on sunday night, i was invited to take a bookmaking class by coursehorse, a website devoted to helping eager-minded folks in new york city find classes. at a moment in this city when the quest for self-improvement and skill-building can be stymied not by a dearth of classes but a near over-abundance, coursehorse is doing a pretty awesome job at helping folks to sort through the noise and find classes they most want to take.
i, for one, knew i wanted to take an art class and was able to sort by borough, date, and subject matter to find a class that worked for me. i was delighted to find one called the hand-made book: an introduction. the class was held at brooklyn central and visual artist and bookbinder, caitlin wheeler, taught a tableful of us three different styles of binding. we each walked away with a little bundle of newly bound books.
i’m excited about using my new binding skills to make little paper pressies for friends, and if i’m feeling especially ambitious, i might even endeavor to bind a wedding album. caitlin was an excellent teacher: organized, cheerful, and kind, not to mention super talented. she brought some of her work along for inspiration, and wowza.
i was so glad for the opportunity to meet a few new friends, use my hands, and perhaps most importantly, spend a few hours doing something new. it’s nice to stretch the old mind, you know? if you’re in the area and seeking similar creative inspiration, i recommend using coursehorse to help you in your search. many thanks to them for the opportunity.
and now, please admire my handiwork. not bad for an amateur, eh?
20 Comments
How lovely. Bookbinding seems like it would be very therapeutic. I wanted to take a letterpress class after seeing this video: http://vimeo.com/22639018 by Naomie Ross.
I wonder if Atlanta has a coursehorse equivalent.
thank you so much for sharing! i was just talking to my dad over the weekend about my desire to expand my hobby horizon, so this recommendation is incredibly helpful.
I love it! Sounds like a wonderful way to spend a few hours. And speaking of wedding photos, when are we all going to be granted a peek? š
looks like a heap of fun! nifty skills.
ā²ā² HYENA
That sounds like a handy dandy tool for finding new things to do and to explore new skills! I've always wanted to try bookbinding, along with print-screening and soap making.
I think you did an awesome job with that notebook!
That is so great! I need to find out if there is something like Coursehorse in Portland. Such a great idea.
I love book making! I took a whole class on it in college! You would never believe how many ways there are to make a book! I always felt so accomplished making books that I could actually use!
Happy Tuesday! š
p.s. I adore your blog!
Looks great!
Oh, I love handmade books, just love them! Great images.
They look great!
D took an entire semester of bookbinding in college, and I don't think there's any way I can catch up, so I just delegate.
bookmaking is something that holds a real interest to me, I would diffidently try if I had on a course near me.
This is sooo rad. I've always wanted to learn how to do it!
Oh I love this! I did one book making class quite awhile ago and would love to learn more techniques. I used it in my classroom for the students to make journals – so much more fun writing info in those than standard notebooks!
How cool and inspiring! This makes me want to find a similar event in my area. These make for such great DIY presents for family and friends. š
Yay! This is awesome. I love making books and would love to do it more often!
This is definitely something I want to try in the future. Thanks for the inspiration!
Looks like lots of fun.
Weird collision of worlds. I was reading about Tara and Percy over on design sponge I clicked on a comment that you left since I was also intrigued about that little tea towel holder. Then I found your lovely blog and saw Caitlin who I went to college with.
I love when things like this happen.
I did some bookbinding earlier this summer, it was so much more simple than I had expected! I hope to make books for my final year work this coming year!
Yours looks fab!
beautiful books.
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