Minneapolis, Minnesota October 17 - 20, 2018
The Seminar on Standards of Excellence in Hand Bookbinding is the annual Guild of Book Workers conference. Held annually at a different location around the country, participants attend presentations by leading experts in the fields related to the book and paper arts. Tours of binderies, conservation facilities, rare book libraries and papermaking establishments are regularly arranged in conjunction with the event. A list of past presentations is available on the History of Standards page. Additionally, many Seminar presentations are videotaped and made available to members and for purchase. The Guild's Annual Meeting is held in conjunction with the seminar. Many well known Vendors also attend the conference and offer high quality tools and supplies for sale throughout the event. The vendor room is open to the public.
Why should you attend?
Hear what our members have to say about the value of the conference in this video.
Quick Links
For more information about the Standards of Excellence Seminar, contact MP Bogan, Standards Committee Chair.
Registration
Registration is limited to 150 people. The deadline to register is September 15, 2018, or until the conference is filled. Online registration is available and encouraged. If you are paying with a credit card, you must use the online registration form.
Forms
| Registration Form | PDF Form |
| Vendors Application | PDF Form |
| Scholarship Application | PDF Form |
| Register for a Tour | PDF Form |
| Sponsorship Opportunities | PDF Form |
| Auction Donation Form | PDF Form |
*(Note: credit card payments can only be accepted online)
Members Only
Registration Rates:
| Member | (Early Rate) | June 1 - July 31 | $295 |
| Aug 1 - Sept 15 | $365 | ||
| Non-Member | (Early Rate) | June 1 - July 31 | $375 |
| Aug 1 - Sept 15 | $445 | ||
| Student (with ID) | $225 |
All questions regarding registration should be directed to Laura Bedford, Treasurer. All fees listed on the registration form are in US dollars. There is a cancellation fee of 10% of the Registration Fee up to 30 days before the Seminar. No refunds are given for cancellations made within the 30 days prior to the conference. Cancellation fees do not apply to scholarship applicants who do not receive an award and are unable to attend without financial assistance. Registrations may not be shared and are non-transferable.
Scholarships
Scholarships are available to attend the Standards of Excellence in Hand Bookbinding Seminar to people for whom attendance would create a financial hardship. Scholarships are available for both student and regular members. An applicant must be a member at the time of application (sign up here). The scholarship consists of a waiver of registration fees to the Seminar, lodging costs for four nights (Wednesday through Saturday) at the conference hotel and the banquet. Hotel parking, phone calls, movie rentals, or any other room service are not included. Recipients are responsible for making their own travel plans. After scholarships are awarded, the GBW Treasurer will contact recipients to discuss lodging arrangements. Recipients may be asked to help with newsletter coverage and/or assist with other tasks during the Seminar.
Applications must be received by July 15, 2018.
The Scholarship Committee will inform applicants of their decision before the early bird registration deadline on July 31.
Address questions to Brien Beidler, Scholarship Committee.
Seminar Schedule
Download and Print the Schedule (PDF)
Tours
CAMPBELL-LOGAN BINDERY
Tour 1: Campbell-Logan Bindery, Inc. is a family-owned business that has been in operation for over sixty years and offers a wide variety of binding services.The bindery, recently moved to its new location and building about 12 miles north of downtown Minneapolis.The company specializes in library binding; limited edition binding; repair, restoration and conservation; binding of genealogies, biographies and memoirs; printing and binding of menus; and custom binding.Tour participants will see the innovative work done in a well-established and versatile commercial binding facility.
Campbell-Logan Bindery also offers a wide variety of Japanese paper-backed book cloth and a selection of silk head band material though its supply division.These cloths can be used for a variety of projects, most notably bookbinding, box making, framing, and greeting cards. The cloths are manufactured using various mixes of cotton, rayon, linen, acetate, and silk. Cloths (5 yard minimum and can be shipped) will be available for sale to tour participants!
Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided
Tour is limited to 23 people.... 9:00 am - 12:00 pm. Transportation will be provided....cost: $20.00.
INDULGENCE PRESS & CAVE PAPER
Tour 2: Visit the studio of Wilber H. “Chip” Schilling —creator of fine press books, artists’ books, broadsides and prints. Chip specializes in design, photography, letterpress printing and binding, and since 1992 has worked under the imprint of Indulgence Press. His work is collected and exhibited internationally, and Chip has taught at the College of Visual Arts, Carleton College, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and Columbia College Chicago. Chip will open his studio to tour participants and share how a letterpress shop is beneficial to bookbinding by way of die-cutting materials for binding, scoring and polymer platemaking for dimensional cover enhancements. Broadsides and books will be available for sale!
Visit Cave Paper's “dry studio” to see the studio’s coloring and flattening processes (wet work and forming of Cave's handmade paper is done in a separate location). In addition to the paper-making studio, tour participants will see the personal artwork of Amanda Degener, owner of Cave Paper. Amanda's artwork draws attention to nature and evokes emotions towards the environment that we also feel for humans: love, empathy, compassion, and care. Her collages, letterpress printing, and artists' books will be available for purchase! Cave Paper will have a table in the Vendor Area at Standards where sheets of handmade paper can be purchased.
While visiting Cave Paper, tour participants will have the opportunity to see the work of painter, sculptor and accordion book maker Jon Neuse. Jon has been making art for over 30 years and has exhibited widely in the US. He focuses primarily on the landscape and family issues. Most of Jon’s art has been two-dimensional but he has recently put his toe into the art of bookmaking. John’s work will be available for purchase!
Tea and snacks will be provided!
Tour is limited to 23 people... 9:30 am - 12:30 pm. Transportation will be provided....Cost: $20.00.
ELMER L. ANDERSON LIBRARY & WILSON LIBRARY
Tour 3: The Elmer L. Andersen Library is home to the University of Minnesota’s Archives and Special Collections Department (ASC) and the Digital Library Services digitization center. Kris Kiesling, Director of Library Archives and Special Collections, will lead an hour-long private tour of the Library for GBW members. The Andersen building, located on the West Bank of the Twin Cities Campus of the University, holds over 1.5 million volumes of books, manuscripts, illustrations and artifacts.The practical realization of Governor Andersen's vision of the "fourth mission" of the University, the Andersen Library preserves, maintains, and passes on to future generations the raw materials for research and discovery.
Participants will then meet with Mary Miller, Director of Collection Management & Preservation in the Wilson Library and to hear how their efforts contribute to the care and longevity of collections.A short walk on campus between the library’s buildings will be necessary.
Tour is limited to 23 people... 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm.Transportation will be provided....Cost: $20.00.
MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Tour 4: The Minnesota Historical Society Library is one of the largest and most prestigious historical societies in the country.It plays an important role in the state's historic preservation, education and tourism, and provides the public with award-winning programs, exhibitions and events.The Minnesota Historical Society has been collecting printed material since before Minnesota became a state. Come see the great job they have done!
Visit their collection of rare travel and exploration narratives, Native American atlases and language books, examples of our state's surprising literature, and Minnesota's rich tradition of fine press and artist's books with Patrick Coleman,Acquisitions Librarian, and Lori Williamson, Acquisitions and Outreach Coordinator.Tour the conservation lab with Saira Haqqi, Book and Paper Conservator, and see how they make sure that these books remain accessible for years to come.You won’t want to leave!
Tour is limited to 23 people... 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm.Transportation will be provided....Cost: $20.00.
Presentations and Presenters
Jana Pullman
Hand-tooling on Books with Foils and Leather Inlays
[Friday Morning]
Finishing and decorative techniques need not be limited to traditional methods only! In this presentation Jana will show how the use of foils can move beyond the stamping machine. She will cover both traditional and alternative decorative techniques using a stylist tool on leather, book cloth and paper to show the advantages that foil can have over the traditional gold leaf tooling when introducing decorative tooling to new bookbinders.
Jana Pullman began working with books in 1983 while pursuing her BFA and MFA degrees in Art. She studied binding with Jim Dast at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Bill Anthony at the University of Iowa. For several years, she was employed at the University of Utah Marriott Library supervising the general collection book repair unit. Jana is currently the owner of Western Slope Bindery in Minneapolis specializing in custom binding and repair of books. During many years of working in book arts, she has been a printer, papermaker, bookbinder, illustrator, conservator and instructor in the book arts. Learn more about Jana and her work at www.westernslopebindery.com.
Jim Croft
Old Ways & Glory Days of Quality Book Materials and Structures
[Friday Afternoon]
This will be a hands-on hard copy demonstration of traditional processing of raw materials and their use in traditional book structures of old Europe. Gutenbergian pressures resulted in numerous compromises, but before that, there are many examples of books in “functional” to very good condition, even though they are 500 to 1200 years old and have spent most of their lives without climate-controlled storage. They show us what permanent and durable can be! In addition to his presentation, Jim will have materials on hand for participants to see and handle.
Jim Croft often refers to himself as one of the “five reincarnations of Dard Hunter”. Early in their careers, both wanted to move to a tropical island and make books from local raw materials. Both were vividly inspired by the Arts & Crafts movement and the “Book Beautiful” and the “Book Harmonious”, hot when Hunter was young 100 years ago, and still hot when Jim was learning book-making in the 1970s. Croft, like Hunter, got the “book bug” in Europe and made worthy attempts at making the whole book. His particular focus and self-described lofty goal has been to recreate historic pre-1450s book structures and investigate why they and the materials have fared so well. Learn more about Jim and his work at cargocollective.com/oldway.
Shawn Sheehy
Bringing a Structure to Life with Pop-ups
[Saturday Morning]
One of paper engineering's most long-standing and lofty goals is verisimilitude. Taking a kinetic approach to "making something look real" is one of the most satisfying for both the engineer and the viewer — a page is turned, and a paper object unfurls with wings flapping, legs kicking, or wheels turning. In this presentation, Shawn will explore lifelike movement in pop-ups by demonstrating a series of foundational structures that are particularly useful for such movement, and then contextualizing those structures in both his own work and the work of many prominent paper engineers.
Shawn Sheehy has been teaching book arts courses and workshops on the national level since 2001. His broadsides and artist book editions have been collected by numerous prestigious institutions, including Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, University of Chicago, Library of Congress, UCLA, and Harvard. Sheehy’s trade pop-up book Welcome to the Neighborwood (a mass-market version of his artist book) was released in 2015, winning numerous awards. Shawn is and active member of the Movable Book Society and the winner of the Society’s 2016 Meggendorfer Award for Best Paper Engineering. He’s currently at work on his next trade book—a mass-market version of his artist book Beyond the Sixth Extinction—and it will be released through Candlewick in Autumn 2018. He holds an MFA in the Book Arts from Columbia College Chicago. Learn more about Shawn and his work at www.shawnsheehy.com.
Gaylord Shanilec
A Natural History
[Saturday Afternoon]
Gaylord Schanilec's working life began in the Red River Valley of North Dakota with the realization that day dreaming, the seemingly inevitable distraction of a young mind afloat in an ocean of prairie, might find tangible and permanent form in poetry. The tangibility of the word was increased exponentially by the simple act of folding a piece of paper and realizing the result was a book. Over the course of the next 40 years the form of the work, both textual and visual, would evolve of course but with always at the heart of it a dream, and the result of it a book. His presentation will begin with an illustrated lecture describing the evolution of the work followed by a demonstration of the techniques of working with metal type, wood engraving, wood cutting, the making of type-high blocks, printing in relief from found pieces of wood and stone, and finally a hands-on showing of the books.
Gaylord Shanilec, noted for his color wood engravings, established his own press, Midnight Paper Sales, in 1980. Since then he has published more than 25 books under his imprint, as well as accepted numerous commissions including works for The Gregynog Press in Wales and the Grolier Club of New York. He has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Carl Hertzog award for excellence in book design, and the Greynog prize. He is an Honorary Member of the Double Crown Club, and an active member of the Typophiles, the Ampersand Club, and the Fine Press Book Association. His work is represented in most major book arts collections in the United States and in the United Kingdom, and the archive of his working materials is held at the University of Minnesota. Learn more about Gaylord and his work at www.midnightpapersales.com.
Hotel and Travel Information
The conference hotel is the
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
- 1300 Nicollet Mall (Map)
- Minneapolis, MN 55403
- (612) 370-1234
The Guild of Book Workers room rate is $219 nightly for a single or double for the dates October 17-20, 2018*. Room tax (subject to change) is 13.15%. Reservations must be made on or before September 25, 2018 to receive the Seminar room rate.
See Newsletter or registration email confirmation for online booking instructions.
*Additional charges apply for triple ($25.) or quad ($50.) occupancy.
Standards 2018 is being held at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis located at 1300 Nicollet Mall. If you were unable to reserve a room at the Hyatt, please contact alternate hotels (those suggested below or others) directly for details and reservations. Please note that the Guild of Book Workers has not contracted with any of the hotels listed below.
Crowne Plaza Minneapolis Northstar Downtown
Kimpton Grand Hotel Minneapolis
Radisson Blu Minneapolis Downtown
Need a roommate?
Head over to the Standards Discussion in the Members' Forum and create or answer a post.
Transportation Information
If you are flying into the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Super Shuttle offers ground transportation at a flat rate. A shared ride is $16, and a non-stop ride is $41. Other premium services are available starting at $54. Costs are estimated at time of publication; actual costs will be quoted to you at time of booking.
If you are driving, Valet Parking is available for $38 per day at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. A self-parking lot is directly connected to the hotel at a cost of $24 per day.