My own devices

A few weeks ago I showed a friend how I’ve learnt to bind my own books. We sat down together in the amazing venue drink, shop & do and I showed her how to bind a book. Somehow I managed to make coherent sense, a miracle in itself, and she asked if I would like to teach a class on bookbinding for finishing school. Finishing school is a group that was set up by my two friends, Becky and Fiona, to provide an environment where girls in London can meet socially and learn a new skill; Brownies for grown-ups.

Feeling both nervious and excited at the idea I accepted, and last Thursday we set up the back room of drink,shop & do with pages of paper, card, thread and needles. Initially I was very nervous but I soon settled into the role of tutor, which was helped by the fact that between my talking sessions everyone was quite happily chatting amongst themselves. At the end of the class everyone had successfully made a working book, some including a book ribbon courtesy of a very kind member who had brought a large pile of ribbons with her. What made the night for me was that everyone was very happy with what they had made, and indeed all the books were of a better quality than the first one that I made! 

My next challenge is to write a set of step-by-step notes for the members to refer back to and for those that couldn’t make it to use and have a go. It was a fantastic experience that I’d be willing to do again.