Andrew Brown

Artisan Bindery

Bookbinder

©Andrew Brown

Binding history

Andrew preserves history as well as knowledge
An encounter with another bookbinder influenced his craft
A royal commission is a highlight of his career

Whilst working for a picture framer for an art gallery in Chester, Andrew Brown became acquainted with a bookbinder, whose bindery workshop he would visit whilst delivering the post. The unique scent of leather and wood, with top notes of coffee, would greet him on these visits, together with a relaxed and passionate craftsman, ultimately influencing his choice of taking up bookbinding as a profession. Working with his hands comes naturally to Andrew, who is most comfortable when creating and working three dimensionally. Drawing his inspiration from Philip Smith CBE, an artistic Bookbinder based in the UK, Andrew has honed his skills at sewing silk double end bands, also known as headbands, that sit at the head and tail of the spine as a decorative element, as well as the sanded leather technique known as ‘Lacunose’.

Interview

©Andrew Brown

©Andrew Brown

How would you define what you do?: I feel I’m preserving history and knowledge, but also keeping alive a tradition of working with one’s hands. In the digital age, to make something three dimensionally is becoming a rare thing: the craftsperson breathing new life into the nearly obsolete or bringing forth a new creation.
What do you love most about your profession?: What I love most about my profession is seeing the transformation of an array of disparate materials by my own hand into a cohesive whole that functions in a most pleasing manner and serves a purpose that will last generations.
Can you describe a highlight from your professional life?: In 2012, I was commissioned to bind a musical score which was to be presented to Her Majesty the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee year, to commemorate the opening of four new hospitals for the Royal Manchester Hospitals. I witnessed my binding being handed to the Queen by a young boy who was a patient of the new Children’s Hospital.
What advice would you give a young person wanting to learn your craft?: I would recommend anyone wanting to get into bookbinding to ask themselves the following questions: Am I good at, and do I enjoy, working with my hands? Do I have a good eye to hand co-ordination and attention to detail? Do I have bucket loads of patience and do I enjoy working in my own company?

Andrew Brown is an expert artisan: he began his career in 1989