This is a single session online workshop.

A phase box is a simple folded box made from card that is used widely in conservation labs to house fragile books. It is also a great way to protect lighter weight books such as limp paper bindings, single section pamphlet bindings or even prints and drawings; it is not suitable for heavy weight books.

This box is perfect to make at home as you need very little in the way of tools and equipment.

Students should select a book from their personal library to use as a template for the phase box. The book should be no larger than 8 x 6” and no thicker than 1” in order for these paper recommendations to work.

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Materials to Bring: 

Required:

A sheet of acid-free, heavy weight paper or card that is at least 3.5 times the height and width of your book and around 200-300 gsm.

Suggested papers: 
Colorplan 270gsm
Strathmore Bristol 270gsm
Saunders Waterford Watercolor Paper 300gsm

•Note: if you can’t find card large enough to house your book, the phase box can be made in two parts and then glued together later.

• Pointed bone folder or metal folder
• 12” ruler (for measuring)
• 24” non-slip or steel rule (as a cutting edge)
• Very sharp craft knife such as an Olfa knife
• A large cutting mat, A1 if possible - see example
• 8 x 12” set square or triangle with sharp corners; will be used as a cutting edge so metal is preferred over plastic 
• Awl
• EVA or PVA adhesive and brush
• Nail clippers or a pair of curved nail scissors
• A sharp HB pencil (a mechanical one is best)
• Eraser
• A sheet of plain white copy paper or other scrap paper

Recommended:

• Two L-shaped 4” carpenter’s/engineer’s squares to help with measuring, like this. (Box can be made without, but it’ll be much easier with.)
• Scalpel with (sharp) 10A blade or an Exacto knife plus spare blades for fine cutting

Workshop Fee: $50

Date & Time: Saturday, April 11, 2021, 10-12:30pm Pacific time

Location: Online over Zoom

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.

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About the Instructor | Kathy Abbott

Kathy Abbott served a four-year apprenticeship in bookbinding and then gained a Higher National Diploma from the London College of Printing, London (UK) followed by a BA (Hons) degree in Bookbinding from Roehampton University, Surrey (UK). She teaches advanced level Fine Binding at the City Lit, London and conducts many other workshops across the UK and overseas. Kathy opened her own bookbinding workshop in London in 1997, where she specializes in Islamic book conservation, western book conservation and contemporary fine binding, and is also a partner in Benchmark Bindery, established in 2009 with Tracey Rowledge, to produce high quality and intelligent bookbinding work. She is a founder member of Tomorrow's Past, an international bookbinding collective and is the author of Bookbinding: A step-by-step guide, published by the Crowood Press in 2010.

Her work is held in both private and public collections and her work is exhibited widely.

You can see her work on her website: www.kathyabbott.biz