Goode began his mission to revive the book arts industry following a trip to America in 2011, during which he was inspired by the vast number of institutions dedicated to what Britain often considers to be a dying artform.

He said: "Returning to London last autumn and seeing how much the capital lacks the specialist skills to keep this tradition going really confirmed for me that a UK centre was invaluable.

"I want people to have access to the sorts of resources and experiences which inspired my first and most enduring love of art."

When Goode graduated from a degree in Book Arts in 2006, he found it increasingly difficult to source the tools needed to continue his passion for book making.

He said: "I decided that rather than keeping all the equipment to myself in my own private studio it would make sense to offer it to people who were in a similar position as the one I found myself in.

"Colleges are increasingly downsizing and getting rid of printmaking courses, particularly in the letterpress and bookbinding areas.

"It is not the case that interest has waned, if anything I would say there are more people doing book arts but it is not reflected in the provisions available."

The lack of resources inspired Goode to start-up the public book making studio, which has been self-funded so far, with the aid of Space studios, which has enabled him to let the studio rent free for three months since October.

Goode hopes that the centre will encourage the British public to revive its love of book arts by renting equipment and using the studio as a space for their own projects. He will also be running workshops and courses for all abilities in letterpress, book binding, paper making and alternative printing.

He has three proofing presses and two desktop platen presses in full operation, and three screen printing beds, which he hopes to have running by the summer once exposure and washer units arrive.

There are also print finishing and bookbinding machines available at the studio, including a saddlestitcher, guillotines and broadshears for cutting grey board in cover production. There is also a manual foil blocking tool for hand finishing.

Eventually, the centre will become membership funded, and Goode said that his showcase workshops on the Reina papermaking machine are building interest.

Currently, he is only offering Friends of the Books Art Centre membership, where supporters can donate towards the upkeep of the facility, but he expects to launch a full membership scheme once the centre is officially opened at the end of this month.

Goode said: "For me this is art at its most wonderful and I want to share it with as many people as possible. These are skills that are life enhancing, being able to create your own books, from making the paper to typesetting, printing, binding and finishing – they go beyond usual craft skills and are amazing and empowering."