Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th August 2025 | 10am - 4.30pm
Max. 8 participants
$650 inclusive of GST
(inclusive of all materials)
Available at checkout
For artists and printmakers, a Solander box is the ideal vessel for presenting and storing your artist books and loose prints. This elegant, archival-quality box not only protects your work but also adds a personalised and professional finish to any print project!
In this hands-on workshop, you’ll be guided by expert bookbinder Phil Ridgway, who will take you step by step through the precise measuring, cutting, and assembling of your own custom Solander box. If you’ve ever attempted making one yourself, you’ll know that accuracy is crucial, and expert guidance makes all the difference!
What is a Solander Box?
A Solander box, also known as a clamshell or drop-spine box, is a museum-quality archival storage container designed to protect valuable prints, photographs, and artist books. Constructed with acid-free materials, it resembles a book, featuring a rigid case with a hinged lid. The drop-spine design allows it to open flat, providing easy access to the enclosed contents while shielding them from dust, light, and environmental damage. Traditionally covered in cloth or leather, these boxes are used by artists, libraries, archives, and collectors to safeguard delicate materials, preventing deterioration and ensuring their longevity for future generations.
What You’ll Learn:
How to measure and cut with precision for a perfect fit.
Techniques for assembling a rigid and durable box.
How to cover and personalise your box with cloth, paper, or your own prints.
Best practices for archival storage and preservation.
This workshop is perfect for printmakers, book artists, and bookbinding enthusiasts. No prior experience is necessary—just a love of handmade craftsmanship!
All materials are provided, but if you have a print or decorative paper you’d like to incorporate inside your box, bring it along.
ABOUT PHIL RIDGEWAY - FROM MELBOURNE SCHOOL OF BOOKBINDING
The truth may be stranger than fiction… fiction can’t be disproved, however…
Born under a road sign, raised by wolves, rescued by a lighthouse keeper. In the right place at the right time, won a competition to be a duke, stint as a milkman, cult following by 3pm via word of mouth, apprenticed to master craftspeople, detour via university, met muse while interning in Europe for food and board. Acquired professional experience through trial and error, with an eyebrow raised….
For the rest, I undertook private studies in bookbinding in the UK and France, developed further in both professional and self driven practice. The MSB was started to pass on the skills and knowledge I’d acquired to anyone who was interested in bookbinding. The OrtBindery grew from that established studio…
Through both, I try to provide bookbinding excellence – in both tuition and services…
Workshop Cancellations & Refunds
We understand that circumstances can change. A refund will be offered in the following situations:
· if a workshop, in which you are enrolled, is cancelled or deferred to a date unsuitable for your attendance. This may happen in event of a Catastrophic Fire Danger day, or in the event a tutor is unwell.
· upon receipt of an email indicating your intention to withdraw your enrolment when notice is provided to us at least three weeks in advance of the workshop start date.
From the 1st of January 2025, due to merchant processing fees, all refunds will be incur a $35 administration fee.
Workshop Credit - Transfers
In the event you cannot attend a booked workshop, and with at least three weeks notice being given to us, we are happy to transfer your enrolment to a future workshop, dependant on studio availability and within 12 months of the booked workshops date.
