Children’s board books make a great base for altered book projects. This class will show you how to transform a board book into a handmade art book using collage, acrylic techniques, and stamping. Students will discover how to add playful secret pockets, tags, and pop-ups to add elements of dimension and surprise.

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.

Find out how to create a unique art book using textiles, stitching, inks and collage. We start by adhering a patchwork of fabrics onto freezer paper. When dried the resulting strip of material peels off the freezer paper and is ready to be folded into an accordion.

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.

In centuries past, books were sometimes sewn onto cords and then laced into soft covers before being bound for a specific collection or library. In this class students will bind a book using these bindings as a model but employing thick paper as the folded and laced wrapper.

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.

Protect prints and books in elegant lift-top presentation boxes. In this class you will design and construct a custom lift-top box to your own specifications.

Whip your copperplate into shape, put it to work and take it into heretofore unexplored realms with flourishing, color and gold leaf.

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.

If you’ve been seeking an interesting and elegant way to house your book and paper structures or you’re just looking for a beautiful, non-traditional box for storing things, this workshop is your answer. Spend a day learning to construct a charming and functional hatch-top box with a bottom drawer.

Eco Printing is not just for paper! Take a weekend and learn to incorporate this amazing process onto other natural materials while experimenting with the range of printing options including some edible plants.

The traditional method of binding books in Ethiopia survived relatively unchanged for over a thousand years. Learn this binding style and leave with a versatile book that lies flat when opened.

In this popular mail art class, students will be guided through the basics of creating faux postage (a.k.a “artist stamps”) using a variety of different mixed media techniques.

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.

Hand lettering for all, even those with the shakiest of handwriting! Ease into the art of calligraphy with this beginning class in penmanship, letter formation, layout techniques, and calligraphic processes and materials.

Learn how to properly maintain a hand-fed Cylinder Proof Press as well as how to adjust it so that it prints beautifully.

Demystify the details of glorious headbands in this short course.

Do you love the alchemy of printed words and images that mix and grow with the turning of pages? Do the complex layers of meaning that can arise within a book fascinate you? If so, the Artists’ Book is a medium worthy of your exploration. Begin to delve into this rich and expanding format in this one-day class that introduces the history, basic structures, and an overview of the practices used by book artists. Bring your own quotes, short poems, or images and craft a book during the day to get a taste of the joy that is the making of Artists’ Books.

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.

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.

From fibers to formed sheets, students in this workshop will learn to make thin yet strong paper in the Japanese tradition.

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!

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".

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.

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.

Championed by conservator/bookbinder Carmencho Arregui, this book structure can easily be made in a few hours – the perfect thing if you’re interested in making a gift for a friend or a new sketchbook/journal for yourself!

After Orientation to Leather, take the plunge into the world of leather bookbinding with Leather Core 1. In this 3-day workshop students will refine their leather working skills while making a book that advances the skills learned in Bookbinding Core 4.

Gift tags are a quick way to embellish the wrapping of a present or send a quick message to a recipient. Why not get fancy and make some letterpress gift tags for the upcoming season of gift giving?

'Tis the season to send some cards! Spend an evening getting an introduction to letterpress printing on cylinder presses while creating personalized and original holiday stationery.

Based on the Nag Hammadi codex, this single signature book is made from handmade cotton rag paper and leather over thin boards. Once assembled, students will embellish their books completing a personalized, pocket-sized journal/sketchbook.

This 1-day intensive workshop focuses on showcasing an artist's visual collection of natural curiosities in a truly one of a kind enclosure structure.

This class will introduce a range of techniques that can be used in repairing the many kinds of moveable books, including books with slots and tabs, pivots and joints, carousel books and more.

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.

Weekend 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 class will introduce you to the many techniques that were traditionally used to line materials for bookbinding.

Is your pasta machine taking up too much space in the kitchen? Why not try moving it to your studio instead. In this workshop students will have the opportunity to learn how to use their pasta machine for printing small dry-point prints.

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.

In this class students will learn how to make a working pop-up for any size card they have in mind. The finished product will be a fun, pop-up card that can be used as a greeting/note card.

Explore this innovative relief printing technique that utilizes shapes cut from magnetic sheets as an alternative to traditional printing plates.

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.

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.

Create a letterpress printed one page wonder. Single sheet books are made out of one sheet of paper and in this workshop students will design and print an edition of one-page folded books while learning to set type and print on a cylinder press.

This class will present a brief history of Surrealism and discuss the principles and techniques of the Surrealist methods as a “way of working” that can “crossover” and be applied to your own arts projects. Each participant will create a collage/assemblage using the principles and practices of Surrealism identified in the class.

Experience the pleasure of working with beautiful calfskin and learn the fundamentals of decorative blind tooled covers. This intensive master class will introduce students to this classic (and luxurious) English leather binding, which was a popular style throughout the seventeenth century, and is very useful for creating handsome ‘period’ bindings. This is the handsomest of bindings and a great addition to your historical collection.

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 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!