Anaïde Fleig

Bookbinder

©Paulas Saint Hilier

©Anaïde Fleig

Storytelling through bookbinding

Anaïde specialises in embroidered binding
It can take her up to a year to design a binding
She graduated with a Métier d’Art diploma in embroidery and bookbinding

Anaïde Fleig subtly combines the craft of embroidery with that of bookbinding. It is her affinity for the textures and techniques of each discipline that fascinates her and leads her to explore the potential of their union to create the book object. For Anaïde, binding is a “pretext for a technical constraint”, which guides her to an overall study of the book: “This is where the fragile balance of the bookbinder's intervention lies: knowing how to think of a design and create a structure that will dress and protect the book while remaining in a light and subtle evocation of its inner content, thus inviting the reader to immerse himself in a reading of the work.” She calls her creations “brodure”, mixing the French words 'broderie' and 'reliure'.

Interview

©Paulas Saint Hilier

©Paulas Saint Hilier

Hw did you come to bookbinding?: During my training in textiles (where I specialised in embroidery), I decided to work exclusively with natural materials: linen, hemp and raffia. It was the discovery of the creative possibilities and technical qualities of these fibres that led me to bookbinding, and the possibility of using other materials than paper or leather.
How would you define your work?: It is a creative process based on an analysis of the work to be bound, leading to a sensitive interpretation. Opening a book must be an experience, a journey and an immersion that completes and sublimates the reading of the work. The bindings I imagine speak to the touch and to the eye.
How are tradition and innovation interacting in your creations?: My bookbinding practice is part of the 'alternative' binding movement, which encourages the renewal of technical processes and the principles of using the "book" object. This means using textiles and embroidery, based on my knowledge of traditional methods, to divert certain uses.
What advice would you give to a person starting out as a bookbinder?: To be aware that craftsmanship is undergoing a real upheaval: the transmission paths are changing, tending towards an evolution of the crafts. You have to keep in mind the commitment that practising a craft requires: patience, obstinacy, rigour and the will to give the craft a new rise.

Anaïde Fleig is a master artisan: she began her career in 2014 and she started teaching in 2018