Sustainability

Wherever possible, we choose the sustainable option. Sometimes that choice costs a little more, sometimes a little less. Sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it's faster. Every one of those choices is made with impact in mind, not as a selling point.

Materials

Our papers are made from recycled stock and produced in Britain, which keeps transport emissions down. Certification (FSC) isn't always possible — for some of our smaller producers, the process itself is too expensive to pursue, even where the materials meet the standard in practice.

Our ink is British-made. Where we can, we salvage old tins from print shops that are closing, rather than buying new.

Our pencils are made in England, from FSC-certified wood.

Packaging is recycled or compostable, and reused where it makes sense to.

Production

We print our test pulls onto scrap paper. Those scraps go into scrap bags for reuse, or get recycled into new paper. Ink left on the press rollers is reclaimed and used to decorate notebook sheets and prints, rather than washed away.

For clean-up, we favour low- and no-solvent methods, including specialist handmade brushes from Rosa Harradine (https://www.rosaharradine.com/). Where solvents are genuinely necessary, we choose the lowest-impact option available in the industry. We clean up with old rags rather than paper towelling — more robust, and no first-use paper involved.

Sourcing and equipment

Equipment is bought vintage first, used second, and locally made new as a last resort. What we use is either recyclable — lead type, paper — or compostable, like wood type.

The studio is within walking distance of home.

Community and environmental commitment

We aim to give 1% of profits to forest and hedgerow regeneration in the UK, and to peatland restoration both here and globally. We volunteer with local initiatives including the Southwest Peat Partnership, and Protect Earth. We take part in our local litter pick.

Foraging for wild ink

Foraging for colour isn't like foraging for food — it's a nice-to-have, not a need, and we treat it that way. That means being respectful of the plants we collect from, the animals who rely on them, and the other people who also use the land.

A few rules we hold to:

When in doubt, don't harvest. Sometimes a walk is just a walk. If you're unsure of the ethics or legality of a place or a plant, leave it be.

Stay outside protected areas. That means checking ahead of time — nothing is taken from Wistman's Wood, for instance. Dartmoor's Sites of Special Scientific Interest are mapped here.

Take only what falls naturally within the season. Petals, berries, nuts — yes. Branches and lichen — no. When in doubt, leave it out. (An exception is made for windfall branches which are already disconnected from the host plant.)

Windfall first. Berries already on the ground, ideally in the few days after a storm.

Take no more than you can use now. There's always colour somewhere, though you don't get to choose which. Knowing how much a piece of work actually needs is part of the craft.

Forage alone, or with one other person. Groups make over-harvesting easy. The total taken for the entire group should never exceed a tenth of what's there.

A few questions people ask

Is your paper FSC-certified?

Not always. Many of the mills we work with are too small for the certification process, even when their practice holds to the same standard.

Where do your materials come from?

Everything is British-made. It's becoming harder to keep that promise — paper mills are closing, and recycled options are disappearing with them.

How is your ink made?

Our botanical ink is foraged within ten miles of home, usually closer. Our synthetic printing ink is made in York.

Do you forage ink sustainably?

Yes. We take only what we need, and we don't forage in protected areas (SSSI land, for instance — more on that above).

What happens to studio waste and offcuts?

It becomes new paper, or scrap for test runs. Very little goes further than that.