Atelier is a revitalization of our first bindery which was located in Indiana and specialized in repair, restoration and re-binding.  These services are available while the primary goal of the bindery is to promote and preserve the craft of English hand bookbinding.  

Atelier draws its name from the French word for “workshop”, and from a long-standing tradition in the fine arts; historically, an atelier was the workshop of an established master artist, wherein the master, apprentices and students endeavored to produce work that was recorded in the master’s name. Enforced by medieval guilds, but later largely supplanted by art academies, the atelier declined in popularity until recent times.

The modern atelier works on the model of a professional artist who takes on a very small number of students for long-term, often intensive study in the particular techniques of a fine art or craft, in this case, bookbinding.

While the Atelier bindery offers courses from as short as five days to up to two months in duration, all instruction is based in the same principles of fine craftsmanship, high-quality tools and materials and historically-accurate technique as the historic ateliers practiced for centuries. Only the finest goat and calf leathers, seasoned book boards, handmade papers, Japanese tissues, Irish unbleached linen tapes and 24k gold are used in the production of our books. The majority of our equipment is vintage cast iron which has been restored and refinished by hand for use in a modern bindery.