Owl Post - October 2024

The week has flown by with Sydney Craft week events and we had some superb workshops in the bindery, even though we teach workshops every Saturday, these were simply glorious, everyone had such a good time making books and block printing.

Block printing and bookbinding during Sydney Craft Week

Meanwhile, we continue with our hands and elbows deep with preparations for our Open Bindery Tour this Saturday, you can envisioned lots of frenzied cleaning; and thinking; should we use disposable paper cups (!!!) or will there be enough china tea cups and saucers and so on, and should we serve cakes or biscuits? Old favourites remain the best we think, shortbread perhaps or a lemon drizzle cake. Bizet's Carmen is playing in the background to sustain us. If you don't have a ticket yet, hurry as there are limited places left.

Preparing books for fine bindings for the Sydney Rare Book Fair

For pure pleasure and a wee break, we re-read Miss Pettigrew lives for a day by Winifred Watson which is definitely one of our top ten books. If you have not indulged we highly recommend that you do! And take in the film too starring Amy Adams, one of her better roles.

Journals, diaries or notebooks? You decide…

Everything is in full swing and coming together for the Sydney Rare Book Fair (24th - 26th October), everyone in the bindery is busy making and binding journals, diaries, and notebooks. Are they not all the same, you might wonder? No, they are not. Recently, we've been absorbed in Roland Allen’s The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper. The book delves into how notebooks have shaped history, from trade ledgers in medieval times to the creative work of figures like Da Vinci and Einstein. Allen shows how, even in today’s digital age, the simple act of writing and drawing in a blank notebook can fundamentally alter how we think and remains a powerful tool for thinking and creativity. So choose your 'notebook' wisely...

Isabelle