Located in the heart of Bayview, just off Kinnickinnick Ave, is Milwaukee’s last operational book bindery, known simply as The Bindery. While Zach Lifton was visiting Milwaukee, looking for a new city to call home, he stumbled upon what was at the time the Wisconsin Book Bindery and knew that he wanted to use his degree in historic preservation to continue the tradition of making books in that building. After researching the Wisconsin Book Bindery and discovering that the family-run neighborhood establishment had almost completely shut down as both the family and bookbinding industry aged, he resolved to find a way to breathe new life into not only the building but the practice of bookbinding as well. Now, The Bindery serves a new generation of creatives, whether that’s repairing a beloved old book, printing a zine, creating risograph prints, or simply making progress on creative work in the presence of other artisans.
Zach’s primary goal in creating The Bindery was to save and update the space “in a way that gives back to the community,” he explains. His decision to revamp the space as a new and improved book bindery, rather than using the space for a different type of project stems from his belief that “History shouldn’t feel stagnant, and yet sometimes it does.” By reimagining what a traditional book bindery can be, he aims to integrate history with the community as it is today. Zach explains what an honor it is to “[help] creativity flourish with the resources that we have,” such as space, equipment, and, perhaps most importantly, knowledge. In addition to book-binding services, The Bindery offers educational opportunities like regular workshops, one-on-one instruction for individuals, custom-built classes for groups, and more. “The more accessible we can be,” Zach says, “the more creativity spawns from that.”
Making creativity accessible is important to Zach and the whole team at The Bindery. Partnering with the Milwaukee Public Library, The Bindery runs Milwaukee Zine Fest, an annual festival dedicated to celebrating small-press and independent publishing. Zach explains the importance of making both art and publishing accessible to more creatives and artisans. Through zines and other small-press publications, young creators, particularly those from marginalized communities, can share their voices and amplify their work in an affordable format.
The work of local creatives, artist groups, non-profits, and more was a huge part of the inspiration for Zach to move to Milwaukee from Philadelphia in 2017. Looking for a smaller city, he felt that the Midwest was “generally overlooked and underappreciated” in numerous ways. While on the visit that sparked the idea for The Bindery, Zach saw a community that was deeply flawed in a number of ways, but, crucially, a “community that was trying to change,” rather than sweep the more unsavory aspects of its past under the rug. Creativity is a critical part of not only individual wellness but social wellness as well. Zach is constantly inspired by watching new creative work being produced and is honored to share in that process. His favorite part of running The Bindery is watching ideas come to life by “working with really interesting people to help create tangibly, something that they just had in their head.”
For those who are interested in making their ideas into something tangible, The Bindery has workshops in a variety of subject areas, with new classes announced seasonally. The Fall/Winter class lineup should be announced sometime in August, but at the time of publication, there are still spots available in the August 15 Two Color Digital Risograph workshop with BEARBEAR. In addition to classes and the printshop, The Bindery offers a coworking space for anyone that wants a quiet place to work outside of their home. Above all, Zach stresses, if you have a project that you want to bring to life, The Bindery is a great place to start. Even if they don’t end up being the ones to help you bring the project to fruition, they’d love to help direct you to someone else in Milwaukee who can.
