Natasha Herman is sole-proprietor of STILT® Book Cradles. She designs and engineers the fleet of STILT® products and brings them to market. Her knowledge of the preservation of antiquarian books in complex contexts is integral to the design process. Her expertise in the philosophy of conservation ethics informs STILT’S signature balance of physical, aesthetic and immaterial cultural heritage knowledge.

Natasha has been conserving and restoring antiquarian books for collectors, booksellers & libraries since 1996. She graduated from the Design Arts program at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada and her atelier, Redbone Bindery, was established in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 2002. Clients include the National Gallery of Canada, Christie’s Auction House, Collectie Six Amsterdam, Yale University Special Collections, Bibliotheek van het Ruusbroecgenootschap Belgie, the Canadian Parliamentary Library as well as established international antiquarian book collectors and booksellers across Europe and North America such as Forum Rare Books in the Netherlands, Daniel Crouch Rare Books in the UK and Sophia Rare Books in Denmark.

Natasha has taught at the National Library of Australia, the Auckland City Library in New Zealand, the Canadian Museum of History and has guest lectured at the Reinwardt Academie, the University of Amsterdam and the Royal University of Groningen. She studied Philosophy of Culture at the Royal University of Groningen.

Natasha is a former member of the Central College of Experts in Conservation Quality and currently sits on the board of directors for the Northern Dutch Association of Conservators. She is a fellow in good standing at the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) and a member of the International Federation of Library Associations.