About Us
The Owl & Lion is an artistic endeavor led by Master Bookbinder Isabelle Ting. Bringing together fine binding, hand printing, letter press and teaching, the Owl & Lion has an imaginative identity and skilled craftsmanship that stands apart from factory made goods on the high street.Situated in the West Port area of Edinburgh, the shop is home to a working bookbindery & art studio where all of the shop items are made. Alongside the shop, Isabelle runs the biggest selection of bookbinding classes in Scotland, covering every stage from beginner to those needing more expertise. The classes are warm, inclusive and designed as a first step that allows the student to progress at a rate they are comfortable with.
Classes include an introduction class for beginners and from here there is the option for further learning in the field, for example, Leather Case Binding, 18th century Leather Binding, Fine Binding and Secret Belgian binding.
There are also smaller, shorter, but no less informative workshops, the Bind & Go classes, which are two hour done-in-one sessions that showcase different style of stitching, such as the Venetian journals (as seen on Kirstie Allsopp’s Handmade Britain shown on Channel 4), or the Japanese stab bindings.
In an age that has seen an upheaval of the physical book the Owl & Lion bindery is a respectful addition to the craft that both harnesses the past and creates the future of the book.