Hand Bookbinding with Gillian
Dive into the fascinating world of bookbinding with award-winning bookbinder Gillian in Scotland's creative capital. Learn traditional and contemporary techniques to sew books and craft leather and paper covers. Outside the studio, sketch by a Scottish Loch in your handmade book and indulge in the thriving arts and food scene.
- Snacks, Coffee, & Tea
Pricing
- One Guest
- USD $1640
- Additional guest(s) (max 4)
- USD $180
Meet the Artist
Gillian is an award-winning bookbinder, designer, paper geek, and educator. As a young designer, she immersed herself in the world of bookbinding, sourcing rare antiquarian equipment and learning from master bookbinders across Europe. Today, Gillian's books are in private and public collections, with past clients including Idris Elba, Quentin Blake, The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Robert Macfarlane, and numerous local writers and artists.
She specializes in binding bespoke books for creatives, working collaboratively to translate their wildest ideas into physical objects. Her expertise lies in leather dyeing, book design, box-making, cyanotype printing, magnetic closures for books and boxes, and edge decoration. Gillian describes storytelling and typography as key sources of inspiration, seeking to communicate the feeling of a particular text through color, texture, and mark-making. She loves how each book is the product of creative expression and precise engineering.
Gillian believes bookbinding is an accessible craft for everyone and aims to share her passion for its rich history, allowing others to carry a piece of heritage home. Beyond her craft, Gillian is a well-traveled lifelong learner who has taught English to Tibetan monks in India, tended goats in Belgium, and crafted chocolate in Ecuador. She finds joy in providing a creative home-away-from-home to you when you visit Scotland.
She specializes in binding bespoke books for creatives, working collaboratively to translate their wildest ideas into physical objects. Her expertise lies in leather dyeing, book design, box-making, cyanotype printing, magnetic closures for books and boxes, and edge decoration. Gillian describes storytelling and typography as key sources of inspiration, seeking to communicate the feeling of a particular text through color, texture, and mark-making. She loves how each book is the product of creative expression and precise engineering.
Gillian believes bookbinding is an accessible craft for everyone and aims to share her passion for its rich history, allowing others to carry a piece of heritage home. Beyond her craft, Gillian is a well-traveled lifelong learner who has taught English to Tibetan monks in India, tended goats in Belgium, and crafted chocolate in Ecuador. She finds joy in providing a creative home-away-from-home to you when you visit Scotland.
VAWAA Includes:
- Design and make two books, one hardcover and one softcover with exposed spine sewing.
- Incorporate personal drawings or special papers you wish to bind into the book.
- Learn traditional bookbinding stitches for a flat opening and smooth page movement, allowing uninterrupted flow of sketches and notes across pages.
- Make custom fitted covers for each book, one with hand-marbled paper and specialist book cloth, and the other with hand dyed leather.
- Explore techniques to hand dye your leather cover, and letter it using traditional brass tools, making it truly unique.
- Personalize your books using a traditional hot foil blocking press and antique letters.
- For an additional fee, you can purchase specialist bookbinding tools and materials such as hand-marbled papers, professional quality book cloth, and tools to continue your bookbinding practice at home.
- An artist’s brunch in one of Gillian’s favorite restaurants in Glasgow’s Southside, followed by a morning spent sketching in your new sketchbook. She'll share some sketching tips, tricks and her sketchbooks.
- A walk around one of Scotland’s Lochs, and an optional wild water swim followed by warming tea and snacks.
Explore Glasgow
Glasgow, Scotland's largest and most creative city, is known for its creative community, friendliness, and local humor. Home to the world-renowned Glasgow School of Art, the city is a magnet for creative talents from around the world, many of whom fall in love with its winding streets and never leave. This creative spirit has fostered a supportive community of makers and a thriving arts scene, with many street art murals sprinkled throughout Glasgow's alleyways and roadsides. Glasgow is a small city with a big attitude thanks to its lively pubs, burgeoning food scene, warm-hearted locals, and a palpable sense of community spirit.
Additional Details
The best times to visit Scotland are spring (before the midges come out) and summer. Autumn can be rainy, but it is a fantastic time to venture to rural areas. While winters can be dark and wet, the Celtic Connections music festival in mid-winter is a local favorite. The city’s most important cultural events, including the Merchant City Festival, Glasgow International, Doors Open, Glasgow Print Fair, Glasgow Film Festival, and Glasgow Jazz Festival, are exciting times to visit.
This session can be extended for up to 30 days for a more immersive and in-depth experience. Please add a note in your booking request.
Due to sharp nature of bookbinding tools, this session is best suited for ages 14 years and above. However, Gillian is committed to making bookbinding accessible, so she is happy to adapt for children, the elderly, and people with special needs. The studio can accommodate one wheelchair.
Gillian speaks English.
This session can be extended for up to 30 days for a more immersive and in-depth experience. Please add a note in your booking request.
Due to sharp nature of bookbinding tools, this session is best suited for ages 14 years and above. However, Gillian is committed to making bookbinding accessible, so she is happy to adapt for children, the elderly, and people with special needs. The studio can accommodate one wheelchair.
Gillian speaks English.
Guest Reviews
Lynette V., United States
Our trip to Glasgow was transformative and will not be forgotten. My entire family - myself, my husband, and our two teenagers - participated in Gillian's bookbinding workshop this February, and we are so grateful to have had this opportunity.
Even before we entered Gillian's fantastical and fantastic workshop (the fairy lights weren't working, unfortunately), we were welcomed to Glasgow and Read moreDaniela D., Switzerland
THE BEST!!! I had an excellent experience with Gillian. I cannot thank her enough as she opened her studio and shared her world with me. I had no experience in bookbinding. As we started the day with coffee/tea, she took the time to listen to my expectations, ideas and questions, and perfectly adapted the course to fulfill them. She worked parallel to me explaining every single step, answering an Read more
