Bookforge

10/13/2026

There's a moment in making a book that I still look forward to: the first time the covers and pages come together and you open it to see if you've done your job properly.

I'd like to share that with a few families this Saturday.

At BOOKFORGE, we'll build a Secret Belgian journal, sometimes called a crisscross binding. The sewing stays visible, so you can actually see how the book holds together. I'll have the components prepared, and we'll take our time with the assembly, the thread, and the small adjustments that make a book work.

This is a workshop for people making something side by side. You don't need bookbinding experience. You just need a little patience and a willingness to work with your hands.

THE SECRET SPINE // FAMILY MATINEE
Saturday, October 17 · 1:00–4:00 PM
BOOKFORGE at Erie Labor Temple · 1701 State Street, Erie
$45 per maker + $1.13 online ticket service fee · Materials included
Recommended ages 12+. Minors must attend with a ticketed participating adult.
Each maker leaves with one flat-opening journal.

Tickets: https://www.erielabortemple.com/event-details/the-secret-spine-family-matinee

10/12/2026

The woven spine is what catches your eye. The tension is what makes it work.

That's the thing about a Secret Belgian binding. The sewing isn't hidden under a cover; it's out where you can see it. Beautiful, yes, but it still has a job to do.

On Wednesday evening at BOOKFORGE, we'll take our time with the boards, the thread path, and the small adjustments that let a finished book open flat.

No experience needed. We'll supply the materials, and I'll walk you through the rest.

THE SECRET SPINE // AFTER HOURS
Wednesday, October 14 · 6:30–9:30 PM
Erie Labor Temple · 1701 State Street, Erie · Ages 18+

Details and tickets: https://www.erielabortemple.com/event-details/the-secret-spine-after-hours

10/12/2026

In bookbinding, the little things do the heavy lifting: a clean fold, an even pull of thread, and boards that sit where they should.

The Secret Belgian binding puts that work out in the open. The spine stays visible, and the sewing becomes part of the book. It looks intricate, but the best way to understand it is to make one.

That's what we'll do at BOOKFORGE this Wednesday. We'll work through the boards, the sewing path, and the tension together. You'll leave with a journal that opens flat and, I hope, a binding you'll want to make again.

THE SECRET SPINE // AFTER HOURS
Wednesday, October 14 · 6:30–9:30 PM
Erie Labor Temple · 1701 State Street, Erie
Materials included · Beginners welcome · Ages 18+

Details and tickets: https://www.erielabortemple.com/event-details/the-secret-spine-after-hours

10/12/2026

A LITTLE THREAD. A LITTLE GEOMETRY. A BOOK YOU MADE YOURSELF.

There are easier ways to acquire a notebook.

But where's the fun in that?

Wednesday evening, BOOKFORGE is taking over the Atelier for THE SECRET SPINE, a three-hour introduction to Secret Belgian bookbinding.

It's a fascinating construction with an exposed, woven spine. You'll learn how the pieces fit together, do the actual sewing, and leave with a handmade journal of your own.

No experience necessary. No special tools to bring. Just three hours to learn something useful and make something worth keeping.

Wednesday, October 14 6:30–9:30 PM Erie Labor Temple 1701 State Street, Erie

Adults 18+ · Materials included.

Tickets and workshop details: https://www.erielabortemple.com/event-details/the-secret-spine-after-hours

10/11/2026

THE SECRET SPINE // AFTER HOURS
BOOKFORGE · Wednesday, October 14

Some of the most interesting things about a book are usually hidden beneath its cover.
Not this one.

Wednesday evening, we're getting into Secret Belgian binding at BOOKFORGE. It's a wonderfully unusual structure with separate covers, a spine piece, and a woven sewing pattern that holds everything together in plain sight.

There's a little geometry involved, a fair amount of thread, and that satisfying moment when all the separate pieces begin behaving like a book.

We'll spend three hours at the bench working through the construction. You'll leave with a finished, flat-opening journal and the knowledge to make another.

Never bound a book before? You're welcome. Already work with paper and books? There's plenty here to explore.

Wednesday, October 14 · 6:30–9:30 PM BOOKFORGE at Erie Labor Temple, 1701 State Street, Erie 18+ · All materials included.

Information and tickets: https://www.erielabortemple.com/event-details/the-secret-spine-after-hours

Build a Secret Belgian / crisscross binding from the structure out and leave with one flat-opening exposed-spine journal.

10/08/2026

I've started to build out the UNION Fine Art Gallery sections of the Erie Labor Temple website. I can't stress how important it is that this hits home, 100%. The future and longevity of ELT depend on this.

Visit UNION Fine Art Gallery at Erie Labor Temple for curated contemporary exhibitions, artist programs, openings, and Gallery Night events in downtown Erie.

09/29/2026

BOOKFORGE will have a table at Temple Night Market Thursday night.

You should probably have one too.

One of the things I like most about this market is that it doesn't all look the same.

Books end up next to ceramics. Prints next to soap. Fine art next to somebody making something completely unexpected.

It feels like a room full of people who actually make things.

There are still a few vendor spaces open for October 1.

If you've got good work and you've been meaning to get it out of the studio, this is a pretty easy excuse.

Thursday, October 1 · 6–10 PM Erie Labor Temple, 1701 State Street

Vendor registration closes Wednesday.

Bring what you make.

https://www.erielabortemple.com/firstthursdayeditions/october-2026

First Thursday Night Market happens every first Thursday of the month inside ERIE LABOR TEMPLE. Meet the people making things. See the work up close. Buy direct. Support local creative independence.

09/29/2026

Creative work needs somewhere to go.

Not just online. Not just into portfolios. Not just back onto the shelf.

Into rooms. Into conversations. Into somebody else's hands.

Temple Night Market is one small way of making that happen.

Artists, makers, publishers, designers, food people, and independent creative businesses get to put work directly in front of the people who might buy it, talk about it, remember it, or come back looking for more.

There are still a few openings for Thursday.

If you're making something independently in Erie and haven't quite decided whether you're ready to put it out in public—

You probably are.

TEMPLE NIGHT MARKET
Thursday, October 1
6–10 PM
Erie Labor Temple
1701 State Street

Vendor applications close Wednesday, September 30.

Make the thing. Bring the thing. See what happens.

https://www.erielabortemple.com/firstthursdayeditions/october-2026

First Thursday Night Market happens every first Thursday of the month inside ERIE LABOR TEMPLE. Meet the people making things. See the work up close. Buy direct. Support local creative independence.

09/28/2026

I'm excited to announce that the Erie Labor Temple's EMERGENCY EDITION No. 001 - AFTER THE DEADLINE contributor application page is now open!

https://www.erielabortemple.com/emergency-edition

ONE QUESTION. ONE ROOM. ONE NIGHT. ONE EDITION.
Saturday, November 21
PUT YOUR NAME IN THE REGISTER.

Join Emergency Edition No. 001 at Erie Labor Temple: a one-night live publishing experiment bringing writers, artists, editors, photographers, printers, and bookmakers together to create a finished edition before the deadline.

09/23/2026

Tomorrow night at the BOOKFORGE table.

STAB BINDING // AFTER HOURS
Thursday, September 24
6:30–8:30 PM

$55 // 18+
Erie Labor Temple

Four traditional Japanese binding structures.

Choose two to build at the table. Learn the paper preparation, punching, thread paths, tension, corner turns, and knot placement that make the structures work.

Leave with two finished books—and the instructions and materials to make the other two at home.

No bookbinding experience required. All materials included.

Visible thread. Real structure. Two hours at the table.

Register through Erie Labor Temple.



https://www.erielabortemple.com/event-details/stab-binding-after-hours-sew-your-own-japanese-notebook