In this workshop for young and old, you will get hands-on experience making and binding a booklet using traditional Japanese techniques. This binding method was used for the famous Amsterdam School art and architecture magazine Wendingen. In it, artists shared their ideas, their inspiration, and their work.

You begin by selecting paper: which colours go well together, and which type of paper will you use for the cover? Then the folding and binding begins. Using a bone folder, needle and thread, and step-by-step instructions, you assemble your own booklet. And if you still have time left, you can draw inspiration from Amsterdam School artists and personalise your booklet.

You will go home with your own handmade booklet.

The artists of the Amsterdam School excelled in craftsmanship. As a reaction to industrialisation over 100 years ago, they returned to fully handmade art objects, often using natural materials. This happened across many disciplines: sculptors were part of the movement, as were ceramics and stained glass artists, woodcarvers, bookbinders, and many graphic artists. The total work of art was important, often meaning that multiple artists from different disciplines collaborated on, for example, a building or interior.

Museum Het Schip is located in a fantastical social housing complex in Amsterdam West, designed by architect Michel de Klerk. This expressionist housing block was built in 1919 for housing corporation Eigen Haard. Because of its distinctive shape, the building became known as “Het Schip” (“The Ship”). It is considered one of the highlights of the Amsterdam School, a movement in architecture and decorative arts that spread throughout the Netherlands and was closely intertwined with the rise of social housing provided by housing corporations.