People often ask me how or why did you choose bookbinding? My response usually unfolds through the telling of a natural course of events, from entering art school in 1972 to the light bulb moment in 1978 when I first saw the design bindings of Edgar Mansfield and William Matthews at the V& A in London.

But from the beginning, I credit my late father, Loring West Spitler (who passed away March 2008) for encouraging me to pursue bookbinding and the arts. An avid reader, his love for travel and geography inspired all of his five children by bringing the world to us through a family stamp club.

After memorizing all the countries of the world and reciting them continent by continent, we each chose a country to concentrate our collection on. As a young girl of nine living near Los Angeles, I picked Monaco. What could be better than movie star Grace Kelly turned princess?


Lucky for me, Monaco produced outstanding engraved stamps. After hours of studying them, the colors, serial images (Princess Grace in multi-colors or the birth of Albert II commemorated), I grew to love printing, which led me to a BFA in printmaking from the Calfornia College of Arts & Crafts, and eventually to the London College of Printing in 1980 to study bookbinding. Thanks, Dad.

Loring Spitler overlooks Las Cruces, New Mexico, from the top of Picacho Peak, ca.1978.

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