Tag: Rachel Hazell

Book Artist Rachel Hazell to host Junk Journaling Workshop at Edinburgh International Book Festival

The Travelling Bookbinder invites participants to explore the Festival’s theme of Repair through mindful making and creative collage

Book artist Rachel Hazell, also known as The Travelling Bookbinder, will be taking part in the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2025 with an innovative junk journaling workshop.

The hands-on session will take place as part of the Festival’s programme, running from 9-24 August at the Edinburgh Futures Institute.

Perfectly aligned with this year’s overarching Book Festival theme of Repair, Rachel’s workshop invites participants to transform discarded ephemera into beautiful, meaningful books through the meditative art of junk journaling. 

“I’m thrilled to be part of this year’s Festival and to explore how broken, forgotten, or discarded materials can be given new life and purpose,” says Rachel. “It perfectly embodies the Festival’s mission to examine ‘the many things around us which feel broken, and how we might seek to fix them.‘”

“This workshop represents the essence of what repair means in creative practice,” explains Rachel, whose acclaimed book Bound: 15 Beautiful Bookbinding Projects has inspired bookmakers worldwide. 

“We’re taking fragments of the past – envelopes, festival flyers, travel tickets, magazines, brochures, old maps and maybe even an old book that has fallen apart and won’t be read again – and weaving them into new narratives.

“It’s about finding beauty in the discarded and creating something whole from the damaged or broken.”

About the Workshop

The immersive workshop offers participants the opportunity to engage in mindful making through collage, transforming everyday detritus into treasured keepsakes. While all necessary materials will be provided, attendees are encouraged to bring their own ‘found handwriting’ – personal ephemera that carries emotional resonance and hidden stories.

Drawing on her expertise in traditional bookbinding techniques combined with contemporary artistic sensibilities, Rachel will guide participants through the process of:

  • Selecting and preparing discarded materials for creative reuse
  • Understanding the emotional and narrative potential within forgotten fragments
  • Mastering fundamental junk journaling techniques
  • Creating personal books that serve as both artistic expression and meaningful record-keeping

About Rachel Hazell – The Travelling Bookbinder

Drawing her inspiration from remote landscapes, typography, shorelines, flea-markets and remarkable literary cities, book artist Rachel Hazell takes people on creative journeys, making books and unfolding stories. Home is the city of Edinburgh and the small Hebridean island of Iona. Through The Travelling Bookbinder, she conducts bookart workshops globally, from Venetian palazzos to Nantucket libraries.

As both teacher and author, Hazell has built an international reputation for her innovative approach to bookbinding that combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary storytelling.

Her work emphasizes the transformative power of handmade books and the deep connection between physical making and emotional healing.

Her published works include the critically acclaimed Bound: 15 Beautiful Bookbinding Projects, and she offers both in-person workshops in inspiring locations worldwide and comprehensive online courses through her digital platform.

Edinburgh International Book Festival 2025

Taking place from 9-24 August, Edinburgh International Book Festival are delighted to announce our 2025 programme, with close to 700 events featuring 641 writers from 35 countries, across 6 continents. Repair is the Book Festival’s core theme for 2025, seeking to explore the many things around us which feel broken, and how we might seek to fix them.

The theme resonates across multiple dimensions – from environmental restoration to emotional healing, from social justice to personal recovery. Rachel’s workshop exemplifies this approach by demonstrating how creative practice can serve as both personal therapy and cultural commentary.

Further opportunities 

Rachel also hosts workshops all over the world, from her homes in Edinburgh and Iona, to Paris, Bath and Venice.

You can find more information and booking details here: 

https://www.thetravellingbookbinder.com/product-category/workshops/ 

To try your hand at Rachel’s craft from the comfort of your own home you can find her hugely popular e-courses here:

 https://www.thetravellingbookbinder.com/product-category/e-courses/ 

Discover ‘The Benefit of Books’ with Rachel Hazell at Fruitmarket Gallery’s Annual Bookmarket 

On Saturday 15 February, Rachel Hazell, The Travelling Bookbinder, will be sharing all she has learnt about the power of creativity at her talk The Benefit of Books at the Fruitmarket Gallery’s annual Artists’ Bookmarket. 

The talk is free to attend, tickets can be booked HERE.  

Rachel Hazell, The Travelling Bookbinder said: “I’m excited to attend the Artists’ Bookmarket – it’s the social highlight of my year – a fantastic event to see inspiring work, familiar faces and new innovations is the artist’ book world- reconnecting with my tribe! 

“After twenty-seven years of using the book as a creative medium, this talk distils what why and how books are so great.

“I’m passionate about sharing the art of bookbinding with others and hope to inspire them to create something, in whatever form, that brings relaxation and mindfulness.”    

Based between Edinburgh and the Hebridean Isle of Iona, Rachel has explored and taught this ancient craft of bookbinding all over the world, and her talk will explore the physical, mental, practical and emotional impact practising the artform can have. Whether as a meditative process or a means of self-expression she will share how bookbinding nurtures well-being and personal growth and can be a key tool in pursuit of mindfulness.   

Rachel’s approach to bookbinding puts a modern spin on the artform, and at the workshops she hosts across the world – from Shetland to Venice – she encourages participants to take inspiration and materials from their unique surroundings and incorporate them in their work.

Whether that’s driftwood for the cover, or maps for the pages, nothing is off the table when it comes to making it a part of your bound story.  

Rachel’s fine craftmanship has made her a sought-after figure in the world of bookbinding, artistry, and wellness and she has featured in publications including Condé Nast Traveller, the Financial Times, Selvedge and The Simple Things.

In 2024 she published a book of photos of her daily swims, taken on Iona during lockdown. Today’s Changing Room featured in The Scotsman among others. All the proceeds go to the mental health charity BlueTonic.   

As teacher, author and traveller, books, words and the power of imagination have always been central to Rachel’s life and the day she was taught how to make her first book; she knew she’d be a bookbinder for the rest of her life. Hear a bit about her story and how and she believes that everyone has a book inside them.  

What: Rachel Hazell: ‘The Benefit of Books’ at Artists’ Bookmarket 2025 

When: Saturday 15 February, 1:45pm – 2:15pm 

Where: Fruitmarket Gallery, 45 Market Street, Edinburgh, EH11DF 

Tickets: Free to attend, book here