Pietermaritzburg Bookbinders’ Guild
Pietermaritzburg Bookbinders’ Guild
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The Pietermaritzburg Bookbinders’ Guild is an association of local bookbinders,
paper conservators and book artists that has been formed
to promote the book arts and bookbinding skills.
We believe in making bookbinding accessible to those without extensive equipment
and so seek to provide resources geared to the local context.
Please address all inquiries to bookbindersguild.pmb@gmail.com.
You can subscribe here to be kept informed of future activities.
Upcoming Workshops
Upcoming Workshops
September Workshop
on Book Repair
September Workshop
on Book Repair
We are pleased to announce a workshop on basic book repair in collaboration with The Old Mushroom Farm
and Midlands Books & Collectables outside Howick.
We will be hosting Moena Zeller, an experienced book conservator from Zurich, who will lead a workshop on 'Basic book repair for damaged books.'
Moena will demonstrate how to repair broken books. Participants can bring a damaged book or two, and Moena will advise them on how to go about repairing them using the correct materials and procedures.
The workshop will be on Sunday, 8 September at 10.30 am and will cost R125.00 per person. Spaces are limited, so please WhatsApp 082 733 3267 or email bookbindersguild.pmb@gmail.com to book.
Past Workshops
Past Workshops
Julia Arbuckle led a workshop for a group of beginners on Sunday, 14 July. Here we see her preparing a sheet for a book cover.
January Workshop:
January Workshop:
Non-adhesive Structures
Non-adhesive Structures
A lovely day was spent at the Tatham Art Gallery's Schreiner room on Saturday, 20 January. Estelle Liebenberg-Barkhuizen facilitated the teaching of four beautiful non-ahdesive and decorative book structures. The atendees were also provided with instructions and materials on three more books to make at home.
More photos here.
On Saturday, 9 September 2023, we held our first workshop, which was a great success! Read more...
Our third workshop was on 21 October, this time on making decorative paper. Read more...
Our final workshop for the year was held on Saturday, 11 November Read more...
About the teachers...
Guest Workshop Leader
Moena Zeller is a bookbinder and book conservator who trained in Zurich, Switzerland; completed internships at the Library of Congress as well as the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC; and graduated as a Master craftsman in Munich, Germany. She now runs her own bookbinding studio in Zurich, and undertakes book conservation work for the Library Foundation of Tier im Recht, an animal rights organisation in Zurich. Moena is also a member of the Book and Form Group (Buch und Form) and regularly exhibits her creative book structures throughout Europe.
Estelle Liebenberg-Barkhuizen
Estelle is a retired art historian and paper conservator who continues to work from home. She has a passion for non-adhesive bookbinding techniques and makes artists’ books.
Julia Arbuckle
Julia is an artist and lecturer from KwaZulu-Natal. Julia has a keen interest in South African archives, which sparked an interest in art books and conservation. Julia has been binding books as a medium in her artwork for 7 years.
Macrina Walker
Macrina has been binding books since 2002 and has worked in library binderies in both the Netherlands and South Africa. She is currently focused on producing handbound editions of early Christian texts, which she sells to a largely overseas market. Her Annesi Bindings YouTube channel also provides basic bookbinding instruction, and is particularly geared to those with limited equipment.
Kate Hoole
Kate has been binding books as a self-taught hobbyist since 2015 and after a career at The Witness, in 2021 started a new career in book design, subsequently setting up Hoopoe Bindery to make one-off handbound books for clients.
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