Workshop Fee (includes materials fee): $350
Click here to apply for a Windgate scholarship

Masks are no longer required for workshops, though anyone is welcome to wear one if they wish.

The Presentation Album was developed as an answer to a question: how to create a simple album which can house photographs in an elegant embossed page without swelling the book. A great class for beginning binders, this album can be made on the kitchen table with a few tools. 

The album is very handsome, with pages made from a good quality card. Each page has an impressed panel to house the photographs, made using an ingenious technique which is far simpler than you could imagine. The finished panels resemble the impression of an etching plate. The pages are hinged together on the inside with thick paper strips, and a small amount of PVA is all that’s needed to hold it all together — no need for sewing. The album has cloth joints for strength and an attractive cloth cover, and like the Sketchbook, opens beautifully flat.

If time allows, students will tool their finished binding with creative lines and circles, using traditional finishing tools and both carbon and colourful metallic foils.

As an added bonus, you can eliminate one of the steps and create a concertina instead, ideal for creating an album suitable for display.

Beginning bookbinders are welcome, though absolute novices may find it difficult to keep up. It will be best for students to have at least some basic bookmaking experience, even if it's just a few online tutorials at home.

>> Prerequisite: None, but please read above <<

Materials to Bring: None. All tools and materials will be provided.

Date & Time: Saturday & Sunday, July 27 & 28, 2024 :: 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 approximately three days prior to the start date of the workshop to allow the instructor time to prep materials for class. We recommend you not wait to register, as workshops that don't meet our minimum enrollment will be canceled, sometimes as much as a week in advance.
 

About the Instructor | Michael Burke (he/him)

Michael Burke studied bookbinding with Dominic Riley and paper conservation with Karen Zukor. Michael lives in England, where he teaches bookbinding as well at events across the UK. He is a past chair of the North West and North Wales region of SoB. He has taught for diverse book arts groups in the USA, including Los Angeles, Seattle and Salt Lake City. In recent years he has taught at the Paper and Book Intensive, travelled to São Paulo to teach for the Brazilian group ABER, and in 2011 presented Byzantine binding at the Seminar of the Guild of Bookworkers. Michael researches the structures of ancient and medieval bindings and received his Masters degree in the History of the Book from the University of London in 2011.

Michael and Dominic are co-founders of Book Camp, an immersive residential bookbinding experience which aims to teach new generations of binders.

Past Student Reviews:

"I loved the book structure you make, I will def be making it again. I liked how it was setup so you could do it all at home with no special equipment."

“I liked everything about this workshop. I thought the teacher was excellent, the workspace was great, the final product turned out really well too.”

“I liked learning about this bookbinding structure that can be done at home without requiring heavy equipment like a job backer and nipping press.”