cbl-Newsletter 5/2023

In Ascona holiday makers and day trippers fill the lanes of the picturesque village, enjoy a cappuccino or an ice cream on the banks of Lago Maggiore. In Zurich, the school holidays are in full swing, the pace of live seems to generally slow down a bit. Not so in the workshops in the Schule für Gestaltung in Zürich, where the centro del bel libro holds its courses.

And in the background people are also at work, preparing and planning, also during summer.

Apart from preparations of current courses the planning work for the course programme 2024 is in full swing. Until these are placed online you can have a look at the current programme which includes many very attractive topics:

https://www.cbl-ascona.ch/en/programm

No. 17

The book as an experience that appeals to all the senses

Course location Zurich

designing a literary text, from first ideas to the finished binding
Accompanied by the designers Susanna Entress and Urs Stuber and the bookbinder Sandra Merten, you will go through all the phases of book design and binding. You will be guided through the processes of generating first ideas, graphic design, layout, and all the way to the execution of the binding.
Starting with a literary text, you will deal with typography, materials and types of binding and produce a hand-bound book from A to Z yourself. Step by step, you will develop a binding that represents the literary content and offers readers a sensual experience.

Instructor:

Susanna Entress, Sandra Merten, Urs Stuber

Date:

8th and 9th September; 15th and 16th September; 22nd and 23rd September 2023

Duration:

6 days, Friday afternoon (13:00 - 20:00) and Saturday (9:00 - 16:00)

Course location:

Schule für Gestaltung, Ausstellungsstrasse 104, CH-8005 Zurich

Language:

German

Costs:

CHF 1'800.-

Material costs:

special material depending on use

Participants:

Bookbinders, career changers with experience in bookbinding

Registration:

No. 18

Course location Zurich

Need some space for your ideas, notes and sketches? Would you like to bind notebooks yourself, working with your hands?
In this class you will experiment with binding, covers to your booklets and book binding ideas. We fold, cut, sew, punch and screw. You learn binding techniques and creative approaches which allow you to create single and multi-layer booklets at home.
You will bind a handful of booklets and go home with a stack of your own amazing booklet samples

Instructor:

Helma Kühn-Osius

Date:

13th / 20th / 27th September 2023

Duration:

3 evenings: 17:30 - 21:00

Course location:

Schule für Gestaltung, Ausstellungsstrasse 104, CH-8005 Zurich

Language:

German and explanations in English

Costs:

CHF 520.-

Material costs:

Special material depending on use

Participants:

Open to all, without previous experience

Registration:

No. 20

Course location Ascona

In this class, we'll delve into the creative possibilities of tessellation and experience the transformation of the paper sheet into two- and three-dimensional paper sculptures. There will be an introduction to different folding techniques, and we will work with different papers and materials.
We will explore some techniques that Nadine Werner has developed and make samples that let us see how the folding structures can be used functionally - thus completing the transition from the fascinating art form to the practical design of books or packaging.
At the end of the week, we will move into the experimental phase where we will develop our own design ideas.

Instructor:

Nadine Werner

Date:

Monday, 16th October 2023 to Friday, 20th October 2023

Duration:

5 days

Course location:

centro del bel libro, Via Collegio 17, CH-6612 Ascona

Language:

German and explanations in English

Costs:

CHF 1'150.-

Material costs:

Special material depending on use

Participants:

Bookbinders, interested persons with prior experience

Registration:

If you don’t have any holiday planned abroad, how about a course in Ascona or Zürich? A different kind of holiday, inspiring, creative and sustainable!

In July in the there was a course on folding tecniques for designers in our fairly new workshops in the location of “Schule für Gestaltung”. This was given by Paul Jackson and while he was in Zürich, he was informed that he and his wife had won a prize for their start-up. A great bit of news and also very impressive in these times, where almost everything seems to be technological and/or digital.

Here is the link to his Facebook-Post:

https://www.facebook.com/photo/fbid=7260941287255389&set=ecnf.100000187684025&locale=de_DE

Our sincere congratulations to Paul and his wife for this prize!

And because it was so fabulous, here are some impressions of work created in his course: