Alexa Garvin

Alexa Garvin is an emerging book conservator and a graduate of the bookbinding program at North Bennet Street School in Boston, MA. Her love of books began in her early years - she began to read before she learned to talk. A passion for knowledge and a love of history led her down the path of academia, earning a BA in Ancient Studies from Mount Holyoke College in 2014, followed by a Master of Science degree in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Edinburgh in 2016.

It was after her time in Edinburgh when living in Chicago near the Newberry Library that she was first introduced to the idea of becoming a book and paper conservator. Not long after, she applied and was accepted into the globally recognized book conservation program at West Dean College in southern England. West Dean was where Alexa’s journey with bookbinding and book conservation began. After her time at West Dean and prior to her recent studies at North Bennet Street School, she has served as a volunteer and intern at numerous conservation labs in the New England area, ranging from a paper conservation studio in a small town in Vermont to the Gates Conservation Laboratory at Yale University. Her training at North Bennet Street School, under the tutelage of bookbinder Jeff Altepeter and book conservator Martha Kearsley, included the creation of historic and modern book structures, tool creation and modification, and basic book repair. Her interests also include creating decorated papers (specifically paste papers and acrylic marbled papers).

If you have any questions or concerns about your bound (or unbound) treasures, please reach out.