Dive into the world of bookbinding with Francine

Thanks to this workshop led by Francine, the different ways of binding a book will no longer hold any secrets for you. With tools in hand, you’ll be able to practise unbinding a book, filling a gap or repairing an endpaper, and sewing on string with a sewing kit. You’ll also use the percussion press and the backing hammer. Francine will show you how to trim leather, as well as gilding tools.

You’ll be able to touch and feel the grain of buffalo, chagrin, box or basane leather, and let your eyes roam over fine canvas or parchment. You’ll discover the variety of papers she uses: Japon, marbled, chiffon… their origin, weight, function, a whole history that is also that of our civilizations. Not forgetting the « à la cuve » papers she creates from plants: grasses, dandelions, leeks…

To take you on a tour of the world, from traditional to contemporary bookbinding, Francine will present you with a few examples of the works she has bound in her workshop, testifying to her research into paper, leather and thread.

Trained in book arts, with a CAP and BMA in bookbinding and gilding, Francine opened her workshop in 2011. She has completed her training with numerous internships in paper and antique book restoration, in France and abroad. She’ll be delighted to welcome you to her Le Marque Page workshop in the heart of Mulhouse, in South Alsace, and help you discover this fascinating profession and everything that makes up her usual working environment.