Contact Us

If you have questions about our products, custom work, or if you have general questions about bookbinding, letterpress, or toolmaking we would love to hear from you!


Nashville, Tennessee 37211

Crowing Hens Bindery is a one-woman bindery and letterpress print shop that specializes in traditional handmade blank books, letterpress printed stationery, limited edition fine art prints, unique book jewelry & letterpress-printed decorative papers. As the owner of a Nashville-based private business, I do my best to honor the heritage of fine craft and art that saturates my community and region. All of my products are designed and made by hand in Nashville, Tennessee from high quality materials available using traditional bookbinding techniques. I aspire to create beautiful, useful work that becomes a part of your everyday life.

Events

Jun
20
9:00 AM09:00

APA Wayzgoose Bookbinding Workshop at Hatch Show Print

From Scrap to Chap: Low-tech Bookbinding Using Printer’s Waste

Crowing Hens Bindery (and Hatch Show Print alum!)

9 am – 4 pm, including a break for lunch

In this workshop participants will learn how to begin bookbinding by using printer’s waste and scrap materials. This workshop will explore both simple and decorative sewn pamphlets and a multi-section binding with exposed sewing. Books made from this workshop will highlight the recyclability of materials that are otherwise unusable at the press and how they can be reused to make sketchbooks, journals, art journals, and “junk” journals.

Learn to make the most of printer’s waste and makereadies by making beautiful, functional books!

Learn to make the most of printer’s waste and makereadies by making beautiful, functional books!

We will also explore economical alternatives to traditional bookbinding tools and equipment, some of which are “free” and others that you can make to suit your bookbinding needs. Each participant will leave with several pamphlets and a multi-section sewn binding as well as the knowledge to continue making books in their own studios. Participants are encouraged to bring paper and pencil for notes and diagrams. All tools and materials will be provided for the duration of the workshop. No previous binding experience is needed.

Max: 10

Click here for more information about this and other events during the APA Wayzgoose!

Click here to register for this workshop as either an APA ember or nonmember!

View Event →
Mar
28
to Mar 31

CROWING HENS BINDERY ON NPT: TENNESSEE CROSSROADS VISITS THE BINDERY

CROWING HENS BINDERY ON NPT: TENNESSEE CROSSROADS VISITS THE BINDERY

Hey Ma! I’m on TV!

It’s true! The locally and regionally syndicated show Tennessee Crossroads has been on my TV since 1987. I grew up watching this show, it’s been on for more than 3o years now, and never did I ever think I’d be on TV, much less featured in a show that highlights local and regional artists, craftsmen, and small businesses like mine.

As host Joe Elmore puts it, “Tennessee Crossroads travels the highways and byways of Tennessee, highlighting the personalities, crafts, places, foods and events that make Tennessee unique.” I couldn’t think of a higher compliment than for me and my one-woman business to be considered a part of this Tennessee tradition.

Producer Rob Wilds spent some time with me in the bindery earlier this year to talk about my love of books, small business entrepreneurship, and my passion for the trade of stationery bookbinding. I’ll be featured alongside Juicy’s Wellness Cafe, The Smyrna Flying Aces, and Clay Illustrator Susan Eaddy.

The episode will air this Thursday, March 28th at 78pm CST and Sunday March 31, 10 am CST. Check your local listings to see when the episode will air in your area.

You can find your local PBS station here: https://www.pbs.org/

And if Tennessee Crossroads isn’t showing in your region, you’ll be able to access my clip here or on tennesseecrossroads.org and their youtube page.

While you’re there, consider supporting your local PBS station by making a donation! Support like yours helps to fund local and regional shows like Tennessee Crossroads and their passion to highlight small business owners like yours truly!

View Event →
"Pressing On: The Letterpress Film" Artist panel discussion and premier
May
27
9:30 AM09:30

"Pressing On: The Letterpress Film" Artist panel discussion and premier

Pressing On is a documentary about the survival of letterpress printing featuring remarkable printers who are preserving the history and making the craft thrive.

Saturday will be a full day of letterpress-related fun, kicking off with a family program in the morning at 9:30am, and followed by print shop open houses, talks, a Hatch Show Print workshop, and an artist panel discussion at 4pm, all culminating with the red carpet premiere of the film in the evening at 7:30pm.

View Event →
Nasty Women Exhibition: Nashville featuring Crowing Hens Bindery
Jan
31
to Feb 1

Nasty Women Exhibition: Nashville featuring Crowing Hens Bindery

Join us at the Basement East starting at 4pm January 31st till the wee hours of February 1 for the Nasty Women Exhibition: Nashville. This is an 18+ exhibit.

This is the Nashville sister of the Nasty Women Exhibition in Queens, NYC. This is a group exhibition that serves to demonstrate solidarity among artists who identify with being a Nasty Woman in the face of threats to roll back women’s rights, individual rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and immigrant rights. It also serves as a fundraiser to support organizations defending these rights and to be a platform for organization near the Trump Presidential Inauguration in January.

View Event →
HATCH-ED at the Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, TN.
Jan
6
to Mar 1

HATCH-ED at the Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, TN.

HATCH-ed: Jan 6 – Mar 1, 2017 on the 2nd floor of the Belcourt. HATCH-ed Print Show at the Belcourt Theatre brings together works from former Hatch Show Print designers and printers Jim Sherraden, Julie Sola of Fat Crow Press, Mary Louise Sullivan of Crowing Hens Bindery, and Bryce McCloud of Isle of Printing. Jason Brown is the guest curator of HATCH-ed.

View Event →
Crowing Hens Bindery at the Studio Be Holiday Artist Market
Dec
2
to Dec 3
Craft Shows & Festivals

Crowing Hens Bindery at the Studio Be Holiday Artist Market

Join me in my old stomping grounds in West Nashville at the Studio Be Holiday Artist Market on December 2, 2016 noon to 8PM and December 3, 2016 9AM-4PM.  This event is free and open to the public. There will be 25 different artists featured this weekend, including yours truly. Come find gifts for those special people, yourself, and event your Christmas tree! This year's Market will be the best one yet! Featuring handmade gifts in a wide variety of prices and mediums--pottery, wall art, jewelry, food, and more--offered by carefully selected artists from the Southeast.

View Event →
Crowing Hens Bindery at MADE SOUTH @ the Factory in Franklin
Nov
18
to Nov 19
Craft Shows & Festivals

Crowing Hens Bindery at MADE SOUTH @ the Factory in Franklin

  • The Factory at Franklin (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Join me and my fellow Southern makers Friday, November 18 and Saturday November 19th for the MADE SOUTH Holiday Market at the Factory in Franklin! I'll be selling my deluxe small-batch handmade journals, notebooks, limited edition art prints, a full line of holiday and everyday letterpress stationery, as well as my book jewelry and ornaments. This is THE event of the season, so don't miss out on your discounted presale tickets and get a taste of the very best of the South and finish your Holiday shopping at the same time! You'll find unique gifts, tasty creations, and creative offerings for everyone on your list!

View Event →
Crowing Hens Bindery at Crafty Nashville's Fall Arts & Crafts Market
Nov
5
10:00 AM10:00
Craft Shows & Festivals

Crowing Hens Bindery at Crafty Nashville's Fall Arts & Crafts Market

The Crafty Nashville community is getting together for the infamous shopping season! We are hosting our Fall Arts & Crafts Market at Track One. We will be sponsoring a drive for Soles4Souls, Inc.! So please clean out your closets and bring any unwanted shoes (any size) and donate them to Soles4Souls by dropping them into one of the several bins we will have on site! The event is FREE to the public! 75+ Local Artisans & Crafters for you to shop small from & support. 

View Event →
Crowing Hens Bindery at the Southern Festival of Books
Oct
14
to Oct 16
Craft Shows & Festivals

Crowing Hens Bindery at the Southern Festival of Books

Humanities Tennessee's Southern Festival of Books: October 14-16: A Celebration of the Written Word was first held in Nashville on the second full weekend (Friday-Sunday) in October, 1989, and has been held annually on the same weekend since then. One of the first book festivals of its kind, it has inspired hundreds of similar book festivals throughout the nation and beyond.

View Event →
TN Craft Demonstrations presented by Shimai Gallery Artisans & Tennessee Craft at the Bellevue Public Library
Oct
8
10:00 AM10:00
Craft Shows & Festivals, Demonstrations

TN Craft Demonstrations presented by Shimai Gallery Artisans & Tennessee Craft at the Bellevue Public Library

  • Nashville Public Library Bellevue Branch (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Celebrate Tennessee Craft Week with a day of demonstrations at the Bellevue Branch! Craft artisans, including a potter, a print maker, a book binder, fiber artists, a clay artist, and a painter, from Shimai, Gallery of Contemporary Craft will take over the building. There will also be hands-on activities for all ages.

View Event →
Handmade and Bound 6th Edition
Sep
30
to Oct 1
Craft Shows & Festivals

Handmade and Bound 6th Edition

  • Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Join me again for the 6th edition of Handmade and Bound at Watkins College of Art, Design, & Film Friday September 30 and Saturday October 1 as we celebrate all things book, paper, and print! I'll be showcasing my handmade books, letterpress stationery, limited edition prints, and book jewelry as well as my freshly printed decorative papers, which nearly sold out last year! Come bathe in the rainbow of new colors and patterns of my decorative paper selection, ye book and print folke!

View Event →
Proto Pulp 2016 - Classic Books of the Future!
Sep
17
11:00 AM11:00
Craft Shows & Festivals

Proto Pulp 2016 - Classic Books of the Future!

Join me this Saturday, September 17th from 11-6 at the Idea Hatchery in East Nashville for the 7th Annual Proto Pulp Book Show! Proto Pulp features first time writers as well as a few veteran children's book illustrators and authors. The focus of the show is children's books and also includes original artwork from local artists.

View Event →
Lightning 100 Spring Block Party & Indie Nash Maker's Market: Nashville, TN
Apr
30
3:00 PM15:00

Lightning 100 Spring Block Party & Indie Nash Maker's Market: Nashville, TN

Join me at the Lightning 100 Spring Block Party & Indie Nash Spring Maker's Market Saturday April 30 from 3-11pm at Marathon Village. With musical performances by Kaleo, Roots of Rebellion, Future Thieves & more as well as locally owned and locally loved #indienash businesses like Crowing Hens Bindery there's no better way to celebrate Spring!

View Event →
Google+