James Street Bindery

01/19/2025

I’ve been waiting for some time to find the right words to write this post. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to have them. One of my mentors from passed away recently. Andrew Dawson was the head of the bindery team, and harder on me as an apprentice than any of the others. I once proudly brought my rebind to him, and he quietly tore it apart (literally) in front of everyone and said “Do it again”. No one spoke a word, because it was part of becoming the craftsman I needed to be in order to succeed. I NEVER made the same mistake again. He never apologized, but he showed his pride in my work in other ways. Andrew, I can’t believe that you’re gone. It was too soon, and I will carry your memory and your laugh with me into the future. The day you passed, I was conserving a work by Dr. John T. Biggers for the . It’s one of the most prominent works, outside of rare books, that I’ve had the honor to conserve. Thank you, my friend, my mentor. You will be missed.

03/14/2023

One of my all time favorite children’s books. Happy (late) birthday to Ezra Jack Keats.

Today marks the birthday of Ezra Jack Keats (1916-1983), a pioneer in American children's literature. “The Snowy Day” is a must-have classic with its beautiful artwork and story of childhood wonder.

12/22/2022

Strong female leadership looks different. For me it’s vulnerable, inclusive, compassionate, and courageous. Thank you to my family, friends, classmates, and colleagues— you are my village, and I couldn’t have gotten here without you.

09/27/2022

Bench views this morning….

09/02/2022

Getting excited to re-launch James Street Bindery after a 2 year hiatus!

07/31/2022

Y’all, this week I completed my M.A. in Arts Administration at ! The past two years have been an incredible journey. I have studied under some amazing instructors, learned how to be a student again from my incredible cohort, and was able to walk around the arts building on a campus for the first time since my undergrad degree in craft at . Who knew that paint-destroyed bathroom sinks would bring me so much joy! I’m looking forward to driving back into which has been on hold for Two. Long. Years! Thank you all for your patience as I pursued my degree!

05/23/2022

Got to do some artifact cleaning for upcoming exhibit Into the Darkroom, opening this Saturday!

05/05/2022

Took a field trip to and can’t wait to go back and pick some of that scrap leather for new bindings! Counting down the days till I’m done this degree and can get back to the bench!

04/24/2022

Sometimes a girl needs to enjoy some local whiskey with her books for Thanks to and a full capstone book list. ;)

04/18/2022

Getting a brief taste of some collections work thanks to and !

04/11/2022

I’m in the home stretch of this masters degree. I’m still mom. I’m still me. I’m still all of the things that have shaped me as a professional, as an artist, and as a person. Sometimes the balance feels impossible. Luckily there are some bad ass ladies like paving the way. Thank you. 💗💪

03/08/2022

Thanks to for the feature! If you’ve been wondering why I haven’t been posting conservation projects- this is why! Happy to all of you amazing ladies making the impossible happen every day! 💪