The postgrads are on their 6-week work placements, scattered about in the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy----including all of the ceramics students, or we'd be showing you what they're up to also! Here are some pictures of what the graduate students (& second-year clocks) have been doing.

First books: Maureen Duke has been teaching them to make springback bindings, particularly common in the UK for account books. The stiff spine piece forces the book to open completely flat, so that it's easier than a normal binding to write in. You'll notice her massive hypodermic syringe ("doesn't hurt a bit!") for inserting paste into air pockets under the endpapers.

Clocks: I have to admit I don't remember what they were all doing.... but some new clocks posts are coming up soon and we'll get detailed descriptions from the people best qualified to give them.

Metals: Rivets! The department was a lot quieter than normal with their postgrads away, just two grads holding down the fort. Do note the conservator-y lab coat in the background of the first photo; Jon put it there just for you.