An inspirational course hosted by the UK’s leading environmental education charity has helped a budding bookbinder turn his hobby into a full-time business.
Hugo Stevensen had already begun to experiment with bookbinding before he attended a course at the Field Studies Council’s Flatford Mill centre in Suffolk, but what he learned there convinced him that the traditional craft was what he wanted to do for a living.
The 32-year-old now runs Aulwynd Bindery from his home in Suffolk, making new journals, sketch books and exercise books as well as restoring and repairing older books. Aulwynd is an Anglo-Saxon word which means craft.
The course at Flatford Mill was taught by Mark Cockram, who has 40 years’ experience in the book-binding profession and is an elected Fellow of Designer Bookbinders.
Mark, one of the UK’s leading experts in bookbinding, has partnered with the Field Studies Council to run another five-day residential beginners’ course at Flatford Mill from December 5 to December 9, to help more people learn the basics of this ancient craft.
Hugo said he couldn’t recommend it highly enough.
“The course was incredible. First of all, the site they operate from is fantastic – it’s not that the equipment you need is particularly complicated, but it’s big and it costs a lot of money, and they have it all there.
“Plus the fact they bring in someone like Mark to work with. What was so interesting on that course was the mix of abilities. About half of us were beginners, but the rest were people all bringing in their own equipment and various levels of experience. Someone as talented and established in this world as Mark was able to help us all do whatever we wanted, and he worked with everyone on a one-on-one basis, which was brilliant.”
Hugo’s business is still in its infancy but he has already completed a commission for a set of 30 custom A5 journals in two marbled cover designs for a shop in New York, and a commission from a local family to repair the badly damaged spines of three 19th century photo albums to make them readable again.
His aim is to work with publishers of fine-print books, who often produce small runs of about 10 very special leather-bound editions.
Hugo is also working with Anna Brown, who creates marbled papers through her Marbling Magpie Etsy business, to create custom hardback notebooks with marbled covers.
For Hugo, becoming a bookbinder was an extension of a life-long love of books.
He said: “My whole life I have loved collecting books. I got to the point where I wanted to be able to collect really beautiful handbound leather books, but I couldn’t afford to do it.
“I actually saw someone online who had left his job to become a traditional bookbinder, and I thought, “Why not? Let’s try it.”
“I started by getting a basic bookbinding kit on Etsy and enjoyed working with it so much that I wanted to do it properly. I had a look and saw the Field Studies Council course available near here. What really caught my attention was the fact that Mark Cockram was leading on it, because I had heard of his work before.
“The course taught me a basic hardback bind. I absolutely loved it and carried on doing it in my spare time.”
Hugo was halfway through a neuroscience PhD in London, working on memory and the brain, when he did the course in December 2022. The pandemic had meant he could no longer work with patients and his research had moved more into Artificial Intelligence and computing, which he realised he didn’t enjoy.
He said: “I thought “Why not just try to do something I know I love?”, so I moved back here and started the business.
Hugo’s Etsy shop sells pre-made books and journals but he also has a separate website for re-binds and book restoration.
“I’m constantly learning, and I’m going back to work with Mark again later this year. The goal is to learn the full traditional skill and understand how to create leather-bound books. It’s an incredibly sought-after skill set but hardly anyone does it.”
Nathan Whittaker, residential centre manager at Field Studies Council Flatford Mill, said the beginners’ bookbinding course was just one of a number of residential arts and crafts courses run by the charity this year to teach traditional skills with guidance from expert tutors.
He said: “The courses aim to help adults engage and connect with nature at the charity’s environmental education centres around the country and we are delighted to hear about Hugo’s success following participation in the bookbinding course.
“It’s wonderful to hear that these courses can inspire people to try new things and even help individuals to learn the skills required to carve out an entirely new career.”
As well as the bookbinding course from December 5 to December 9, Flatford Mill is hosting printmaking, art courses, silk scarf painting workshops, jewellery making sessions and stained glass workshops.
Mark will also run a slightly different three-day course, Reuse and Recycle – Make a Book from October 21 to October 23.
For more information on the bookbinding course for beginners visit https://www.field-studies-council.org/shop/courses/bookbinding-for-beginners-and-improvers-3/ and a full range of Fields Studies Council arts and crafts courses can be viewed at https://www.field-studies-council.org/courses-and-experiences/art-and-leisure-courses/.
You can also find out more about Hugo’s work here https://www.aulwyndbindery.com/.
