Notebooks remain our everyday companions, even in the age of mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. For the more absent-minded, they are extremely useful as a kind of “backup system.” They serve as repositories for ideas, notes, reminders, outbursts… And they carry us back to a more romantic era, when one would take the time to set pen to blank paper with intention and attention.
Celebrating the tradition that began in monasteries during the Middle Ages, this hand bookbinding workshop is designed for those who want to take their first steps in the craft in a relaxed way. Here, you will create your own softcover notebooks with simple stitching, using materials provided by the instructor. By the end, you will leave with the fruits of your labor and some learning material to continue practicing at home.

Participation is free, with the option of supporting the instructor through voluntary donations.

About the artist and instructor:
Leonor Hungria was born on November 6, 1977. In 2002, she completed her degree in Linguistics — Education Training Branch at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon. She worked for five years as a proofreader, translator, and editor at the Impala publishing group, Press People, Nova Vega, among others. After this professional experience, she decided to follow her childhood dream of becoming a writer and illustrator. She studied Drawing at the National Society of Fine Arts in Lisbon for three years and is currently a postgraduate student in the Master’s program in Illustration and Animation at the Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, in Barcelos. She did character design for the animated short The Foam and the Lion by Cláudio Jordão, has published short stories on the Fábrica do Terror website and in Palavrar magazine, and is the creator of the fanzine Train Wreck, A Miscellany, with its Portuguese version Train Wreck, Uma Miscelânea, published independently. Her work can be placed within the Gothic and horror genres, often with a touch of dark and absurd humour.