Society of Bookbinders

	PRESIDENT: David Lanning David has been at bookbinding suppliers J. Hewit & Sons Ltd. since 1987. He came to Hewits by way of an agricultural and farming background with an expertise in growing bananas and avocados. But that, as they say, is another story… He started at Hewits in the position of London Sales Manager and was appointed a Director of the company with overall responsibility for Sales and Marketing in 1991. David is passionate about the craft and trade of bookbinding and although he has never wielded a bone folder or paring knife in anger, he considers himself quite a competent armchair bookbinder!
	CHAIRMAN: Dermott Creece Having spent all his working life in the printing trade, Dermott started bookbinding – like so many other people – because there was a class with space available. After falling in love with the craft he has run his own successful business in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, for the past 20 years. Since joining the Society he has held a number of positions: Regional Treasurer, Regional Conference Organiser and Treasurer, National Membership Secretary, and, most recently, Regional Representative on Council. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Society in 2006.
	VICE-PRESIDENT: Dominic Riley Dominic is a self-employed restorer, designer binder, teacher, writer, lecturer and occasional film-maker. He has worked in London, New York and San Francisco, and is a past president of the Hand Bookbinders of California. He won both first prizes and the Mansfield Medal in the Designer Bookbinders 2007 competition, and was elected Fellow of DB in 2008. He spends part of the year teaching in the USA with Michael Burke, and has his bindery in the Lake District.
	TREASURER: Maurus O'Donnell Maurus attended a beginners’ bookbinding course at Burton Manor, The Wirral, in October 2003, and then a book repair course in July 2004. He joined the Society in 2005 and has attended nearly all the NW&NW’s meetings since then. Apart from the pleasure of advancing his own personal interest in well-made and good-looking books, he values most the willingness of fellow members to share their interests and professional skills with amateurs like himself. He regards his role as treasurer as a way of saying thank you for their generosity.
	SECRETARY: David Lynch David is a lifelong book collector but a newcomer to bookbinding. He spent forty years as a barrister and later a Circuit Judge in Liverpool, retiring in 2005 with the publication of his History of the Northern Circuit 1876-2004. He joined the Society in 2002 and is a past Chairman and Secretary of the North Wales and North West Region.
	PATRON: Bernard Middleton MBE Bernard trained at the Central School of Arts & Crafts and was apprenticed to The British Museum Bindery. He was a Craftsman – Demonstrator at the Royal College of Art from 1949–51 and Manager at Zaehnsdorf Ltd. from 1951–53. He has been a self-employed book restorer and designer bookbinder since 1953. An Honourary Fellow of SoB and a Fellow and former President of Designer Bookbinders, Bernard was awarded an MBE for services to bookbinding in 1986. His publications include A History of English Craft Bookbinding Technique (1963, 4th ed. 1996), The Restoration of Leather Bindings (1972, 4th ed. 2004) and Recollections: a life in bookbinding (2000). He has lectured and demonstrated worldwide and is internationally recognised and respected for his contribution to the craft of bookbinding.