East Hampton native Hadley Vogel has a deep appreciation for art.
Back in 2012, she founded her own art gallery, East Hampton Shed, located in her parent’s back yard on Blue Jay Way in East Hampton. Vogel, now based in Weehawken, N.J., is also second-generation bookbinder, having apprenticed from an early age under her father, Paul Vogel, owner of the Vogel Bindery in East Hampton. In 2023, following in her father’s footsteps, she started her own bookbinding business, Hadley Hill Bindery, working predominantly with artists to help bind their respective works into physical, functional books.
“I had the idea of ‘what if I did artist books?,'” she says. “So, the people I would exhibit in my shed gallery, I would ask them to provide me content, and based on what they provided me, I would make a binding that sort of complemented it. And they would get very experimental and then I started seeing where I could carve my own path in this bookbinding realm.”
Vogel (top right) hand binds books at her Weekhawken, N.J.-based bindery. (Photos courtesy of Hadley Vogel)
This weekend, Vogel is sharing her bookbinding skills in a special workshop at The Church in Sag Harbor. Demonstrating the art of drum leaf binding, participants will be guided by Vogel in learning the anatomy of a book, how to utilize an array of tools and materials associated with bookbinding, and ultimately. will compose, develop and bind a simple hardcover book of their own.
“If know how to engineer a book because it has to function. It’s not something that you can just, or at least that that this is what I firmly believe. If you’re going to make an artist book, it absolutely has to function. It’s like architecture. It dictates how you move through the work and you want that to be a nice experience.”
Vogel has asked that participants bring 10-15 printed, 8.5” x 11”, single-sided sheets. These can be printed on glossy or matte paper, weighing 32lb/120gsm to 70lb/265gsm; just keep in mind that they will be folded in half to create the pages of the book.Additional printed material will be provided for anyone unsure of the content they’d like to include. All other materials will be provided. Only 12 participants will be allowed in the workshop, which is on Saturday, Nov. 14, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The cost is $250 per person to participate. Find more information and save your spot here.
“In this day and age, having something that is handmade is important and I’m more proud than ever be a craftsperson, making something of quality and genuine substance. And, I think it is the most radical art form you could possibly make, because it’s something that’s held. You have to hold it to experience it.”
The Church is located at 48 Madison St. in Sag Harbor.
