Society of Bookbinders Conference 2026

Kate Holland — Journey from Brain to Board 

An illustrated talk examining how someone with little artistic background tries to carve a path from initially reading the book to articulating a personal response, coming up with a semblance of a design, exploring which of the myriad different decorative techniques are the most suitable to realise said design, probably then needing to work out new decorative techniques because the existing ones do not suffice and then trying to wrangle it all into a cohesive whole.

Dominic Riley — The Tudor Style 

This technique was devised by Dominic’s first teacher Paul Delrue, as a way of covering a book in overlapping pieces of leather, which gives a very sculptural and tactile result. Leathers of different colours can be used, as well as curved pieces, all of which produce covers of beauty and intrigue. Dominic will show how to pare the leather, plan the design and cover the book, including final flourishes of ‘secondary’ layers which further enhance the beauty of the cover. He will also give a short slideshow of bindings, both by himself and others, of interesting uses of this versatile technique.

Gillian Stewart — Magnetic Box Closures 

A demonstration of two processes for using magnets as box closures. Magnets offer a neat, secure and very satisfying way to create an invisible closure on boxes. During this demo Gillian will share some tips and tricks for successful and tidy use of magnets.

Suzanne Schmollegruber — Articulated: Architecture in Motion 

When designing the book Articulated – Architecture in Motion, Suzanne had a strong desire to use the movable elements she had been collecting for decades in her sample box. She wanted to build a book with windows and modular pages, like a small architectural structure, the goal initially, simply to have fun. She conducted numerous experiments, trying new ways of transforming thick, rigid card into something softer, more flexible, mobile, and playful. She then added hinges, joints, and articulations of all kinds to the pages. This talk takes us through the story.

Glenn Bartley — Miniature Bindings for Queen Mary's Dolls' House 

Glenn Bartley illustrated lecture will focus on the creation of the new miniature bindings commissioned to mark the 2024 Centenary of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House. It will explore the historical significance of this world-famous dolls’ house and the original 1920s library before outlining the vision for the centenary project. Glenn will describe the planning and execution involved to produce 21 unique miniature design bindings, the challenges of working at doll house scale, collaborating with the authors and binders and exhibiting the books at Windsor Castle.

Ann-Marie Miller and Emma Wright — A Legacy of Letters 

An important National Trust holding of letters by the Brownes who lived for four centuries in their Troutbeck Valley home in the Lake District. This is the story of their conservation of the volumes containing them, bound by George Browne (1834-1914) an enthusiastic bookbinder. Much needed conserving including 4 of the 16 volumes of letters of George’s 17th and 18th century ancestors. Emma Wright, Townend’s Collections and House Manager will set the story. Ann-Marie will then describe the work carried out on part of the collection.

Trade

All the main suppliers will be in the trade area near the lecture theatres, open from Friday morning and throughout the conference. This gives you plenty of time to browse. You can also pre-order items from suppliers for collection at the event, saving on postage.

Suppliers include: Two Rivers Paper, Thomas Schmitz, Brilliant Magpie Bookbinding, Victoria Hall Marbled Papers, John Purcell Paper, J. Hewit and Sons, Harmatan Leather, Marsh Marbling and Designer Bookbinders, among others.

Visit

York University Archives 

The University archivists will offer a behind-the-scenes tour of the archives on Friday morning, alongside a display of Bindings from the Archives — examples of how archive bindings can inspire both historical research and practical technique. The visit also includes access to two exhibitions: Radical Print in the Long 18th Century and Dante at the Borthwick, featuring high-quality facsimile volumes from the series La Biblioteca di Dante.

Visit will be available from 9.00am, with a further slot later in the morning.