Bruce Munro - 2022
‘Gifts of Unknown Things’ and ‘Siddhartha’
“Numerous books have moved my heart and changed my lifes journey . Kate’s incredible talents have captured the essence of both inspiration and the resulting artworks as succinctly as a memory in a sketch book. Simply said her work brings much joy !”
Dr Pelham Hawker - 2020
Basilisk Press edition of the Kelmscott Chaucer
“A few years ago I was fortunate to be able to buy an unbound imprint of the reputed Basilisk Press edition of the famous William Morris Kelmscott Chaucer. The question was then - should I have it bound, and I eventually decided I would like to. A little research led to a couple of personal recommendations to contact Kate Holland. Having spoken briefly on the phone we agreed to meet so that she could show me some of her work and chat about how a project like this might work.
Kate came to visit me at home and spent time talking to me about my interests, looking around my home and walking around my garden. This enabled her to develop some ideas for themes which would strike a chord with me in the binding. Kate then worked through some concepts and produced a few examples of papers and binding materials we could use.
This process is not quick - and that seems to make it all the more satisfying. At some point she hit on the idea of using the visual cues of a church window by Morris to echo the themes of garden and trees. This chimed very well with me and more prototypes quickly followed. I was very excited by the work and felt Kate had managed this creative part of the project very sensitively. I felt very involved and engaged. We met three or four times during the process (one meeting involved a visit to a famous letterpress in Gloucestershire - in itself a truly memorable event) and exchanged numerous emails before the binding was complete.
Kate’s work is of a very high artisanal standard and this, together with its fine artistic content leads me to say that I think both Morris and Burne-Jones would heartily approve of the result. This is not to say that the work is in any way a pastiche of a certain style. It is resoundingly contemporary. I feel that together we have created an individual volume that is both a work of art and a testament to Chaucer, Morris, Burne-Jones and indeed Basilisk that will last and give great pleasure for many many years to come.
Working with Kate it was possible for me to feel involved and not merely ‘the client’. I cannot commend her highly enough.”
John Makepeace - 2018
The Picture of Dorian Gray
“I first became aware of the beauty of book-binding as a young designer at a time when the best makers used to gather once a year. Potters, embroiderers, glass engravers, silversmiths, weavers, furniture-makers jewellers and bookbinders all shared a similar commitment to creating original work of outstanding quality. That was my first introduction to beautifully bound copies of finely printed editions.
It was therefore a revelation to discover the work of Kate Holland nearly sixty years later when her recent binding of the 1905 edition of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” featured at Collect, London, the outstanding exhibition of the very best applied arts from around the world. Apart from the visual delight of the design and its subtle textures, just handling a fine binding, the smell of the leather, and the sensation of turning its deckled pages make for a deeply moving experience. I felt very privileged to be able to purchase it.”
Lord Tom Sawyer - 2018
“Kate Holland is a super binder of books, a fountain of creativity and design. I love her work forever. It is orgasmic.”