In centuries past, books were sometimes sewn onto cords and then laced into soft covers before being bound for a specific collection or library. In this class students will bind a book using these bindings as a model but employing thick paper as the folded and laced wrapper.

If you're familiar with "book arts basic concepts" but not quite ready to jump into SFCB's Bookbinding Core series, this is the class for you! In this four hour class, students will build basic bookbinding skills with a focus on sewing multiple signature bindings.

A legendary structure, the fire-proof box is the ultimate in Victorian bookbinding craftsmanship. This box structure is strong, functional and elegant. A rare treat, this box is not often made except for special books.

Explore the joys of making your own historical decorated papers, then experiment with contemporary designs and inventive techniques.

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Paper repair is an essential skill of the book restorer, as many bindings have text pages or plates in need of treatment. In this workshop, Michael will demonstrate effective techniques for treating damaged pages, focusing on cleaning, flattening, restoring loss and mending tears.

Experience the pleasure of working with beautiful calfskin and learn the fundamentals of decorative blind tooled covers. This intensive master class will introduce students to this classic (and luxurious) English leather binding, which was a popular style throughout the seventeenth century, and is very useful for creating handsome ‘period’ bindings. This is the handsomest of bindings and a great addition to your historical collection.

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

In this introductory class, student will gain a basic understanding of the history, techniques, tools, and styles of European marbling.

This extension of our popular Introduction to Western Marbling workshop will help students take their marbling skills to the next level as they learn to marble on fabric that can be used for covering books and boxes.

This workshop will introduce students to an intriguing historical structure referred to as the Box Binding. This early bookbinding structure, flourished from the 8th-12th centuries throughout the Islamic world.

Learn to make an adorable library of books small enough to fit in your pocket! Share your love of books by creating a set of tiny tomes to wear and share.

Discover how to combine accordion folds, signatures, and a piano hinge spine to create a unique book with a playful hiding place.

This class will introduce a range of techniques that can be used in repairing the many kinds of moveable books, including books with slots and tabs, pivots and joints, carousel books and more.

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Hey you, finicky readers out there! Tired of having to wrestle with your beloved books as you read them? This class is for you. In this workshop, we will take a paperback book and transform it into something more durable and easier to flex and open.

Weekend Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

In this intensive workshop, students will learn how to make Korean and Japanese handmade paper from scratch. We will experiment with our handmade sheets to create textured and naturally dyed papers that we will then use to make Asian side-stitched books.

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Do you love the alchemy of printed words and images that mix and grow with the turning of pages? Do the complex layers of meaning that can arise within a book fascinate you? If so, the Artists’ Book is a medium worthy of your exploration. Begin to delve into this rich and expanding format in this one-day class that introduces the history, basic structures, and an overview of the practices used by book artists. Bring your own quotes, short poems, or images and craft a book during the day to get a taste of the joy that is the making of Artists’ Books.

Do you have stacks of old books lying around that no longer have monetary, cultural, or personal value and are just taking up space? Transform them into works of art!

Working from pre-cut materials students will learn three simple enclosures: Folded Paper Portfolio, Phased Box, & Slipcase.

To paraphrase Lewis Carroll, we begin at the beginning. This, the first of our Core Bookbinding series, introduces students to the craft with the Coptic stitch, one of the earliest structures in binding.

This 1-day intensive workshop focuses on showcasing an artist's visual collection of natural curiosities in a truly one of a kind enclosure structure.

If you’ve been seeking an interesting and elegant way to house your book and paper structures or you’re just looking for a beautiful, non-traditional box for storing things, this workshop is your answer. Spend a day learning to construct a charming and functional hatch-top box with a bottom drawer.

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Captivate readers with this dynamic structure. A seemingly simple codex – which is actually two accordions attached together – opens delightfully to reveal three hidden rooms when the center page is pulled open.

Discover how to combine the simple structure of an accordion book with the playful elements of pop-ups and collage. Here's the opportunity to combine content and form to communicate your unique vision.

Spend the day exploring ways to take a commercially available book kit up a notch. You can find pre-sewn textblocks with pre-cut boards ready to put together in many art stores. This workshop will cover the ways to get the best results from the kit using tools you probably have on hand as well as techniques to give the finished project a little something extra.

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

This extension of our popular Introduction to Western Marbling workshop will help students take their marbling skills to the next level as they learn to marble on fabric that can be used for covering books and boxes.

The final class in our Core Bookbinding series uses skills learned in each previous class to create a beautiful and classic rounded back cloth binding.

The San Francisco Center for the Book celebrates the craft and art of bookbinding. Our Bookbinding Core Certificate Program introduces students to four different binding models, leading them through the history and evolution of bookmaking. It provides students a comprehensive foundation to delve into the practice of binding and qualifies them work in our bindery.

While bookbinding and book repair share many skills and techniques, they are also distinct pursuits. This course is intended to introduce the student familiar with bookbinding to key practices within basic book repair.

Discover how to make a stab binding book that can become a unique travel journal to take on trips and vacations. In this class you will find out how to fold and bind a variety of decorative papers to create a book that can be used to jot down notes, sketches and bright ideas while you’re travelling.

Protect prints and books in elegant lift-top presentation boxes. In this class you will design and construct a custom lift-top box to your own specifications.

If you've been looking for a book with a nearly indestructible cover, or just a unique binding, this is your answer! Straight out of a 1970s Italian phone booth, this 360-degree flexible binding offers many advantages because it bends and does not break.

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!

Weekend Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Evening Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

In this class students will learn how to make a working pop-up for any size card they have in mind. The finished product will be a fun, pop-up card that can be used as a greeting/note card.

Find out how to create a unique art book using textiles, stitching, inks and collage. We start by adhering a patchwork of fabrics onto freezer paper. When dried the resulting strip of material peels off the freezer paper and is ready to be folded into an accordion.

Weekend Open Studio is an opportunity, for those who qualify to work on their own projects with an experienced instructor on hand.

Learn basic bookbinding structures and stitches that every book artist should know in this three-hour workshop. If you’ve ever been curious about how to make a book, Introduction to Bookbinding is the place to start. One workshop, five booklets!