Our small itinerant bindery of two has now grown to four! We used to roam the East Coast making and repairing books, but we have now moved to the UK to continue our work abroad.

Beginning in 2014, the bindery was named for Charles X. Hughes, Blue Tick in residence and head of quality control. Books are created and repaired by her mom, Bailey R. Hughes, who consistently tries to live up to Charlie’s standards.

The bindery has been located in Richmond, VA, New York, NY, Charleston, SC, and Boston, MA. The bindery is now in South East England and is always accepting new commissions and projects.

Bailey Hughes (Bee) began working in bookbinding and restoration in 2013 at the College of Charleston’s Special Collections preservation bindery. In 2014, after adopting Charlie, she began the Blue Tick Bindery and pursued a life of private practice in 2015. She has taken courses at the American Academy of Bookbinding in Telluride, Colorado, and workshops with binders and conservators when possible. She currently resides in England, where she works on books, reads her books, and buys herself more books even when her partner says “You have so many books you haven’t read yet why are you buying more ten is too many where will those go.”

Charlie (Bunny, Bug, or Princess Baby) spends her days teaching her little brother, Gus, how to be an upstanding studio dog. She takes the lead on most projects, helping her mom with design and stress relief, and spends her free time snuggling with Gus, watching her birds, and smelling wildflowers.