about collaboration

Collaboration brings together the diverse experience, complementary talents, and shared aesthetic of two Chicago studios and their principals, Trisha Hammer and Julie Naggs. The merger of innovative design with the timeless handcrafting of materials is a powerful communication tool. We design and meticulously craft unique pieces that address our clients’ needs.

TRISHA HAMMER | bookbinder + designer | Trisha specializes in non-traditional bindings that marry form and content in a way that creates reverberation between the two. Her background in communication design, artful selection of materials, and attention to detail are reflected in her work for a range of clients, among them artists and design firms and her many years of work with Sherwin Beach Press. Her books and commissions have won design awards, been exhibited internationally, and are held in library collections at Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Stanford University, University of San Francisco, University of Alberta, University of Illinois at Chicago, as well as the National Library of New Zealand, The Chicago Public Library, The Boston Public Library, The New York Public Library, and The Library of Congress.

JULIE NAGGS | bookbinder + conservator | Julie’s artful bindings and thoughtful conservation work consistently recognize the unique form and character of the object. She began her career as student assistant to the conservator in the Department of Special Collections, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, at the University of Kansas. She obtained her B.A. in Art History, then went on to apprentice with Chicago book and paper conservators William Minter and Scott Kellar for twelve years before starting her own studio. She has taught at the Art Institute of Chicago, Evanston Arts Center, Paper Source, and Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts. Julie’s work has won design awards and has been exhibited with the Guild of Book Workers and Chicago Hand Bookbinders, of which she is a past president.