i came to the craft of bookbinding in 2000 when i was living in the netherlands, taking my first classes with robert damen at his amazing shop in the hague (den haag). then i studied for several years with professional binder and restorer henk linde, learning to produce historical western binding styles. after moving back to canada, in 2013 i joined the canadian bookbinders and book artists guild (cbbag), and trained with betsy palmer eldridge to develop my binding knowledge and learn repair and restoration techniques. most recently i have been studying the complementary craft of box making with cor aerssens in the netherlands.
i came to an appreciation for book arts through a circuitous route of various academic degrees: i have a masters of information studies (library and information science) from the university of toronto, a masters of arts in medieval studies from the university of york (england), and a bachelor of arts in english literature from york university (toronto).
on this site, i sporadically maintain a blog on the intersection of book arts, libraries, travel, cocktails, kayaking, and other happy things.
my alter ego operates Red Kayak Consulting, providing management services for organizations.