The unusual story of a bookbinder.
Who is a bookbinder? I don't know. But it would be fun to make books; as in the Middle Ages. This thought popped into my head when I was about seventeen. With the help in answering this question came Google and other benefits of the modern Internet. It quickly turned out that the internet is lying, or at least not telling everything. Photos, descriptions, videos, articles - everything looks good in general. Exactly. Generally. There are no details, however, and it is known that the devil is in them. The devil I was going to take horns with. It took a long time before the studio I dreamed of as a seventeen-year-old was created. Knowing that in the work I want to do, even the fold of a page in one direction or another can play a key role, I carefully laid the foundations for my future occupation, and for many months I was accompanied only by a feeling of uncertainty.
Where would I, a graduate of the Academy of War Arts, fulfill myself as a bookbinder? However, no matter how you look at it, the idea seemed good and real to me - after all, I'm after "some kind of academy"; and not the one you need? In addition, my current profession has nothing to do with bookbinding either.
After a quick research of the immediate area, I realized that, apart from a few cases, I could not expect help from anywhere. As you can see, the profession of bookbinder was included among dying professions and I could not learn anything in vocational school or post-secondary schools. After gathering tools, materials and all equipment related to broadly understood bookbinding, in 2018 I started my studio in Bialystok. To complete happiness, however, I lacked the most important thing - skills and experience, which, to my great satisfaction, I had the opportunity to gain and develop under the supervision of masters of bookbinding from the Art Book Museum in Łódź. The training was supplemented by a series of trainings conducted by the master of the English bindery Blissets, in which I also had the pleasure of participating. I am glad that people who felt the spirit of the forest stood in my way and thanks to them I found the right path, both in gaining knowledge and gathering experience while pursuing my passion, and in the future - I hope - a permanent profession. I must add that the book has always aroused great interest in me, especially the first editions. For many years I collected old copies, sometimes I found the first editions mentioned here, sometimes I was completely unfamiliar with fantasy novels from the interwar period, and sometimes even white ravens. Currently, in addition to rummaging around antique shops and searching for old books, I deal with paper conservation and creating modern bookbindings, as well as restoring life to completely damaged and forgotten books. I work on single copies and do not carry out high-volume orders, because I believe that each book requires an individual finish. And professionally? Well, I'm still doing something completely different.
