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 and follow us on Facebook or Instagram for updates. You can also subscribe here to be kept informed of future activities.

Some of our activities:

pmb.bookbinders.guild

Bookbinding and book arts courses in Pietermaritzburg

We’re sorry this didn't get posted here sooner,

We’re sorry this didn't get posted here sooner, but we're running our first workshop of 2025 this coming Saturday - and there are still some places available. Making Decorative Paper will introduce you to easy ways of making decorative paper that can be used for book covers, endpages, boxes and other useful items. You will learn how to make paste paper; how to do dendritic printing; how to make bubble paper and you will be introduced to Suminagashi, which is the ancient Japanese technique of marbling paper.

The course will cost R375.00 and will run from 09:30 to 15:30 on Saturday, 8 March. The fee includes materials such as inks, pastes and some paper, but you can also bring your own paper. Tea and coffee will be provided but you will need to bring your own lunch. For more information and for details of the Scottsville venue, please email bookbindersguild.pmb@gmail.com
#bookbindingpietermaritzburg #decorativepaper

Instagram post 18067766218662775

Instagram post 18067766218662775

Having fun experimenting with cyanotype. @wildonio

Having fun experimenting with cyanotype. @wildonion_art @katehhoole

Julia Arbuckle, @wildonion_art , led a workshop fo

Julia Arbuckle, @wildonion_art , led a workshop for a group of beginners on Sunday, 14 July. Here we see her preparing a sheet for a book cover.

We are pleased to announce a workshop on basic boo

We are pleased to announce a workshop on basic book repair in collaboration with @theoldmushroomfarm and midlandsbc 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.

Our next workshop... Coptic Binding!

Our next workshop... Coptic Binding!

A lovely day was spent at the Tatham Art Gallery's

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. #bookbinding #bookbindingpietermaritzburg

We are pleased to announce our programme for the f

We are pleased to announce our programme for the first half of next year. Please see our website (link in bio) for more information, or email bookbindersguild.pmb@gmail.com to register. We are particularly pleased to be we welcoming Moena Zeller, an accomplished Swiss bookbinder and book conservator, who will presenting a guest workshop and demonstration.

JANUARY 20: Non-adhesive book structures. Workshop leader: Estelle Liebenberg-Barkhuizen
FEBRUARY 17: Casebound Notebook. Workshop leader: Macrina Walker
MARCH 16: Coptic Binding. Workshop leader: Estelle Liebenberg-Barkhuizen
APRIL 13: Decorative paper
MAY 4 & 18: (2-part series): Bind and embellish a book. Workshop leader: Kate Hoole
JUNE 1: Stick Binding. Guest workshop leader: Moena Zeller
JUNE 3: Book repair demonstration by Moena Zeller

Our final workshop for the year was held this past

Our final workshop for the year was held this past Saturday and was once more very successful. Despite the hot weather (we seem to have made a habit of that), Kate Hoole led the participants through the process of binding their own personalised journals, with text blocks and book cloth that she supplied. #bookbinding #bookbindingpietermaritzburg

Yesterday saw our third workshop, this time on mak

Yesterday saw our third workshop, this time on making decorative paper. Because bookbinding supplies are rather limited in South Africa, we have to be inventive, and decorating our own paper for covers, endpages, or boxes is one way of doing this. In this workshop Julia Arbuckle demonstrated how to make paste paper, while Estelle Liebenberg-Barkhuizen showed us bubble printing. We also had a rather unplanned go at dendritic printing, all with some pleasing results. #bookbinding #bookbindingpietermaritzburg #decorativepaper

Our next workshop on making decorative paper is th

Our next workshop on making decorative paper is this coming Saturday and there is still room for new participants. We have changed its focus slightly to include not only paste paper, but also bubble printing. Both of these are easy and fun ways of making decorative paper that can be used for making book covers, endpages, boxes, and much more. For more information, please see our website (link in bio) or email bookbindersguild.pmb@gmail.com. #bookbinding #bookbindingpietermaritzburg

Another successful workshop! Despite the heat, our

Another successful workshop! Despite the heat, our eager participants were today initiated into the art of case binding by Macrina Walker, and they all left with a notebook that they had bound themselves. #bookbinding #bookbindingpietermaritzburg

We're very pleased to announce that our first work

We're very pleased to announce that our first workshop this past Saturday was a great success! The participants were initiated into the art of making hardcover concertina photo albums under the expert tuition of Julia Arbuckle and Estelle Liebenberg-Barkhuizen. #bookbinding #bookbindingpietermaritzburg #nonadhesivebinding

As the name suggests, non-adhesive binding is a wa

As the name suggests, non-adhesive binding is a way of binding books without glue. The term encompasses various types of binding, some traditional and some modern. Here are some non-adhesive bindings by Estelle Liebenberg-Barkhuizen, who will be co-teaching our first workshop on 9 September. #bookbinding #nonadhesivebinding

We're excited to announce the details of our first

We're excited to announce the details of our first workshops! They are all geared to total beginners, but will enable you to create beautiful books, that could make wonderful Christmas presents.

The workshops are:
9 September: Create hardcover concertina photo albums
30 September: Bind a casebound notebook
21 October: Make decorative paper
11 November: Bind a personalised journal

Please visit our website for further information (link in bio), where you can also sign up to an email list to be kept informed of future activities. And please direct any queries to bookbindersguild.pmb@gmail.com.

The newly-formed Pietermaritzburg Bookbinders’ G

The newly-formed Pietermaritzburg Bookbinders’ Guild is an association of local bookbinders, paper conservators and book artists that exists 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. Watch this space for upcoming workshops! #bookbinding #bookarts #handboundbooks

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Pietermaritzburg Bookbinders’ Guild

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