OUR STORY
The Wyvern bindery was started 30 years ago by bookbinders Mark Winstanley, Rosie Grey and Hannah Moore. They established themselves in Clerkenwell Workshops, in London, and after a couple of years moved onto Clerkenwell Road, where the bindery has been ever since. While Rosie and Hannah left soon after, Mark kept the bindery going, surrounding himself with a team of highly skilled bookbinders from various backgrounds and training.
Now after all of these years, Mark is retiring. Julian, Kaori and Pauline, all employees for more than 10 years, together with the same team (Aimee, Amélie, Kate, Nick and Piotr) have decided to take on the challenge of keeping the Wyvern going and building on it's legacy.
The bindery is dedicated to preserving the highest standards of craftsmanship and we pride ourselves in our work and problem solving. Using traditional skills, we aim to produce quality work tailored to our client's specific requirements for design, budget and deadline. Our daily work includes making books, portfolios, boxes, presentation bindings, menus, photos albums and fine bindings. With repairs we aim to keep traditional bookbinding skills alive, using hand tools, gold leaf and calf leather
We welcome anyone who wants to make something using cloth, leather, paper or board, even if it’s a one-off project. We have worked with many artists, photographers, architects, design companies, students, book collectors and dealers.
More recently we have become well known for our work with film production companies. Much of our work can be seen in the props of the Harry Potter Movies, Games of Thrones and Katherine the Great and in other films like the Favourite, Sherlock Holmes and many others.
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Pictures by Julian Love
WE ARE MOVING AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!
To help us do this, we need to move and we have found a great shop on Hoxton street, still in the heart of London and not far from Clerkenwell. We are hoping to raise enough money to fit out the new premises to allow a better experience for our customers and improve the working environment for our staff while at the same time keep the old world magic that is Clerkenwell Road alive. We are working on creating a beautiful front area where every customer feels welcome and happy to talk about their special project. We are also hoping to have a little shop where you will find bookbinding tools, decorative papers, handmade note books, photos albums and much more. Much of the bindery needs renewal and we want to replace the old workbenches with new adjustable work surfaces and better storage.
Being part of the community is important to us and we know we will become a valuable member of Hoxton Street. All our efforts will make little events and tours for nearby schools and passersby much easier.
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Kaori, Julian and Pauline in front of the new shop in Hoxton
Picture by James Spillman
HOW YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS WILL HELP US
The estimated cost of refurbishment:
- Made-to-measure finishing bench for lettering: £1200
- Made-to-measure middle bench: £1000
- 4 made-to-measure individual benches at £450 each: £1800
- Resized shelving unit to store bookcloth and leather: £3200
- Welcome counter for customers: £900
- Sample display and shelving area for customer: £600
- Customer collection shelving unit: £1000
- Safe storage for up-coming work: old books waiting to be repaired: £350
- Safe storage for up-coming work: pages waiting to be bound: £350
Total: £10400
With our predictions and calculations, the figure above is a minimum of what we will require to kit out the new place. However, any funds above that will be used to buy extra equipment (a new guillotine!) and help us cover the first few months of expenses as we begin the new chapter of the Wyvern.
We have got a number of rewards to thank you for your support, including handmade gifts, vouchers to redeem, handmade marbled papers, copies of 'Making books' from the London Centre for Book Arts, days with an experienced bookbinder here in the bindery, and much more. We will also be announcing more rewards as the campaign progresses.
It would be a great help if you could share this link with anybody who may be interested!
Thank you all for your support and for helping us keep the Wyvern bindery and the wonderful craft of bookbinding alive!
Julian, Kaori, Pauline, Aimee, Amélie, Kate, Nick and Piotr.
RISKS AND CHALLENGES
The risks and challenges are minimal. We have already secured the lease for the new bindery in Hoxton. All we need now is a little help in re-furbishing the new bindery and getting us on our feet.
POSTAGE OR COLLECTION OF YOUR PERK
Indiegogo doesn't allow for both postage and collection options. If you are able, or would prefer to collect your perk from us directly, please let us know when you place the order and we will reimburse the cost of postage when you pop in.
Video by James Spillman
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One of the perks: A signed and limited edition from illusrator George Butler of the Wyvern Bindery on Clerkenwell Road.
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Pictures by Julian Love