Contact Us

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Po Box 410963
San Francisco, CA 94141
USA

A close-knit group of hand bookbinders, with shared interests in creating and collecting fine bindings, joined together to promote hand bookbinding and related book arts and to exchange information and ideas. 

THE HAND BOOKBINDERS OF CALIFORNIA

The Hand Bookbinders of California gathered for the first time in 1972. A close-knit group of hand bookbinders, with shared interests in creating and collecting fine bindings, joined together to promote hand bookbinding and related book arts and to exchange information and ideas.

JOIN HBC NOW! 3 MONTHS FREE!

Sign up now and your HBC membership will be good from October through the end of the year in addition to all of 2026. That’s three free months!

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Holiday Card Exchange

Join our HBC Holiday Card Exchange! This is a separate activity from the party and a great way to connect with a fellow bookbinder.

If you choose to participate, we will randomly mix and match you with another participating member. We'll then email you your partner's name and mailing address so you can send them a handmade or specially chosen holiday card. Deadline to sign up is Saturday, November 15. Please make sure you send your by December 15, 2025.

Holiday Card Exchange

Holiday Potluck Party

Join us on the evening of Tuesday, December 2nd to celebrate the holidays with other members of the Hand Bookbinders of California! We’ll be hosting this year’s holiday party at the Book Club of California in San Francisco and we invite you to join us and bring a guest along with you!

Date: Tuesday, December 2nd
Time: 6PM-8PM
Location: 47 Kearny Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA, 94108
What to bring: Appetizer or Dessert

We are very excited to be graciously hosted by our longtime friends at the Book Club of California again. We hope you'll join us!

RSVP for the 2025 Holiday Party here

RSVP

NEW WORKSHOP WITH SUE DOGGETT AND KATE HOLLAND

This workshop is FULL - Please add your name to the waiting list here

HBC is very excited to announce a 4-day workshop with Kate Holland and Sue Doggett from February 12-15, 2026. They are both regular binders for the Booker Prize and hail from the UK, where they are Fellows of Designer Bookbinders. The topic of the workshop is Creative Processes and Decorative Techniques for Bookbinding, one that we feel could be very useful to any of us. Some leather paring experience is necessary for the techniques involving leather decoration. The workshop will be held in the CODEX Foundation Flex Space in north Berkeley.

HBC BINDERY NIGHTS - FALL 2025

Join your HBC friends for inspiration or motivation or to use the equipment at SFCB. Kwikprint machines require a separate registration and unfortunately are not available at HBC Bindery Nights. Beth will be available to answer questions and provide assistance. Open to all HBC members, no registration required, from 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM at the SFCB Bindery. Fall dates are:

  • Wednesday, September 17

  • Wednesday, October 22

  • Wednesday, November 19

  • Tuesday, December 16

Hope to see you there!

Jane Aaron Scholarship Fundraiser

Support the next generation of bookbinders! Donate to our scholarship fundraiser at Handbookbinders.org and help students receive 50% off workshop fees. Your contribution makes learning and growth more accessible. Every gift matters—thank you for your support!

We would like to raise $1500 over the course of 2025; if each member gave an average of $15 we would be able to offer 3 partial-tuition scholarships to advanced level classes. Planning is underway to offer exciting study opportunities with talented instructors that bookbinders in the Bay Area would not otherwise have exposure to. 
Please consider giving any amount today!