Englishwoman Jenny Lacey has recently just completed a book at Michael O'Brien's bindery in Oamaru's Tyne St utilising possum skin - with some furry bits and a tuft on the spine - and locally sourced totara.
Miss Lacey (24) completed a graphic design degree in the United Kingdom before travelling overseas. She did some book binding while at university where there was much emphasis on traditional methods.
She arrived in New Zealand about a year ago and spent the summer working in the Hollyford Valley. She had passed through Oamaru several times and called into the bindery, which she though looked a "great place".
She has spent five weeks working alongside Mr O'Brien, who described her as a "fantastic craftswoman".
He had bought some chrome-tanned possum skins - tanned through a modern, industrial process as opposed to the vegetable tanned process - to experiment.
He was very pleased with how Miss Lacey's book turned out. While he had never used possum skin before, it proved that it worked.
Miss Lacey is heading off on further travels but plans to return to New Zealand in September.
"It's been very interesting meeting the characters of Oamaru. It's definitely kept me entertained."
