January HBC Newsletter

Membership Events Exhibitions Workshops About HBC

MEMBERSHIP

BECOME A MEMBER OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY!

JOIN HBC

HBC has several types of memberships available: Single, Double, Student and Group ranging from $20 a year to $50 a year.

Also please consider contributing to the Jane Aaron Scholarship Fund. It provides memberships to binders who otherwise couldn't afford it. Find out more here: https://handbookbinders.org/jane-aaron-foundation

Please email membership@handbookbinders.org if you have any questions.

HBC BINDERY NIGHTS AT SFCB

Remember that HBC members have free access to studio space at the San Francisco Center for the Book for HBC Bindery Nights!

It’s like open studio, but with a bookbinder onsite to answer questions and offer tips. Need studio space to work on your Rainbow Flag project for HBC53? Or maybe you’re working on a set book and could use advice from a fellow bookbinder? It’s free and open to HBC members, from 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM. The upcoming dates for HBC Bindery Nights are:

Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Tuesday, March 25, 2025

No registration required! Learn and share with other HBC members. A Big Thanks to SFCB for making this possible!

EXHIBITIONS

HBC53: Annual Members’ Exhibition at the American Bookbinders Museum

The intent to enter will open in February.
Books will be due at the beginning of April.
The exhibition will run May 17th through August 23rd.

You can participate in the catalog design for HBC53 by sending photos of any interesting plaquettes or models you have made. They do not need to be related to the book you are entering in HBC53. Please photograph the plaquettes or models in natural light, against a white background, without shadows. Please photograph models lying flat. Only one object per photograph, but you can submit multiple photographs. See example photos above. Send photographs to robin@robinbrandes.com. Thanks for participating!

EVENTS

THANKS FOR ATTENDING OUR HOLIDAY PARTY!

We had a very nice turnout at our holiday party last month at the Book Club of California. Thank you very much to them for welcoming us into their space, and thank you to everyone who attended!

WORKSHOPS

JANE AARON SCHOLARSHIP FUND

We would like to raise $1500 for the scholarship fund by the end of 2025. This could provide three students with partial-tuition scholarships to advanced workshops we plan to hold. Educating bookbinders has been an essential part of our founding mission since our inception in 1972. Bringing instructors from outside the Bay Area allows our members to be exposed to cutting-edge ideas and techniques, but due to instructor travel expenses, these workshops can be too costly for bookbinders just starting out in their careers. To help these students, the scholarship program was established in 2014 by Jane Aaron, an early HBC member. We are grateful to carry on her spirit of generosity.

Annual membership renewal season is here; why not add a small amount to your dues and help a fellow bookbinder? If everyone gave an average of just $15, we could meet our goal. Thanks for considering!

We will also be rolling out some exciting new HBC merch in 2025 that will benefit the scholarship fund that we will preview at the Holiday party! Keep your browser locked to handbookbinders.org.

CLASSIFIEDS

Do you have something you’d like to advertise? Please email us at editor@handbookbinders.org!

** ~ Standing Press in Oakland ~ **
Manufactured by Seybold, the best. Very large press. Platen and bed are 21" x 28" and it is 90" high! $1475, see here for more details and photo.

BOOKISH EVENTS

Upcoming events from around the Bay Area and beyond!

Salon Series 53: Citizen Printer in Conversation
with Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., Kelly Walters. Hosted by Letterform Archive on January 9th from 12pm - 1:30pm. Virtual Lecture.
Exploring CutOuts: Techniques, History, and Modern Tools with Insiya Dhatt hosted by the American Bookbinders Museum on January 18th from 11am - 12pm. Virtual Lecture.
OPEN SET 2025: Gallery Walkthrough with Lang Ingalls at the San Francisco Center for the Book, 375 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, on January 21st from 6pm - 8pm.

If you would like to add events to our website, please fill out the event submission form.