Updated for 2025 with an additional 'fun fact' about my career.
Every good website has an About page but do you ever wonder who the person behind the scenes *really* is? If you'd like to know more about the person that makes your books, read on for a more candid introduction. I originally shared this on Instagram, but I've added some extra snippets of information for my blog visitors. So here goes: 10 things you (probably) didn't know about me...
I started making books in 2008 thanks to a chance encounter with a library book. I was supposed to be researching for my MSc dissertation. But I got distracted and picked up a book on making your own notebooks. So really, I owe a debt of gratitude to whoever that librarian was who arranged that attractive and distracting book display.
I soon went from being an international development postgraduate student to bookbinder. What was at first a diverting hobby quickly became a business, and from that, a way of life. I've never regretted my decision. Largely because I've met so many interesting people as a result of my work.
I studied English LIterature at the very brilliant Cardiff University. Thanks to Cardiff's modular undergraduate approach, I was able to study subjects as diverse as Power and Politicis in Pre-Raphaelite art, the Gothic novel, educational psychology and also Middle English, Old English and Old Norse.
I have had a lifelong fascination with the Medieval period in literature, art and society. Perhaps that’s why I use the 15th century Longstitch with Linkstitch binding so often? I remain deeply in love with words and stories, and as well as freelancing as a content editor, I often incorporate text into my other creative endeavours, especially collage.
Nature truly is my home, my inspiration and my guide. I prefer walking in the countryside but enjoy the coast in winter, and also find creative refreshment and inspiration by visiting cities. Sometimes your eyes just need to see new things, don't they?
Oudolf Field, Hauser & Wirth, Somerset
I recently visited New Art Centre and Messums in Wiltshire, Hauser & Wirth in Somerset and can’t wait to go back to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam where I spent part of my honeymoon. I missed far too many good exhibitions in London during covid, but went to the 'Feminine power: the divine to the demonic' exhibiton at the British Museum this September. The Bristol Artist's Book Event (BABE) is another favourite haunt and it next takes place in 2026.
I walk that path spiritually (I’m a Quaker), and creatively through materials and design, seeking to make my work as simple as possible. I am boosted in my belief that these qualities are worth exploring by well known artists, such as Hilary Bower, whose 2006 exhibition Of Quiet Observation made a lasting impact on me, and also Edmund de Waal, whose recent work I saw at Roche Court this summer.
Making quiet work, making space: Wabi Sabi Sketchbooks
However, every day I am grateful for what this body can do if I support it well enough. Some days I make books, write articles, walk the dog and play hockey, some days I do more drinking of tea and looking at the sky. Whilst I have to take things one day at a time, I've never missed a deadline!
Lettering at New Art Centre, Roche Court
I married my wife in 2017 and I can’t believe my good fortune to have found a partner who (amongst other things) also wants to get tea and cake before the exhibition, not after (try it, you'll never go back!), understands the importance of the right bonefolder, and gets as much joy out of books, paper and words as I do (she is an artist-educator). She has an unswerving faith in me and the value of my work and I thank my lucky stars for her every single day.
I’m aided and abetted by The Littlest Greyhound (a rescue) and The Cat Overlord, who encourage me to take regular breaks. The Greyhound has a cosy spot in a corner of the studio, the Cat only makes himself known when he's hungry.
On the steps of the studio with the Littlest Greyhound
I was thrown in at the deep end when I was unexpectedly asked to teach a workshop and was grateful that my wife, an experienced teacher, was my co-educator on that occasion! I thoroughly enjoyed it and decided to take a short course in teaching adults (PTTLS). That taught me how to properly plan courses and workshops, teach to all learning preferences, abilities and diversities.
I find teaching quite exhausting but it's so much fun and extremely rewarding! My workshop participants have ranged from paper crafters to photographers, illustrators and fine artists. It's wonderful sharing my knowledge, skills and expert tips, and seeing how participants take all that and marry it with their own interests and skills to produce something I could never have dreamed of myself.
More recently, I have offered online mentoring for creatives who want to make books via Zoom and my clients have included The Photographers Gallery in London as well as individual artists and art students. I've just launched a new Bookbinding for Beginners collection of digital resources to help people get started and hopefully spare them the confusion and frustration I felt when I first started making books.
One of my earliest workshops with the most fantastic bunch of creatives
No, not even a GCSE in art. And that hasn't stopped me learning a heritage craft, running a creative business for 17 years, exhibiting, teaching my craft to others, having my work featured in world-leading magazines, published in books and stocked in highly regarded venues. So, never doubt what you can achieve!
As well as being a bookbinder, I work as a freelance marketing and communications content editor. That means I write SEO-optimised web pages, email newsletters, blogs, press releases, brochures, adverts - well, anything and everything to do with telling people who you are and how you can help them.
I love to get to know my creative community a little better, so please feel free to leave a comment below. Perhaps if something in this post resonates with you, we might work together in some way!
Susan Green
contact form | +44 90)7748 759371
Morning communte of a creative working from home
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This blog post suggests 10 Ways to Use a Mini Journal in your daily life for mindfulness and creativity. Its prompts draw on ideas from artists, poets, writers, business coaches and psychologists.
What do those professional bookbinding terms mean? Can I use any kind of glue? Where do I find waxed linen thread? Do I need special paper? Is that awl as good as the one I already have? I hear you. I was you.
Susan Green
November 10, 2022
Hello Nick, Anna & Pete,
It’s lovely to read your comments (I see your challenge, Nick!), thanks for dropping by to say hello. Anna, I have so many happy memories of Cardiff with you and we were really so lucky to be in such a highly regarded department. And Pete, of course I remember meeting you at the Arnolfini, how could I forget? See you at BABE again one year, I hope!
Susan