Big River Bindery

This book had broken threads, so needs to be completely disbound for repairs and resewing. #bookconservation #bookrepair #bookbinding #bookarts

I’m putting together a tray for a new clamshell box. The interior is made of solid binders board, but will be covered in cloth and paper when done. A good clamshell box protects rare and fragile books. #bookconservation #bookbinding #clamshellbox #bookarts

Cutting down boards for a bookbinding workshop this week. I love the board shear for speeding up the process. But not quite this quick. #bookbinding #bookarts #cuttingboard #boardshear

Spent the day making cases for an artists’ book. It’s nice to do the same operation and to get into a groove. #bookbinding #bookarts #editionbookbinding

Who else has a collection of different weights for bookbinding? Soft, hard, heavy, and light, they all come in handy in the shop. #bookbinding #weights #bookarts #bookconservation #bookrepair

I’m cutting down paper for a workshop. The guillotine makes quicker work of the process. #bookarts #bookbinding #cuttingpaper

I love using my Scharf-Fix to pare down leather for hinges on a book. Makes it quick and easy. #bookbinding #leatherbinding #finebinding #bookarts

I’ll be teaching this book structure, the Sewn Board Binding, in the shop at the end of March. It’s opens wide so it’s perfect for sketchbooks and journals. See more at our website.

There’s still time to join us for the Long Stitch Book workshop on March 3 in Scarborough, ON. I’m one evening we’ll make this book with structural and decorative sewing. See more at our website.

We’re set up for the Geli Print and Letterpress workshop this weekend. Jacquie Sullivan will be leading this weekend of print making. #letterpress #gelatinprint #leadtype #woodtype #bookarts

I had to cut strips of 10 point board for a preservation enclosure workshop. Thank god my board shear is just big enough for the roll. #bookbinding #bookconservation #cuttingmaterial

Glad you could join us.

Spent the weekend with a great group of students making the Edelpappband, or Fine Paper Binding. They worked hard and made amazing books. Hope they come back to the shop again soon. #bookarts #bookbinding

Finally made this clamshell box for my copy of Laura Russell’s artists’ book while teaching a private student in the shop. #bookbinding #bookarts #clamshellbox

We love getting your postcards.

There’s still time to sign up for the upcoming workshop, Colourful Quotes: Gelatin Plates and Letterpress. February 22 and 23, you’ll learn both processes and finish with some great artwork. See more on our website on the workshop tab.

This new tissue hinge gets feathered onto the book. The paste used to adhere it reactivates when you use the water pen to loosen the fibres of the tissue.

Doing a little paper repair on these book pages. Next they’ll go back in the book.

Join us in Toronto or Online for the first Canadian Artists’ Book Symposium. A full day of talks and a tour. Sign up at tinyurl.com/cabs2025

We made pressure prints with friends in the shop yesterday. A quick easy process to make images on the letterpress. #letterpress #bookarts #printmaking #pressureprint

I finished the week by casing in a set of books. Adhering the cover to the text block is the last step of the binding process. #bookbinding #bookarts #caseboundbook

If a broken book has damaged thread inside, we will take it apart and resew the text block. It’s satisfying to have it strong and secure again. #bookconservation #bookbinding #bookart

Join us in Toronto for a weekend workshop on making a Clamshell Box. It’s a cloth and board preservation enclosure that protects and preserves your book. See the full details at bigriverbindery.com/clamshell-box/ #bookbinding #clamshellbox

Great colours.

I had a great time at the Bound Book Arts Fair on Sunday. So many great artists sharing their work. #bookbinding #letterpress #printmaking #bookarts

Join me at the Bound Book Arts Fair in Toronto next weekend. I'll have blank books, cards, and artists' books to share. Plus we'll announce our winter book arts workshops in Scarborough. #bookarts #bookbinding #scarborough #toronto #letterpress

I’m removing the old glue and acidic paper from this bible. Once clean, I can reline the spine with new and better materials. #bookconservation #bookrepair

Here are the demo paste papers I made for the Helen Hiebert Paper Year workshop. #pastepaper #bookarts

Had a great time at the E.J. Pratt library with my students this week. So many artists’ books and historic bindings.

It's about time to make a new pierced vellum binding. The color is the board, painted before the vellum went on the book.