In the fall of 2012, as I was closing the door on my massage practice of 11 years, I happened upon a very informal 1-day workshop in bookbinding, on an artist retreat farm in beautiful central Pennsylvania. The precise and magical process of turning paper, thread, book board and glue into a lovely and sturdy little book grabbed my curiosity and fascination. I was completely drawn in, and continued to explore, through much trial and error, the craft of book construction.

The following year, we moved from Pennsylvania to Cambridge, England. It was there that I had the opportunity to take classes, and then work (open studio) at a traditional bindery–Brignell Bookbinders. While still in England I took additional classes— some in book binding and others in box making.

Moving back to Pennsylvania, I set up my own small-scale book bindery. In my workspace, I have gathered together many of the tools of the book binding trade: marbled papers from the UK and Turkey, origami papers from Japan, Thai and Indian papers… book cloth from Italy and Japan, waxed linen threads in a rainbow of colors… and many other bookbinding tools and treasures.

The binding methods I use combine traditional construction techniques, with modern adaptations. It is a rewarding fusion of the old and new— but always with an eye to a well crafted, and visually pleasing book.