxford for five years. He established his own workshop in 1991 – 2017. He has won several prizes for his bindings, including the UK Designer Bookbinders Competition Mansfield Medal and the Society of Bookbinders International Competition (Fine Binding category). Elected Fellow of Designer Bookbinders in May 1999, he has bindings in many private and institutional collections worldwide. He is currently Head of the Royal Bindery at Windsor Castle.
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Creating and Using Your Own Bookcloth
Ruth Brown
The Scrapstore, Hull, Dairycoates Avenue, Hull HU3 5DB
17-18 October 2026
This workshop will be a combination of demonstrations and practical work. Using my binding of ‘The Secret Garden’ as a design source and my background working with textiles, I will explain how I came up with the concept for the cover and then interpreted it on to fabric.
We will experiment with screen printing, dyeing and layering a variety of mark making techniques with everyday tools and equipment to create visual texture and patterns on fabric. I will demonstrate how to print on fabric with a cheap, home, inkjet printer and how to back fabric to make book cloth.
Finally, we will use at least two different methods of making neat corners with fabric on to board.
This workshop is suitable for all levels and you do not need any artistic skills to do this workshop.
Materials charge of no more than £20
Equipment List:
Ruth can supply if advised ahead of time, otherwise bring your own
• Cutting mat
• Knife/scalpel
• Ruler
• Bone folder
Also bring whatever you have of the following but do not buy anything specially Ruth will have spares of most things :
• Acrylic paints – tube sort rather than acrylic inks.
• Old towel or piece of smooth blanket to make a lightly padded surface. The only important thing is that it lies flat.
• Small piece of commercial fabric with colour or pattern – a piece something like A3 would be plenty.
• A4 piece of book cloth – any sort.
• Old credit/debit/hotel/shop card – this will be used with paint.
• A few pieces of kitchen roll
• Mesh bag – the sort of thing fruit or kindling comes in.
• A small hard roller/brayer
• Twig
• Old, coarse brush eg washing up brush, nail brush, piece of astro turf
• Small natural sponge
After working for many years in IT, Ruth spent 20 years working in textiles using screen printing, digital imagery, cyanotyping, paper lamination, discharge and dyeing to produce her work. Ruth often works in layers to achieve a richly patterned and textured surface. During this time she taught these subjects extensively and authored two books, ‘Cyanotypes on Fabric’ and ’Digital Imagery on Fabric’.
Then, following an inspiring workshop with Glenn Malkin, she became addicted to bookbinding, often using her own fabrics on her books. She was delighted to win the case binding category at the last Society of Bookbinders’ competition with her cloth covered binding of ‘the Secret Garden’.
For more information about Ruth go to https://stonecreektextiles.co.uk
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Miniature Case Bindings Made With Weighted Brass Boards and a False Round Spine
Hannah Brown
Hannah Brown’s studio, Bowlish Grange, Forum Lane, Bowlish, Shepton Mallet, BA4 5JL (there are two flights of stairs to climb to reach the studio)
14-15 November 2026
Miniature books are small, fully functional books, typically defined as being no more than 7.5 cm in any dimension. Issues that arise when working in miniature largely derive from their tiny scale. Miniature books are difficult to make because of; the precision required to handle tiny components; the challenge of binding pages that are too small for standard tools; paper thickness issues that prevent flipping while staying closed; and the difficulty of cutting and aligning minuscule pieces without them moving or fraying.
One other issue is that the bindings can feel insignificantly light which is why swapping conventional laminated boards for pieces of brass sheet can add a satisfying weight to these small books. This weekend workshop will guide you through creating a full leather miniature case binding, constructed to include brass boards and a false round spine. Participants will learn how to construct a leather-bound case, into which sections will be cased in.
This workshop is suitable for binders with some experience and dexterity as we are working on a small scale book structure.
Materials charge of no more than £20.
Please bring your usual kit of tools, including paring knives.
Although Hannah will have extra kit for use, if you are able, please also bring:
• A jewellers piercing saw
• A metal scribe
• Metal files
• A small metal T-square
• A small vice that can be attached to a tabletop
Hannah is a bookbinder who works from her home studio in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, where she has lived since 2017. She specialises in fine bookbinding and other bespoke commissioned pieces, and utilises a lot of intricate hand embroidery in her work.
She studied for a BA in Three-Dimensional Crafts at Brighton University and took bookbinding evening classes at the same time, which is where her interest in making books took hold. She then worked as a Mount-making Technician at the Victoria and Albert Museum for eight years between 2008 and 2014 and bookbinding remained as a firm hobby during that time. During a period living in France for eighteen months in 2014-2015, Hannah began binding full time and she was elected then as a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders in 2023.
She favours materials and techniques traditionally used in bookbinding, such as leather, paper, gold leaf and gold tooling. With her crafts background, she is also keen to incorporate alternative skills into her work, including metalwork, textiles, printmaking and woodwork.
For more information about Hannah go to: www.hannahbrownbookbinding.com
If you are attending this course and wish to book a room in the adjoining self-catering accommodation, please contact Hannah directly (hannah@hannahbrownbookbinding.com) once you have secured your place for more details.
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Drum Leaf Binding – variations, structure and play
Gillian Stewart
Juju Books, Rogart St Campus, 4 Rogart St, Glasgow, G40 2AA
25-26 April 2026 – WORKSHOP OVER
The drum leaf binding is a great structure for any bookbinder to know. It allows double pages to be bound from single page prints, making it a good option for thicker paper or art prints. It’s versatile, offering the chance to use heavy or light papers, and the sculptural form offers many design opportunities.
In this workshop you will make multiple versions of the structure, with several tweaks and design interventions to inspire your future books. Various methods of board attachment will be explored, including a sewn boards variation and a pop out spine. You’re encouraged to bring some of your own prints/paintings to bind into one of the books, but this is optional and all materials will be supplied.
This workshop is suitable for beginners and experienced binders, as well as book artists and printmakers looking to incorporate books into their practice.
Materials charge of not more than £15, payable during the workshop
Please bring:
• Apron
• Notebook and pen
• Any prints or artworks you’d like to try binding – this is optional. Various thickness or lightness of paper may work as long as it’s possible to fold them. These should be no bigger than A4 in size.
• All tools and equipment provided
Gillian is a prize-winning bookbinder and licentiate of Designer Bookbinders. She has been running her creative bookbinding studio – Juju Books – since 2017. The studio has worked with artists, writers and brands including Sir Quentin Blake, Bentley, The Macallan and Windsor Castle. She teaches small groups in her workshop as well as 1-1, and regularly teaches at Glasgow School of Art, as well as internationally.
For more information about Gillian go to: https://www.jujubooks.co.uk
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A Cloth Reback
Doug Mitchell
Yardley Arts, The Old School Hall The Square, Yardley Hastings, Northampton, NN7 1EU
2-3 May 2026 – WORKSHOP OVER
In this workshop you will learn the basics of book repairs using a variety of cloths, papers, tissues and adhesives. Through a mix of demonstration and practice you will learn how to: deconstruct a book in a safe and systematic fashion, repair both individual pages and sections, prepare your book should it require resewing, replace the end papers, and undertake any repairs to the cover in order to allow new material to be added. Some bookbinding experience would be an advantage, but all are welcome. All materials and limited equipment will be provided, but you will need to bring with you two to four hard cover cloth bound books, no bigger than A5 and with a stable book block (as time is limited) that you are happy to replace the end papers on if needed.
This workshop is suitable for all levels
Materials charge of no more than £15
Please bring:
• Cutting mat
• Craft Knife
• Bone Folder
• Flat Steel Ruler
• Pen & Pencil
• Finishing Press (book clamp), if you have one.
• Sheers/scissors
• Weights
• Any other bookbinding tools you have.
Doug has been a Bookbinder since he left school in 1970. He completed a 5-year apprenticeship at John Dickinson’s in Apsley, Hemel Hempstead gaining a City and Guilds distinction in bookbinding and print finishing at the Watford College of Technology. He continued his training by later working for the British Museum Bindery and The Foreign Office Press in Whitehall as a Gold Finisher before joining the British Library in 2001, where he became a Book & Paper Conservator at the Centre for Conservation. He has made presentation books for the Princess Royal, Prince Charles (now King Charles III), The King of Morocco, the Prime Minister of Malaysia’s Independence Day celebrations and the Dutch Ambassador’s visit.
Doug has been teaching for 25 years and lectured at the SoB York conference in 2007 and Warwick in 2011. Although now retired, he continues to hold workshops on many aspects of bookbinding, conservation and restoration at adult education colleges, SoB regional branches and independent conservation studios as well as at the Frogmore Paper Mill charity in Apsley. Doug has self-published a guide on how to conserve and restore cloth and leather bindings.
Non-Adhesive Structures for Antiquarian and Damaged Books
Marysa de Veer
Otter Bookbinding, Cissbury, Ashfield Road, Midhurst, GU29 9JS
4- 5 July 2026 – WORKSHOP OVER
Conserve, repair, re-cover old books with or without old covers using the Carmencho Arregui and alternative non-adhesive methods of sewing. Using traditional bookbinding craft skills you’ll learn how to carefully dismantle an old book, repair any torn pages within and create a new cover for it using a combination of materials such as acid free linings, the Dutch Papiermolen acid free cotton rag paper for covers and paste papers for dust jackets if needed.
Please bring 5-10 books from which to choose from so that the most appropriate one to be worked on can be discussed with the tutor on the day. Each book is unique and therefore the treatment will vary depending on the need. Those without books may use blank paper to create a sample book instead.
This workshop is suitable for all levels
Materials charge of £20 for a sheet of Dutch windmill de papiermolen paper
All tools will be provided
Marysa trained at Guildford College with Maureen Duke and John Mitchell. She has won prizes and commendations for her work from both the Society of Designer Bookbinders and the Society of Bookbinders. Marysa specialises in the restoration of antiquarian books and has restored and/or conserved a number of early bindings for various institutions including Lambeth Palace Library and The Royal Star and Garter Home, Richmond, and is currently working on the conservation of a 1633 Gerard’s Herbal.
Marysa teaches at West Dean College and at the Weald and Downland Museum and has students for regular drop-in sessions in her bindery at Midhurst.
For more information about Marysa go to: https://otterbookbinding.com
If you are attending this course and wish to book a room in the on site accommodation, please contact Marysa directly (books@otterbookbinding.com) once you have secured your place for more details.
DB/SoB Joint Workshops 2026 TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Registration will only take place on receipt of full course fees.
2. The fee does not include accommodation or travel.
3. The materials charge is payable to the tutor during the workshop.
4. Full details of venue and a list of tools and equipment to bring will be sent nearer the time of the workshop.
5. Cancellation policy: once the course fee has been paid and a place accepted, no refunds are available except in exceptional circumstances (or if a replacement can be found who is able to attend the Workshop in your place).
6. The organisers reserve the right to change the location and date of the workshop or to cancel, in which case you will be offered a full refund or if you choose, a place on any re-scheduled workshop.
7. By registering, you accept that none of the Society of Bookbinders, Designer Bookbinders, the organisers, the landlords of the premises where the workshops take place, nor the workshop leaders accept any liability for loss, damage, personal injury or consequential damages.
