Alchemy is more than just turning lead into gold. Trace the history of the process, learn about its applications and identify ways that you can use alchemical influences in your own art in this 4-hour workshop.

Combine pop-up and movable book structures to bring dimension and animation to your books. Participants in this workshop will be introduced to the fundamentals of paper engineering and learn about the tools and materials of the craft.

If you've been looking for a book with a nearly indestructible cover, or just a unique binding, this is your answer! Straight out of a 1970s Italian phone booth, this 360-degree flexible binding offers many advantages because it bends and does not break.

While bookbinding and book repair share many skills and techniques, they are also distinct pursuits. This course is intended to introduce the student familiar with bookbinding to key practices within basic book repair.

To paraphrase Lewis Carroll, we begin at the beginning. This, the first of our Core Bookbinding series, introduces students to the craft with the Coptic stitch, one of the earliest structures in binding.

The San Francisco Center for the Book celebrates the craft and art of bookbinding. Our Bookbinding Core Certificate Program introduces students to four different binding models, leading them through the history and evolution of bookmaking. It provides students a comprehensive foundation to delve into the practice of binding and qualifies them work in our bindery.

In this second Core Bookbinding class, students will create what most of us refer to as a hardbound book. In bookbinding terms, it is known as a case binding; where a sewn textblock is glued into a separate structure known as a case.

The final class in our Core Bookbinding series uses skills learned in each previous class to create a beautiful and classic rounded back cloth binding.

Working from pre-cut materials students will learn three simple enclosures: Folded Paper Portfolio, Phased Box, & Slipcase.

Discover the possibilities of brush lettering. By learning some of the fundamental techniques and principles of letter formation, sign writing, and calligraphy, students will learn how to create their very own letter designs using watercolor and gouache painting methods.

A book structure with personality built into the cover, buttonhole books allow for exposed sewing and decorative cuts that give a window from the outside in.

Dig in to the tradition and history of letterpress printing and get your hands dirty. Learn about the process and practice of setting type, mixing inks and pulling impressions. In this class you will learn how to print your own cards!

The four class Cylinder Core Certificate Program allows students to move quickly through the press basics while also addressing relief printing in general. After this class students are qualified to rent press time as well as move on to more advanced classes and techniques.

Build your letterpress skills: learn advanced justification, typesetting, and composition. Put it all together to print a broadside of your own design.

Design and aesthetic. Increase your letterpress versatility: learn to set up the press, refine you registration skills, and run an edition. Learn more about packing, roller height, and make-ready. Come ready to run an edition of your own small poster!

Bring digital back into analog in this final core course and learn to print from photopolymer plates. Apply your letterpress skills to artwork created digitally to make fantastic plates for printing. Walk away with a stack of stationery printed from polymer plates.

Bring digital back into analog in this final core course and learn to print from photopolymer plates. Apply your letterpress skills to artwork created digitally to make fantastic plates for printing. Walk away with a stack of stationery printed from polymer plates.

Break out of the clamshell and slip case box for storing your bookish objects. Using binders’ board and marbled paper, learn to construct a decorative box with two drawers as an alternative storage option.

Tinker with analog design and produce a small edition with your personal aesthetic imprinted throughout the book. In addition to the scheduled class meetings, students may use open studio time to fully develop and implement decorative type in a small edition of excerpts from a classic text. You’ll design your book’s cover in addition to the decorations throughout the text.

Explore the possibilities of making prints from flowers, plants, and other materials found in nature in this two-day workshop.

A legendary structure, the fire-proof box is the ultimate in Victorian bookbinding craftsmanship. This box structure is strong, functional and elegant. A rare treat, this box is not often made except for special books.

The right paper loves to be folded, creased and bound, and this course is an integrated exploration of the two pleasures of accordions and folds, and where they intersect. Create five books during this fun-filled session, that covers a wide range of possibilities for these structures.

Get medieval! Learn the history and fundamentals of Gothic Textura in this introductory calligraphy workshop.

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

If you're familiar with "book arts basic concepts" but not quite ready to jump into SFCB's Bookbinding Core series, this is the class for you! In this four hour class, students will build basic bookbinding skills with a focus on sewing multiple signature bindings.

If you're familiar with "book arts basic concepts" but not quite ready to jump into SFCB's Bookbinding Core series, this is the class for you! In this four hour class, students will build basic bookbinding skills with a focus on sewing multiple signature bindings.

If you're looking to begin making artists' books or adding content to existing books, color theory is a great place to start. Through a series of hands-on exercises, this course covers the basics of color theory and acrylic techniques that are essential for artists working in any medium.

This extension of our popular Introduction to Western Marbling workshop will help students take their marbling skills to the next level as they learn to marble on fabric that can be used for covering books and boxes.

Step up your mixed media techniques and new layers of content to your collage and book arts projects with this introductory course to image transfers. Students will learn a variety of transfer techniques and leave with samples to take home and incorporate into their own art processes.

This class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press.

This class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press.

This class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press.

This class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press.

This 4-hour version of our popular Introduction to Letterpress class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press with more hands-on time for students to work with typesetting and printing. Come play with us!

This 4-hour version of our popular Introduction to Letterpress class introduces the process, the materials, the machines, and the satisfaction of printing by hand on a Cylinder proof press with more hands-on time for students to work with typesetting and printing. Come play with us!

For any student interested in using handmade paper to create sculptural forms with armatures, this is a class for you!  Students will learn building methods for armatures and ways to wrap and dip their armatures in handmade paper prepared in a way that is called "high shrinkage".

Spend a joyful afternoon learning this centuries old process that produces exciting, intricate designs, and offers endless possibilities for decorating paper. Colorful and fun, this method is easy to learn and the papers created can be used for many purposes.

Gather your drawings and get ready to transfer your imagery into scratchboard illustration. Learn the basics of this accessible direct engraving technique in this one-day workshop.

Learn the ins-and-outs of the Risograph, a marriage of silkscreen meeting photocopier. In this class you’ll create and edition print a 2-4 color poster.

Learn the ins-and-outs of the Risograph, a marriage of silkscreen meeting photocopier. In this class you’ll create and edition print a 2-4 color poster.

In this introductory class, student will gain a basic understanding of the history, techniques, tools, and styles of European marbling.

In this introductory class, student will gain a basic understanding of the history, techniques, tools, and styles of European marbling.

The accordion book is a versatile structure for artists of all mediums. In this all day workshop, students learn various tips and tricks for creating their own accordion books -- and leave with a variety of samples to inspire future projects.

Looking for a dynamic new artists' book structure? Explore the unique capabilities and three-dimensional movement of the flag book—a structure composed of crisscrossing “flags” or small pages attached to an accordion-folded spine.

Make your own decorative paper and amaze your friends and family! This workshop is a fun introduction to printing on a cylinder proof press, introducing creative techniques such as pressure printing, overlapping print runs, and ghost printing.

Gain exposure to letterpress and typesetting while making personalized note-card stationery.

Fold a little paper, decorate it with your own drawings, use a blade for cutting, and a glue-stick to piece it all together – et voila, a miniature pop-up theatre!

Learn the basics of linoleum block design, carving, printing and registration for multiple colors with master printer Rik Olson. Leave with a three-color, beautifully registered print.

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Weekend Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Weekend Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

This introduction to the secondary track in leatherwork for bookbinding helps students cross the frontier of those remote and mysterious tools and techniques commonly used in leather bookbinding today.

Have you been dreaming of honing your marbling skills but are unsure of doing it on your own? This workshop will allow you to do just that! Guided by Italian marbler Pietro Accardi, students will have a day to practice techniques learned in SFCB’s Introduction to Marbling workshops and leave with a stack of their own marbled paper.

Paper repair is an essential skill of the book restorer, as many bindings have text pages or plates in need of treatment. In this workshop, Michael will demonstrate effective techniques for treating damaged pages, focusing on cleaning, flattening, restoring loss and mending tears.

Discover how to combine accordion folds, signatures, and a piano hinge spine to create a unique book with a playful hiding place.

Learn the fundamentals of digital design for letterpress! Students will learn key skills for software applications like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. We will explore best practices for handling photographic and vector images as well as setting digital type for photopolymer plate production.

After taking Polymer Core 1, learn how to make detailed, high-quality photopolymer plates from digital files and film for letterpress printing.

Hey you, finicky readers out there! Tired of having to wrestle with your beloved books as you read them? This class is for you. In this workshop, we will take a paperback book and transform it into something more durable and easier to flex and open.

Explore the complexities of this challenging area of book restoration.

After completing the Introduction to the Risograph Class, you can now work on your own Risograph project. Consider a poster or series of postcards, pamphlet zine or single-page structure.

Now that you've completed the Cylinder Core series, you can become certified on the Jobbing Platen, a true workhorse of the letterpress printing world. Learn the ins-and-outs of this press that's great for large editions.

Seventeenth century England was the age of revolution, and the age of the pamphlet. Whether incendiary, radical or politically contentious, treaties published in this format were published in their millions. This new workshop from Dominic will teach you how to make an authentic binding from the period. Working on a facsimile of a historical text, we will reproduce a handsome ‘pastiche’ binding sympathetic with the time.

Think outside the standard box! In this workshop students will learn to make several different shaped boxes from various paper materials and custom templates.

In this class students will learn how to combine the basic structure of a star book with the theatrical 3D effects of a tunnel book. Through various methods they will discover how build a mobile with a playful sense of narrative.

The Ideal Sketchbook is modeled on the those used by Wordsworth and Ruskin as they wandered the Lake District to draw and write. Strong, elegant, and pleasing to use, it was the 'daybook' of choice for all the great Romantic poets and artists.

Make your own meditation scroll, a unique design and process developed by the instructor. There will be a brief history of the scroll and an introduction to focused awareness and stillness in the making of art.

Learn to make an adorable library of books small enough to fit in your pocket! Share your love of books by creating a set of tiny tomes to wear and share.

If you're looking to add a pop-up element to your book or just looking for an effective way of making an impact on a page then the Turkish Map Fold is for you! This fun structure has a range of possibilities in the book arts world.

Learn to create an image suitable for woodcut, then carve your image by hand, and use that block of wood to make a suite of paper prints. It doesn't get much easier than that!