UPCOMING EVENTS
Meetings are at the Hughes Community Centre, Wisdom Street, Hughes
Evening meetings are held at 7:30pm – 9:30pm on the second Thursday of February, April, June, August, October, and December.
Morning meetings are held 9:30am to 12:30pm on the second Saturday of March, May, July, September and November.
Meeting program for 2026:
February 12, 2026 – Thursday
Guest Speaker – Dr Claire Bolton, visiting from the UK
Topic – Petrus Mitte de Caprariis – his Books and Bindings
Claire Bolton’s talk is on 15th century bookbindings from Memmingen in southern Germany. Many of her examples are books, both printed and manuscript, that belonged to Petrus Mitte de Caprariis, a prolific commissioner and buyer of books from the 1440s to the late 1470s.
This collection offers a rare opportunity to study the methods, structures and finishing of books through this period, from the production of manuscripts to the new world of the earliest printed books.
March 14, 2026 – Saturday
Activity – Supported Sewing three ways
Details and what to bring list will be emailed to members.
April 9, 2026 – Thursday
Guest Speaker – Dario Castello
Topic: The Architecture of the Backbone of the Book
Following on from the recent Saturday activity by Linda Roberts on supported sewing 3 ways, at our next meeting Dario will deal with the next step in the binding process: the architecture of the backbone of the book.
This will include discussion on project design, material constraints, and aesthetic choices as well as practical aspects of the construction, rounding and backing of the spine.
The demonstration of rounding and backing will incorporate the upfront design considerations, to ensure that the rounding and backing can indeed accommodate the binding style that you have in mind for your book.
May 9, 2026 – Saturday
Activity – Working with Wood veneer
Details and what to bring list will be emailed to members.
June 11, 2026 – Thursday
Guest Speaker – Michael Richards, a librarian (St Anne’s College Oxford and the National Library of Australia), an historian and a curator. He is an occasional letterpress printer (Vagantes Press) and author of the biography of Bolton, A Maker of Books, published by the National Library of Australia in 2023.
Topic: A Maker of Books: Alec Bolton and his Brindabella Press
July 11, 2026 – Saturday
Activity – TBA
August 13, 2026 – Thursday
AGM: Please make sure your membership is current and discuss the achievements of your Guild and what’s in store in the year ahead.
Activity – TBA
September 12, 2026 – Saturday
Activity – TBA
October 8, 2026 – Thursday
Activity – TBA
November 14, 2026- Saturday
Activity – TBA
December 10, 2026 – Thursday
Bind Challenge 2026 – Theme ‘Rivers’
Bind Challenge, pop up exhibition and talks by binders.
Who will receive the gift for participating in the 2026 challenge ? Members share their stories about the design, materials, binding style and the making of their entry in the ‘pop up’ exhibition.
WORKSHOPS & OTHER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Check out our dedicated Workshops page.
CURRENT / UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
Interleave members exhibition, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Wednesday 6 June – Sunday 28 June 2026