manual.editions is an independent publisher dedicated to the design and making of environmentally conscious handmade photobooks that explore the landscape through scientific and experiential methodologies.
We are transparent about the materials and processes used to create our books, and share this information for each publication. We host the Sustainable Photobook Publishing (SPP) Network and are also a signatory of Publishing Declares Climate Action.
Our books have been widely exhibited internationally and are in private and public collections including the Tate and the Victoria & Albert museum. One copy of each book that we publish is available in the manual.editions library to borrow within the UK.
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Stockists:
Royal Photographic Society, Bristol
Setanta, London
Plac Art Photo, Paris
Our books are held in the following public collections | libraries:
Cambridge University Library (UK), Canterbury Christ Church University Library (UK), Manchester Metropolitan University - Special Collections Museum (UK), National Library of Scotland (UK), National Library of Wales (UK), Reminders Photography Stronghold (JP), San Telmo Museum Library – The Gabriela Cendoya Bergareche Collection (ES), The Bodleian Library: Oxford University (UK), The British Library (UK), The Library of Trinity College Dublin (UK), The Photobook Cafe (UK), The Photobook Museum (DE), The Tate - Artist Book Library (UK), The Victoria & Albert Museum - National Art Library (UK), Westminster University Library (UK)
manual.editions was founded by Tamsin Green in 2021.
Tamsin is a visual artist and architect based in London with a passion for continuous learning, reflection and knowledge sharing. The thread that connects all of her creative practices together is her love of making physical things in a thoughtful and environmentally sustainable way. She is currently a PhD practice based researcher at CREAM, University of Westminster.
She worked for 18 years in design and architecture for the studios of Thomas Heatherwick (London, 2012-2023), Norman Foster (London, 2007-2012) and Atelier Bow-Wow (Tokyo 2005-6). Whilst at Heatherwick studio she led a variety of projects, many of which involved the creative reuse of existing buildings, most notably Coal Drops Yard in London. She has also worked alongside book designers and editors to learn about publishing and develop her own photographic work into book form. These have included Stuart Smith (GOST), Yumi Goto (Reminders Photography Stronghold) and Tiffany Jones (Overlapse). She established manual.editions in 2021 to explore environmental approaches to book making through research, discussion and making.
She was a Visiting Professor of Design at Ecole Speciale D'Architecture, Paris (2006- 2007) and a tutor at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL (2019-2021). She has spoken about design, photography and book making internationally including for the following festivals and organisations; 10X10 Photobooks (USA), Brighton Photo Fringe (UK), Coventry University (UK), East London University (UK), Ecole Speciale D'Architecture (FR), Falmouth University (UK), Fiebre Fotobook Fest (ES), Format Festival (UK), Mini Click (UK), Offspring Photo Meet (UK), Photo Cafe (UK), Photofusion Gallery (UK), The Reminders Photography Stronghold (JP), Tokyo Institute of Technology (JP), Westminster University (UK).
She has been a formal mentor on both the POC in Architecture and Open City Accelerate programmes, which seek to celebrate and support diversity in the built environment. She is part of several peer mentoring groups / collectives including (re)casting, a group of 12 female photographers, and The Photobook Club Collective, a dynamic group of Photobook makers. She is the host and facilitator of the Sustainable Photobook Publishing (SPP) network, a knowledge sharing community.
Her first artist book making workshop took place at Photofusion Gallery in London in 2022 and covered visual communication, hands on book making and ecologically sustainable approaches to designing and making books.
She is currently training to become a qualified Mountain Leader to both grow her own confidence in spending time in the wilder landscapes of the UK, and to be able to open up these places to others in a thoughtful way.
our work in the words of others...
BOOKS
"What an amazing book, well, word-sculpture really. A cairn of ideas, so nice to hold and unfold."
Christiane Monarchi, founding editor Photomonitor, founding co-editor Hapax
“Tamsin’s book has been acquired for our Artists’ Books Collection. I use it in teaching sessions with a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes including Photography, Graphics and Illustration. Her book showcases strong design, beautiful photography and creative typography, thoughtfully presented in a way that references the visual language of OS maps. It’s a great example to demonstrate to students how carefully considered design elements enhance storytelling and create a more engaging experience for the person interacting with the book.”
Louise Clennell, Engagement Officer, Special Collections Museum, Manchester Metropolitan University
“Tamsin in a British book artist interested in sustainability and she is extremely creative in how she pushes the boundaries of the book as an object. Her hand crafted books are sold in editions similar to photographers, and increase as the finite number are sold. While I tried to be very judicious in my Paris Photo book buying, I was happy to bring a special edition of her work home to my book library.”
J. Sybylla Smith, Got Punctum?
"Combining the dispassionate feeling of scientific records with the sensory appeal of hand-made objects, Green’s book works are hybrid objects that bring multiple sites and systems of representation into dialogue. Written text takes on graphic form alongside its function as caption, aphorism and glossary. Scientific language is redeployed as poetry – descriptions emerge out of intuition rather than fact, statements of fact dissolve into chains of linked signifiers, historical records are transformed into a web of analogy, similarity, and lateral connection. "
Eugenie Shinkle, Artist and Writer, C4 Journal
"The complex combination of illustrations based on ordnance survey maps/archival material along with Tamsin's evocative black and white landscapes and the highly considered design/production of the book incites curiosity and wonder in equal measure. I really admire the way Tamsin engages with representations of landscape that are knowingly subjective yet evoke a sense of universality by dealing with broader questions of mapping, classification and our entangled and complex relationship to our natural surroundings."
Dafna Talmor, Artist and Lecturer
"Tamsin Green's book focuses on exploring the dissonance between categorised space and emotional experience of the landscape, but it also has a particular resonance with the contraction of boundaries we are experiencing due to the Covid 19 pandemic and Brexit. As the South Coast is the edge of our contact with the nearest continent a close interrogation of it feels very timely."
Jennifer Reeves, Curator, National Art Library, Victoria & Albert Museum
LEARNING
"Very safe and generous learning environment"
Catherine, Artist Book Workshop
"Thank you so much for the course, it has been so useful and brilliant. It was wonderful to see everyone’s work. But most of all thank you for the generosity of sharing your knowledge and ideas. I have been completely inspired."
Dawn, Artist Book Workshop
"Thank you for sharing your time to speak with me earlier this year. Your practice has truly inspired me and as a result of our talk I was able to develop the conceptual part of my work as well as the curation in terms of my connection with the audience."
Georgios, Masterclass Catalyst Conversations, Coventry University
"Thank you so so much again for teaching and introducing me to the beautiful act of book making. I feel like your way of introducing your practice within this very respectful group has enabled me to feel more confident to really start making zines\books out of my work, which I was longing for quite a while actually."
Nina, Artist Book Workshop