There really is no definite ago restriction, and I can design a workshop around your abilities. It’s more a question of finding a structure to start with, that is accessible to you given your abilities.

Some structures just work universally through all ages. I have made instant books with two year olds (well, their parents helped) that they filled with scribbles and stickers. But also with teenagers (you can stitch them together to form longer books) and adults (they have great potential for artistic exploration in many ways!)

Not all binding styles are equally suitable for everyone. A beginner won’t be able to make a carolingian binding as their first activity (although we could work out way up there if you wanted, of course!) and if you have a group of very young people, it’s maybe best to stay away from hammers, saws and drills. It’s best if you let me know what kind of group you have, what their interest is, and what you want to get out of a day from me (and maybe your budget) — and then I can design and suggest a workshop for you!

Don’t worry if you don’t know yet. Many come to me, showing a photo and saying “I would like to learn to make a book like THIS”. I can take a look at what it is, and if I know what it is, we can discuss a workshop.

But if you don’t know, I’ll have plenty of suggestions to make.

When you get in touch, I’ll ask you your prior experience and what you imagine doing/making with your new skill: Do you want to bind blank journals (then I’ll probably recommend Coptic) or books to doodle on while on the phone or in a zoom call (that might call for Japanese). Or do you maybe write poems and you would like to bind them into books (then I’ll probably suggest a pamphlet stitch). Or are you into re-enactments or want to take you medieval binding to a LARP (then I’d suggest a tacket binding).

If you would like more of an introduction to book art (rather than necessarily learning a specific technique), we could incorporate making content for your book, and/or look at simpler, folded structures, and discuss book art in general.

In terms of wheelchair accessibility, I have to say that my studio is not great. There is a path through our house to my studio with low thresholds. (My daughter uses a manual wheelchair and she can get from the front to my studio.) But the studio itself has an awful threshold. Not super high, but difficult to cross in a wheelchair. And the studio itself is narrow and you can’t turn around on your own. And the toilet is not accessible.

So in terms of a wheelchair user dropping a child or someone else off, and/or just wanting to take a peek at my studio – that would work. But if you are a wheelchair user who wants to take a workshop with me, we’d better look for a more accessible venue outside my studio. It’d be a different experience, but we could still have a good, inspired bookbinding day. The library and the community hall around here are both great accessible places that we could discuss to rent for the day.

Generally, bookbinding is an activity that can be done from a wheelchair. There are many steps that are traditionally done standing, and you might have heard people say that it’s not possible to bind a good book from a wheelchair. But it’s not too difficult to adjust some steps to make it an accessible craft.

Access needs can be so diverse that it is hard to make a general statement. I am happy to hear about any problems you are anticipating, and will have an honest and thorough think about how we can accomodate any needs you have.

I have personal experience teaching children with PDA and autism and am perfectly happy and able to apply a low demand approach.

If you know beforehand that you or your group would prefer a low demand workshop, it would be great if you could let me know from the start. (It’s easier to be flexible when less is packed into the lesson plan.) A low demand workshop will have less defined teaching goals, I’ll make sure participants can bring their own expertise and have opportunity to follow their own interest in the matter (potentially under additional guidance if needed), there’ll be a rough plan for those who feel unsure about making a choice, but overall there will be no clearly defined outcome (other than a faster paced workshop with a clearly defined structure that is being taught). But I am usually also able to adjust adhoc if needed.

If you have any communication differences, or would benefit from me using a certain way of communication, I’m happy to try an accomodate you best I can. I am used to working with people who use supported communication with different means.

If you would like me to provide a BSL interpreter for you, I also have some I have worked with before, and who I’d be happy to bring to the event. Unfortunately, I would have to charge extra for that.

Currently I don’t have anything like this going.

For adults, I maybe could be convinced to consider hosting something like an art club that would be less me teaching and more a crafting together kind of thing.

I have no experience teaching a longer course with several structures, and have not a price structure that I’ve worked out. But I’d be happy to consider it and give it a go. If you are interested in something like that, I’d love to hear about it!

Sorry, no regular art club for kids at the moment.

Unfortunately I cannot offer that at the moment.

I am not sure, but I don’t think so. I am not an AP and I don’t offer the regular kind of support that you’d expect from a service like that.

That being said, I think bookbinding and getting into bookbinding is a great starting point for kids who find school too demanding. If they like crafting, we can start with whatever they like for a one off, whether it’s doing collages, or drawing, or cutting things, and build up from there to find the right book structure for them to make.

If they enjoy that, being able to make your own books can be a route back into reading – and loving it. Or it could be the pathway into arts or writing that they needed. It might be worth to consider making this a workshop for you (teaching you how to make things at home with your kid in the pace you know they need).