Artisan bookbinders master heritage conservation and creation

24 hours – Tribune de Genève, August 16, 2018, text Martine Andrey; photos Georges Cabrera, Patrick Martin

Online newspapers and e-readers do not discourage these artisans who continue to train the next generation.

(excerpts)

"I have a regular clientele that gives me series of bindings large enough to ensure the turnover of my business", assures Charles Duch, owner of the Au Bon Relieur workshop in Vernier (GE), expert in end-of-school exams. apprenticeship and trainer of his seventh apprentice.

Libraries, administrations, lawyers, notaries, associations, art school students or bibliophiles make up the bulk of the clientele. But craft binding also extends to artistic creation. "We focus on contemporary bookbinding for individuals and artists, as well as on self-published series and "gallery" type framing of engravings and photos", confirms Tessa Wymann, trainer and associate of the dlignes workshop in Vevey (VD).