Workshop Fee (includes materials fee): $770
Scholarship available; click here to apply.

This is an in-person workshop. As of January 2023, masks are strongly encouraged but not required unless otherwise indicated. 

This class will introduce you to the ‘commercial’ full leather binding. It is a much quicker and easier structure than traditional laced-on binding — essentially it is a reinforced case binding with a built-in cloth joint, which allows for strength.

The book is sewn on frayed out hemp cords, and is trimmed, rounded and backed. The top edge is decorated with graphite and a leather headband attached. Then we will construct the case and add a hollow on the spine. We will concentrate on accurate paring and covering, and the forming of the leather cover ‘off the book’.

This is a very useful style of binding for when the beauty of full leather is required while working to a budget.
 

>> Prerequisite: Bookbinding Core 1-4 plus Orientation to Leather or equivalent, and some additional experience working with leather in bookbinding <<

Materials to Bring: 

• Your bookbinding toolkit
• Sharp paring knife and strop

Date & Time: Monday-Friday, August 7-11, 2023 :: 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 three days prior to the start date of the workshop to allow the instructor time to prep materials for class. 
 

About the Instructor | Dominic Riley (he/him)

Dominic Riley Is an internationally renowned bookbinder, artist, lecturer and teacher. He has his bindery in England, 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 a Fellow of DB in 2008 and is Patron of the New Zealand Association of Book Crafts. 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 a past President of the Society of Bookbinders. Dominic and Michael Burke are co-founders of Book Camp, an immersive residential bookbinding experience which aims to teach new generations of binders.

He has taught masterclasses in the USA, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, at the Centro del Bel Libro in Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Canada.

Past Student Reviews:

“Dominic is a fantastic instructor. He's kind and patient, but doesn't talk down to you. I've been making books for 10 years, and have taken other workshops (of varying quality) elsewhere, but even when Dominic covered things I'd thought I'd known inside and out, such as paper grain, I gained new info. I learned so much in this one workshop."

“Dominic is a master binder. His skill level is unsurpassed. It is a privilege to learn from him.”