Raffles City Bookbinding Studio: S$78 Class at Bynd Artisan

Bynd Artisan is the Singapore brand that turned a family bookbindery into a retail atelier, and its Raffles City store is where the craft side lives. The shop sits at 252 North Bridge Road, #03-24 Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore 179103, directly linked to City Hall MRT. Its bookbinding classes start at S$78 for a two-hour leather notebook session, but neither class has public dates open right now, so the way in is an enquiry rather than a checkout.

The story starts with Winnie Chan's grandfather, who set up a bookbinding business on Mohamed Sultan Road in the 1940s, described by Visit Singapore as the country's oldest bookbindery. Winnie and her husband James Quan founded Bynd Artisan in 2014 to bring that trade in front of shoppers, mixing ready-made leather and paper goods with live personalisation. The brand's own story page talks about a founding company legacy of more than 70 years.

The result is unusual for a shopping centre. Instead of a stockroom hidden behind the till, the Raffles City store is called an Atelier, with a work counter where staff hand-press initials and names into covers while you wait. Bynd Artisan now lists two Singapore stores, Raffles City and ION Orchard at 2 Orchard Turn, #04-11. The former Holland Village shop no longer appears on its store locator, so Raffles City is the place for workshops.

The entry class is the Basic Leather Bookbinding Workshop, priced at S$78 and running for two hours at the Raffles City Atelier. It teaches basic notebook stitching. You choose a piece of natural grained leather and thread in your preferred colours, sew the book together, and then add a custom name or initials to the cover. That last touch uses the same personalisation the brand offers on its retail goods, so the finish looks professional.

The workshop is pitched at a basic level and recommended for ages 16 and up. Anyone under 21 must be accompanied by an adult for the entire session, which is worth knowing if you are booking for a student. All materials and tools are provided, and the brand notes that most of its craft workshops need no prior experience. Each sign-up covers one participant only, so couples and friends each book their own seat.

The Longstitch Bookbinding Workshop is the intermediate option at S$150 for four hours. Longstitch is a structure where paper signatures are sewn directly onto the leather cover through slots cut into the spine, so the stitching sits on the outside as a pattern. There is no glue-up or board to wait for, which is why the method is popular with travellers and sketchers who want a book that opens flat.

Students pick from a range of leather and thread colours, then finish the notebook with a matching snap button to keep it closed. The age guidance is the same as the starter class, 16 and above. If you have already done a simple stitched notebook elsewhere, this is the more satisfying class, because the exposed stitch rewards careful hole spacing and you leave with a book that looks like a retail piece.

As of late October 2026, both workshop pages show Sold out and are tagged by request, with an Enquire Here button. Bynd Artisan's workshop page says that if the listed dates do not suit, or no dates are listed, you can use the contact form to arrange a session. The brand runs crafting workshops every month according to its story page, so new public dates do reappear.

Private sessions are the other route. For company events or team building, the workshop pages ask you to email commune@byndartisan.com and set a minimum of five people. That makes Raffles City a strong pick for an office outing, since the venue is central and every guest leaves with a personalised notebook. Solo learners should send an enquiry and ask to be told when individual seats open.

If a class is not possible on your dates, the store still lets you watch the craft up close. Personalisation is complimentary on Bynd Artisan retail leather and paper products, and it is hand-pressed by the brand's craftsmen. Six foil finishes are offered: gold, silver, rose gold, white, black or blind debossing, with typefaces such as Copperplate, Plantin and Univers. Watching a name pressed into leather takes only a few minutes.

For a custom paper notebook, the brand sells a Twin Wire Customised Notebook at S$38 and a Perfect Bound Customised Notebook at S$48, both designed and assembled in Singapore. These suit people who want a made-to-order notebook without sewing it themselves, or who want a gift that echoes the bindery history behind the brand.

Raffles City is linked directly to City Hall MRT on the East-West and North-South lines and to Esplanade MRT on the Circle Line, so getting here is easy from almost anywhere. Leaving by the North Bridge Road side puts you a few blocks from the Civic District's museums and colonial landmarks.

Across the road, Raffles Singapore at 1 Beach Road is worth a stroll through its arcade and gardens. CHIJMES, the former convent at 30 Victoria Street, has chapel architecture and courtyard restaurants. For a longer cultural stop, National Gallery Singapore at 1 St Andrew's Road occupies the former Supreme Court and City Hall buildings and focuses on Singapore and Southeast Asian art, a fitting pairing with a morning spent on a handmade book.

Address: Bynd Artisan, Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Road, #03-24, Singapore 179103. Store hours are Monday to Sunday, 10 am to 10 pm. Workshop and event enquiries go to commune@byndartisan.com or through the contact form on the website.

Prices from the official workshop pages: Basic Leather Bookbinding S$78 for two hours, and Longstitch Bookbinding S$150 for four hours. Both are recommended for ages 16 and above, each sign-up is for one person, and private company sessions need at least five people. Personalisation on retail items is free, so bring a notebook you already own from the brand if you want it monogrammed while you visit.