Registration is closed for this event

July 28th, 2018 9:30 AM

  • Instructor: Dominic Riley
  • Workshop Type: Binding
  • Workshop Status: Open
  • Workshop Start: July 28th, 2018 9:30 AM
  • Workshop End: July 29th, 2018 5:30 PM
  • Sessions: 2

Over the past twenty-five years, conservators have embraced this technique as an important development in book conservation; in the process saving countless books that would otherwise have gone untreated.

Many small or slim leather bindings are not robust enough to stand up to invasive restoration, and much old leather is so fragile that disturbing it can cause irreparable damage. In this workshop, instructor Dominic Riley will show students how to use Japanese tissue as an effective alternative.

Japanese tissue is very thin and remarkably strong. Repairs done with this paper are less invasive, less time-intensive and often stronger than more conventional treatments, and the completed repairs can be almost invisible.

Techniques covered include: dyeing with acrylics; the use of solvents for cleaning leather; the use of Klucel-G in consolidating leather; reattaching boards; headcap build-up; corner repair; interior hinge repair; filling in loss on marbled paper; and the use of wax and leather dressing.


Materials to Bring: Sharp bone bone folder; Q-tips, scalpel — #4 handle, #25 & #21 blades (available from Havells); artists' brushes (various sizes); stencil brush; ace bandage; acrylic paints (Liquitex preferred); artist’s palette and lid; Japanese water brush; old toothbrush; tweezers.

Optional and available at SFCB for student use during workshop: bone folders, dividers, metal ruler, pencil. Students should bring a selection of small leather bindings to work on, with damaged boards, corners, endpapers, and headcaps. Bring as many leather bindings you can, and we'll choose in class which ones you'll work on. They must be small, slim bindings!

Workshop Fee (includes $40 materials fee): $340.00

Date & Time: Saturday & Sunday, July 28 & 29, 2018 :: 9:30am-5:30pm

Location: 375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Note: Please read over the SFCB Registration Policies before signing up for a class

REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE START DATE OF THIS WORKSHOP.


About the Instructor | Dominic Riley

Dominic Riley Is an internationally renowned bookbinder, artist, lecturer and teacher. He has his bindery in the Lake District, from where he travels across the UK teaching and lecturing. He spends part of the year teaching in San Francisco and across the USA. His work is mostly restoration and Design Binding, for which he has won many prizes in the Designer Bookbinders competition. He was elected Fellow of DB in 2008. His bindings are in collections worldwide, including the British Library, the Grolier Club in New York and the San Francisco Public Library. In 2013 he won first prize, the Sir Paul Getty Award, in the International Bookbinding Competition. Dominic is President of the Society of Bookbinders.


Past Student Reviews:

“You really get the Alpha to the Omega with Dominic! He explains everything you need to know and more.”

“The instructor… very knowledgeable, supportive, and enthusiastic. Also, he told funny stories and anecdotes.”

“Fantastic!!”

"Dominic removed the mystery from book repair and introduced these techniques in great detail."

375 Rhode Island St
San Francisco, CA 94103-5133
United States