<p>In a city that runs on screens and deadlines, bookbinding has become a surprisingly popular hands-on pursuit. Classes are held in small studios as well as at cafés, and sessions quickly sell out.</p>.<p>Organisers say the trend has picked up noticeably in recent times. Monica Prasad, Aaqara En Press says they have run workshops since 2024. Shrunkhala Thakare of Spread and Spine says that her early classes drew only eight participants, but later workshops sold out and generated bookings for more advanced techniques. Raahul Khadaliya from The Second Life remembers cancelled dates and only three early sign-ups, but later saw a spike in enquiries.</p>.Five bookstores that cater to Bengaluru's budding readers.<p>The numbers speak for themselves. Deepti Krishna of Maralu Earth reports sold-out runs at book cafés; Prem of Hobby Ghar says participation increased by 40-50 per cent compared with last year. Hobby Ghar often holds workshops in corporate companies, where employees and their families turn up in large numbers with books they possess. These are then rebound and decorated before being donated to government schools, among others. Most facilitators keep groups small, typically 8-15 people, to preserve the tactile, guided experience participants come for. A strikingly diverse set of people shows up. Designers, artists and journaling enthusiasts mingle with IT professionals, parents bringing children, and older participants revisiting childhood crafts. “Kids learn hands-on skills, while older participants often feel nostalgic,” Shrunkhala says. Readers who already cherish books are drawn to the idea of making one, says Deepti.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Beginners create zines, saddle-stitched notebooks or simple hardbacks. Others return for exposed-stitch bindings and custom covers. Finished books become journals, sketchbooks, personalised gifts, travel diaries, or keepsakes stitched together with photographs and prints. Materials and methods remain low-tech: papers, a bone folder for crisp creases, waxed thread and needles, and glue. Workshops sometimes add printmaking elements, such as cyanotype or block printing, so each cover carries a personal image or texture.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nayanamrutha T S, who will host a bookbinding workshop at Atta Galatta next month, says that the hobby resonates with people because “something handmade feels deeply personal.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">Instructors point to a post-pandemic appetite for slow, tactile practices, a desire for sustainable making, and a cultural hunger for experiences that forge human connection away from screens. “Bookbinding is therapy by hand,” Raahul says.</p>
<p>In a city that runs on screens and deadlines, bookbinding has become a surprisingly popular hands-on pursuit. Classes are held in small studios as well as at cafés, and sessions quickly sell out.</p>.<p>Organisers say the trend has picked up noticeably in recent times. Monica Prasad, Aaqara En Press says they have run workshops since 2024. Shrunkhala Thakare of Spread and Spine says that her early classes drew only eight participants, but later workshops sold out and generated bookings for more advanced techniques. Raahul Khadaliya from The Second Life remembers cancelled dates and only three early sign-ups, but later saw a spike in enquiries.</p>.Five bookstores that cater to Bengaluru's budding readers.<p>The numbers speak for themselves. Deepti Krishna of Maralu Earth reports sold-out runs at book cafés; Prem of Hobby Ghar says participation increased by 40-50 per cent compared with last year. Hobby Ghar often holds workshops in corporate companies, where employees and their families turn up in large numbers with books they possess. These are then rebound and decorated before being donated to government schools, among others. Most facilitators keep groups small, typically 8-15 people, to preserve the tactile, guided experience participants come for. A strikingly diverse set of people shows up. Designers, artists and journaling enthusiasts mingle with IT professionals, parents bringing children, and older participants revisiting childhood crafts. “Kids learn hands-on skills, while older participants often feel nostalgic,” Shrunkhala says. Readers who already cherish books are drawn to the idea of making one, says Deepti.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Beginners create zines, saddle-stitched notebooks or simple hardbacks. Others return for exposed-stitch bindings and custom covers. Finished books become journals, sketchbooks, personalised gifts, travel diaries, or keepsakes stitched together with photographs and prints. Materials and methods remain low-tech: papers, a bone folder for crisp creases, waxed thread and needles, and glue. Workshops sometimes add printmaking elements, such as cyanotype or block printing, so each cover carries a personal image or texture.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nayanamrutha T S, who will host a bookbinding workshop at Atta Galatta next month, says that the hobby resonates with people because “something handmade feels deeply personal.”</p>.<p class="bodytext">Instructors point to a post-pandemic appetite for slow, tactile practices, a desire for sustainable making, and a cultural hunger for experiences that forge human connection away from screens. “Bookbinding is therapy by hand,” Raahul says.</p>