DESIGNER BOOKBINDERS - Key Persons

BIO Bernard was born in London in 1924 and followed his father into bookbinding, training at the Central School of Arts and Crafts (London) and began his apprenticeship at the British Museum Bindery (1940-1948). After military service, he finished his apprenticeship, attended evening classes at the London School of Printing, and soon afterwards began teaching at the Royal College of Art and the London School of Printing. He served in the Royal Navy from 1943-1946 and then for two years he was manager at the famous firm of Zaehnsdorf's. In 1953 he and his wife Dora set up in business for themselves in Soho and since 1960 Bernard lived and worked in Clapham, south London, specialising in fine book restoration. Bernard was a founder member of the Guild of Contemporary Bookbinders (later Designer Bookbinders) and was one of Britain's foremost book craftsmen and trade historians, lecturing and teaching in Europe, the US and South America. He was a Fellow and former President of Designer Bookbinders, and Honorary Fellow and patron of the Society of Bookbinders. In 1986 he was awarded the MBE for services to bookbinding. His publications include A History of English Craft Bookbinding Technique (1963, 4th ed. 1996), The Restoration of Leather Bindings (1972, 4th ed. 2004) and Recollections: a life in bookbinding (2000). Bernard was one of the most influential and respected bookbinders of our time. During his extraordinarily long career Bernard touched the lives of bookbinders everywhere. He was an inspiration to generations of people who came into the craft, as a scholar and historian, as a pioneer of restoration, and as a leading light in the world of design binding.

BIO Derek began working with books at St. Andrews University Library in 1984, where he later completed an apprenticeship after seeing bindings by Edgar Mansfield and The Doves Press in the Library's special collection. Inspired with what could be achieved, he then studied Printing, Publishing and Bookbinding at Napier University in Edinburgh before returning to St.Andrews University Library to work as a bookbinder. In 1990, he had a break from bookbinding to pursue a creative career in music, recording and touring with All About Eve and The Auteurs. He later returned to fine binding working at Shepherds in London before moving to Bath in 2003 where he worked at George Bayntun. He was elected a fellow of DB in 2006 and in 2010 he set up his own fine bookbinding business, working to commission for private collectors and institutions. Music remained a constant source of inspiration and was reflected in the colour and movement evident in his work. Being an avid reader, he always responded directly to the text and worked mainly in the abstract. "I read the book thoroughly and then forget about it. What I can't forget is then used as the catalyst for the design." His books have been exhibited in the Victoria & Albert Museum, The House of Lords, and the Grolier Club in New York. They are held in many public and private collections throughout the world.

BIO Faith Shannon was born in Dehra Dun, Uttar Pradesh, India in 1938. Faith returned at the age of eight to Belfast, Northern Ireland. From 1955 to 1959 she studied at the Belfast College of Art, with painting as the main, and bookbinding as the subsidiary, subject. With the winning of several scholarships came the possibility of studying at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, London from 1958 to 1959. At Goldsmiths College Faith was awarded the Art Teachers Certificate (ATC) in 1960. Then followed her studies at the Royal College of Art, majoring in Bookbinding in 1963. (then an apart study under the tutorship of Roger Powell and Peter Waters). This included a visit to the U.S.A. by means of the Dublin Scholarship award. Faith's career began from 1963 as illustrator and designer bookbinder and in 1967 she was a member of the British Museum team at the Florence flood disaster. She was awarded the MBE in 1977 and was an enthusiastic member of the Crafts Council and the Council for National Academic awards. From 1980 to 1987 Faith was senior lecturer in charge of Bookbinding at Brighton Polytechnic. Her book ‘Paper Pleasures' (later retitled ‘The Art and Craft of Paper) was published in 1987. Faith was President of Designer Bookbinders from 1987 to 1990. In 1999 she was awarded the Centennial medal of the Society of Designer Craftsman. She was a judge in various national and international events including the First International bookbinding competition organised by Designer Bookbinders at Oxford in 2009. Not only did Faith organise courses at her home in Scotland from 1990 and take part in Scottish Arts Council matters, she also cared for two families and saw her own children follow personal careers with Shannon as photographer and Hannah as graphic designer respectively. Faith worked mainly to commission on special bindings for collectors or for presentation. Each book and project offered her a different challenge - "books are containers and tactile objects of such varied content and purpose that this is reflected in each concept for a binding. The tactile and visual qualities of materials and their manipulation can evoke responses which spring directly from those suggested by the content as well as for the eventual purpose. The book offers the perfect vehicle for the combination of a painter's eye, a designer's training, a craftsman's skills, an artist's imagination, a soul, a love of invention - and a sense of humour!" Faith was originally asked to bind one copy of Stone, but when asked about her ideas for the binding she had to say that the book lent itself to so many that she could not decide on just one. Every book needed its own binding solution but in this case there were potentially many solutions - the result was a commission to bind ten. The book details for each of Faith's featured bindings is the same: