My Bindery

I've decided to get back into bookbinding. I used to go to evening classes, first at the Further Ed place in Greenwich, then at Guildford College, but it's almost impossible to find one these days. Colleges are entirely driven by the profit motive and a properly equipped bindery is a major cost centre.
Which is why I don't have one. I haven't got the space for one thing, so my stuff has to pack away when not in use.
This restricts what I can do quite considerably, of course. I haven't got a guillotine, a sewing frame or a laying press. I do, however, have a nipping press that I am very fond of. It used to belong to Roger Powell and was, according to his widow, his favourite. I bought it when she sold their house in Petersfield.
So I can only use the basic tools on a cutting mat, with heavier work on a folding work bench, but it is actually quite inspiring what you can do with this basic bindery. I love limp bindings with exposed, non-adhesive sewing styles, and there is a lot one can do with these simple techniques.
The big plus is that fine presses tend to produce slim volumes of poetry and such, which are very well suited to such bindings.
The great advantage of evening classes for me is that it set a timetable and forced me to get on with it (can't waste that subscription!). Now I have to be self-starting, never my strong point. But I have actually set up the equipment and produced my first work. More on that anon...