Julie Auzillon – Contemporary binding designer

Grand Est – 1982

Julie Auzillon is part of a new generation of craftspeople for whom innovation and traditional techniques are central. The Ecole Estienne’s diploma she received in 2003 was the launch pad to her journey with books. Guided by her tastes and desires, she is constantly reinterpreting the binding know-how.

In 2013, she founded her own workshop and has been creating ever since premium contemporary bindings for collectors, bookshops, institutions, and artists. Her aim is to enhance the most precious books and to add value to original editions with quality sustainable bindings. The craftswoman is a true researcher whose desire is to give each element of a book an aesthetic value.

Each book she works on represents her main source of inspiration. She dives into their story before she starts working on them to create a link between her creations, the text, the style, the period, and the books’ author. Paper is the basic material she had employed, but after a few years, she has finally turned her attention to leather and its techniques.

2016 – Royal Museum of Mariemont, Research grant in binding.

2015 – Laureate of the Banque Populaire Foundation.

Young Creation Prize, Ateliers d’Art de France.

Research and innovation

The bookbinding’s constraints are also a source of inspiration for Julie Auzillon. Since she has started her business, she has pioneered two techniques that are now recognised by her peers. These are the ORIGATA technique, which involves cutting and folding paper, and the rod binding which consists in inserting a metal rod into the binding.

Transmission

The craftswoman is committed to the durability of her craft, which is the reason why she has taught at the École Estienne, the Ateliers d’Arts Appliqués of Vesinet and the Ateliers de Paris. In addition, her ORIGATA research has led to the publication of a book published by Editions Esperluète.

Julie Auzillon approached the Fondation Rémy Cointreau in 2023 to develop two new techniques for bookbinding. The first is to complete the decor and colouring of her bindings with a rotogravure technique, in collaboration with Fanny Boucher (Master of Art in rotogravure). The second project is based on the application of the micro-drilling technique to bookbinding.