Thornwillow is a printer and publisher of handmade, limited edition books. We do all of the design, typesetting, letterpress printing, and binding at the press in a complex of 19th century buildings in Newburgh, NY. We believe that in this age of disposable communications and virtual relationships, beautifully made objects that are designed to last, matter. Thornwillow is one of the leading fine press publishers in the world. Our books are in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian, The Metropolitan Museum, and The White House. Our collectors and customers are based all over the world. We are an artisanal enterprise committed to teaching and perpetuating the related arts and crafts of the written word.
Bindery Manager Responsibilities and Desired Skills
We are looking for a full time person to work in and help manage our bindery. In the bindery we do every aspect of fine bookbinding in house from folding and sewing to making paper, cloth, and gold tooled leather bindings. We also make the clamshell boxes, marble and decorative paste paper in house. We are looking for someone with enthusiasm, the ability to work with their hands, organizational skills, patience and determination, and a love of books.
Bindery Manager responsibilities include:
- Becoming familiar with the techniques employed at the press and working every day to learn and improve one’s mastery of the craft.
- Delivering top quality work efficiently and on schedule
- Updating project reports and schedules
- Maintaining component inventories
- Preparing and coordinating outsourced projects
- Responsibility for care and maintenance of tools and equipment
- Responsibility for maintaining production workflow and procedures
- Responsibility for managing project planning, scheduling, and organization
- Responsibility for finding ways to improve quality and productivity through modifying workflow, deploying dormant equipment. and expanding the skillbase of the team.
- Responsibility for training and managing the work of new and less skilled members of the team
The following skills are within the scope of work:
- Organization, project planning
- Managing people, workflow, and projects
- Team spirit.
- Solid organization and time-management skills
- folding & collating
- Sewing
- cloth bindings
- half leather bindings
- full leather bindings
- edge gilding
- stamping and tooling
- leather paring
- marble and paste paper making
- box making
- Care and attention to detail.
- Excellent manual dexterity and hand skills
Hours and Compensation
Job Type: Full-time
Schedule: Monday to Friday 8:30 to 5:30
Work Location: Newburgh, NY 12550: Candidates must be able to reliably commute or relocate before starting work.
Compensation: Starting at $45,000 with room for growth as skills, experience, and commitment evolve.
Paid holidays: Eligibility for the following paid holiday after the first 6 months of employement: President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and in addition the Friday following Thanksgiving, and the days between and including December 25 and January 1.
PTO: Eligible to accrue up to 7 sick/vacation days after the first 6 months of employment..
Affordable Housing: Pending availability, affordable housing is available near the press in the Thornwillow Makers Village.
NOTE: There might be the possibility of structuring this position as a steady part time position for an excellent candidate that needs more flexibility provided the ongoing commitment is strong. For this scenario to be considered, it would require a minimum of 24 hours per week. In this scenario, the job would be paid at the day rate of $170 per day and there would not be compensated holidays, PTO, or access to the affordable housing through the Makers Village.
For more information please contact: opportunities@thornwillow.com