Growing through the Seasons 2026

The "Growing through the Seasons" calendar, beautifully illustrated by Isla Middleton and written by Bryony Middleton, is a guide for gardeners and vegetable lovers. 

Images kindly supplied by Isla Middleton

This calendar is a celebration of seasonal flowers, fruit and vegetables illustrated with full page original designs.

The calendar has been created to inspire, encourage and teach how to sow, grow and harvest fresh produce straight from the garden. It is 300mm square in size and a month to view format.

It is printed on our PaperWise Natural 130gsm and 295gsm, which is manufactured from 100% agricultural waste - this is the stems and leaves left over the harvest and which is usually left in the field and burnt. You can read all about PaperWise HERE. As you can see from the images PaperWise is a natural shade and is completely unbleached and home compostable too ...a perfect choice for this calendar!

You can see the designs for each month here...

Isla has created this calendar with her sister Bryony Middleton, Head Gardener at Sharpham Trust in Devon and also a Growing Chart will feature at the back, with an overview of the sowing and harvest schedule as you can see here:

The calendar is superbly printed, offset litho by Ashley House Printing in Devon.

I was on holiday a couple of weeks ago and popped in to Halen Môn, the Welsh sea salt manufacturer and saw the calendar for sale in their gift shop!

Strangely enough Halen Môn have appeared on this blog before as the designer of their identity and packaging (Sid Madge) printed a casestudy back in 2011 using our Omnia, which you can read about HERE.

My thanks to Isla for sending one of the calendars and also allowing me to use the images from the website.

The calendar is for sale in many excellent shops and is also available to buy on-line here: https://www.islamiddleton.co.uk/product-page/2026-growing-through-the-seasons-calendar

https://www.islamiddleton.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 29.08.2025

John Morgan 1973–2025

An announcement from John Morgan Studio...

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of John Morgan, who died on 2 September 2025, in his library, surrounded by his family and his books. He was 52.

John was a devoted husband to Claire and a proud father to Rudy, Francis and Iris. He was the cherished son of Bob and Maureen, and a much-loved brother to Jane.

In 2000 John founded John Morgan studio in London where he developed a widely celebrated body of typographic work that was quietly radical: elegantly simple, powerfully expressive. His creativity also extended to theatre and film, with projects including Blank Dummy and Julie. In 2017 he co-founded the digital type foundry Abyme.

Alongside his practice, John was a dedicated teacher. He lectured at institutions including Central Saint Martins and the University of Reading, where he taught on the MA Book Design course from 2007–2016. Since 2016 he was Professor of Design, Typography and Book Art at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he established Klasse John Morgan.

Those who knew John remember an uncommon honesty and steadiness. He held his course with strength and humility – ‘so strong and so mild’, as one friend put it. His integrity bred a rare trust, and when making design decisions many colleagues would find themselves asking, ‘What would John do?’ He was a mentor and a friend, connecting people and giving form to words and work for nearly 30 years.

Books were central to John’s life. His own book Usylessly, which explores the non-literary aspects of the 1922 edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses, was published in December 2021. In 2025 he set up the publishing imprint Ten Thousand Angels Press. Its first title, Usylessly (edition two), will be published later this year, followed by Baskerville’s Teardrop Explodes: A Selection of Books as Muses, completed shortly before he died.

A funeral will take place in John’s Oxfordshire village on 11 September 2025. On that day, we invite those who knew and loved him to take a moment to reflect and remember his life.

Messages of condolence and support for John’s family can be sent to info@morganstudio.co.uk

John Morgan

6 January 1973–2 September 2025

John Morgan studio

info@morganstudio.co.uk

morganstudio.co.uk

==========================================

This is such sad news. My contact with John was infrequent but always a pleasure. He was always considered, thoughtful and respectful of me as a supplier. My condolences to his family, friends and the studio.

Posted by Justin Hobson 09.09.2025

DO Radio

The "DO" lectures is an organisation started by David Hieatt one of the founders of howies. The idea is to get together people who are real "doers" to do lectures and make them as widely available as possible. Now they have launched Do Radio to broadcast new and the previously recorded lectures.

My first post of the month is to look back at work from previous years, so what better time to revisit this wonderful promotional mailer produced for the Do Lectures in 2009. It was designed by the howies in house team and was specified on Offenbach Bible 60gsm. It's A2 folding down to A7.

 

The size is A2 (420x594mm) folding down to A7 (105 x 74mm)

Claire Margetts (administrator at the do lectures) was very grateful as I put them in contact with the printer who would print on Offenbach Bible and said I was a real "doer" 

The job was printed in 2 colours offset Litho by Principal Colour. It was machine folded and then hand finished. http://www.principalcolour.co.uk/

Above are some previous howies catalogues that we have supplied Colorset (100% recycled) for the covers. Designed by Nick Hand

https://thedolectures.com/

https://thedolectures.com/do-radio/

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.09.2025

St Bride Conference 2025

Fenner Paper is pleased to again be one of the sponsors of the annual St Bride conference which is being held this year on Saturday 18th October.

“Doing the work” is more than a phrase – it’s a call to action. In recent years, it has come to embody the responsibility we all share to educate ourselves, to challenge inequality, and to act with intention in building a more just society. For marginalised creatives, however, “doing the work” has always meant something more. It is the ongoing labour of breaking barriers, of creating work that is both excellent and deeply authentic, of carving out space in an industry that too often resists change. 

Doing the Work at St Bride Foundation is a participatory conference dedicated to recognising and amplifying those voices. Through talks, discussions, and a collaborative workshop, we will: 

• Celebrate the creative brilliance of marginalised designers. 

• Confront the realities of racism and exclusion in the design industry. 

• Explore pathways to build an inclusive, equitable future for all. 

The day will culminate in a collective act of creation: together with our facilitators and speakers, participants will workshop ideas into a shared manifesto. Printed at St Bride Foundation’s letterpress workshop at a later date, this manifesto will stand as a permanent record of our conversations and commitments – a tool for creatives and organisations to adopt, promote, and live by. 

This is an invitation to listen, to reflect, to act – and to do the work, together. 

Speakers: Carolyne Hill, Harkiran Kalsi, Kingsley Nebechi, Ricardo Eversely, Jodi Hunt. 

Panel discussion facilitated by The Unimistakables 

Event curated by Greg Bunbury 

Conference illustrator: Lana Lê

You can book HERE. So why don't you get those little grey cells moving and sign up! NOW

https://sbf.org.uk/whats-on/view/doing-the-work/

Posted by Justin Hobson 29th August 2025

Joe Caroff RIP

Joe Caroff died on August 17, just a day short of turning 104 years old. He was an American graphic designer known for film posters and corporate design work and worked on over 300 films. Caroff created the 007 pistol logo for the James Bond movie franchise for which he was allegedly paid only $300. Initially intended for use on film studio letterheads, it went on to become an instantly recognisable piece of branding for the movie franchise. You can read his New York Times obituary here, however even more interesting is an excellent article written by Steven Heller for PRINT magazine in 2021, titled The Most Prolific Designer You’ve Never Heard Of

...and what better time to review these superb invitations produced for Skyfall...

SKYFALL 2012

The James Bond franchise is a global phenomenon and one which over the years has made those involved in the production and marketing a lot of money. However many people may not remember that due to the recession, Bond film number 23 (as Skyfall was then known) was put on hold in 2010 due to lack of cash. Having originally meant to be released in 2011, it was eventually released in October 2012.

Film Premieres of this scale demand lavish and expensive invitations and collateral. In quality terms they must live up to and possibly exceed, the expectations of the forthcoming film.

Below is a small 4pp wallet (with pocket) which is 180mmx107mm, printed offset litho in CMYK plus a gold special colour on Omnia 280gsm with the ticket printed CMYK and hot foil blocked in metallic gold foil on Omnia 280gsm duplexed to 560gsm.  

Click on images to enlarge

The ticket is also hot foil blocked on the reverse.

The launch of this type of film requires several events and these represent tickets for the screenings at The Royal Albert Hall, the Odeon Leicester Square and the after show party at the Tate. As you will notice from the reverse of the wallet (below) the litho printed gold actually looks gold! ..this is a feature of Omnia and where is scores over ordinary uncoated papers.

Below is the ticket for the Odeon Leicester Square which is 99x210mm, Landscape.

The ticket is printed in CMYK plus gloss black foil, which you can hopefully see in the picture below.

This ticket which is also printed on Omnia 280gsm is mounted on our Sumo 2000microns which makes the invitation 2.5mm thick!

Printing is by Identity Print, based in Paddock Wood, Kent and they made a superb job of it - colour reproduction and solids are superb - the hot foil blocking is perfectly executed (Identity are one of the few printers to have hot foil blocking facilities 'in-house')

https://www.identityprint.co.uk/
https://www.007.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 22.08.2025

London Design Festival 2025

The London Design Festival was launched by Sir John Sorrell CBE and Ben Evans CBE in 2003. Building on London’s existing design activity, their concept was to create an annual event that would promote the city’s creativity, drawing in the country’s greatest thinkers, practitioners, retailers and educators to a deliver an unmissable celebration of design. The launch of the first Festival took place at Bloomberg on 25 March 2003, with a show of support from design, education, government and London organisations. 22 years later, this vision remains ever strong.

In 2019, the Festival welcomed a record-breaking 600,000 individual visitors from over 75 countries. Celebrating its 22nd anniversary in 2024, London Design Festival is now well into a new decade, celebrating how it has played a key role in the growth of the design industry, bolstering London’s position as a global destination for business, culture and tourism, and contributed to the UK’s reputation as a creative powerhouse. As one of the world’s leading design events, the Festival has also served as the blueprint for design weeks and festivals globally and continues to be a key moment on the cultural calendar.

This year, the London Design Festival 2025 is in it's 23rd year and will take place in exactly one month on 13–21 September 2025.

https://londondesignfestival.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 13.08.2025

Portraits of the Hibakusha

Regular followers of this blog will know that my first post of every month is a "job from the past" so that I can show some of the really good work from years gone by. Today marks the 80th anniversary of the dropping of the first Atom bomb on Hiroshima. The bombing, which took place in 1945 was to bring a speedy end to the second world war against Japan. The anniversary is remembered through ceremonies, and leaders from Japan and around the world have used the occasion to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons and peace.

It reminded me of this beautiful project from 2010 for an exhibition in London held on the 65th anniversary... (my apologies for the poor images - it is hard to photograph this piece well!)

THE LIGHT - Portraits of the Hibakusha

THE LIGHT - Portraits of the Hibakusha - was an exhibition which ran from the 5th August- 8th October at the Brunei Gallery at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 2010.

The subject of the exhibitions is as follows: At 00.15am on the 6th August 2010 in London it will be 08.15am in Hiroshima and it will have been 65 years since ‘Little Boy’ was dropped on Hiroshima by the USA’s B-29 bomber ‘Enola Gay’. The exhibition of the 65 Hibakusha portrait paintings will last for 65 days, one for each year since the bombs were dropped on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Each painting will be accompanied by a detailed description of each subject’s haunting recollection of exactly how they came to survive and be found after the bombing.

Hibakusha are survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Japanese word translates literally to “bomb affected people”. There are no names on any of the Hibakusha Portraits as is the tradition in Japan all are ‘subjects’ and always remain unnamed.

This beautiful poster/invitation/promotional piece was designed by Leah Harrison Bailey and Sara Carneholm at their studio called Happily Ever After, which sadly they disbanded in around 2014. 

Below is the finished (folded up) piece which is A5 size:

- which then folds out like so...

To reveal the final piece...

The open size is 592x420mm. The job is printed on our beatifully thin and lightweight Offenbach Bible in 60gsm. It was printed and finished by Pureprint, who have produced this really well - not only the print but the very tricksy folding!

...and thanks to Leah and Sara for sending it to me and for the lovely note - yes, it certainly is a blogworthy piece! in fact, so good it's been on twice now!

https://www.soas.ac.uk/
https://www.pureprint.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 06.08.2025

The Lionesses' did it!

In a thrilling final yesterday evening, the curtain has fallen on the 2025 UEFA Women’s European Championships with England successfully defending their title winning in the penalty shootout against Spain.

Euro 2025, was the 14th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised for the women's national teams of Europe and played in Switzerland from 2 to 27 July 2025.

...and apart from the congratulations that go to the winning team and the runners up, I should also like to thank the designer of our amazing wallchart. This is the latest in a series of beautifully designed typographic wallcharts which have all been designed by David Coates, who is an independent designer. My thanks to Dave for making it all happen - a perfect way to combine his love of type and football!

It is printed on our Colorset Bright Red 120gsm (100% Recycled too!) which is the perfect Swiss red shade. They are digitally printed in two colour, white and black.

The flat size is 880 x 315mm perfect for wall, door or cabinet mounting!

https://www.englandfootball.com/england/womens-senior-team/UEFA-Womens-EURO-2025

https://davidcoates.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 28.07.25

The Trouble with Mr Doodle

This Wednesday, Channel 4 is showing a documentary, titled The Trouble with Mr Doodle, exploring  his obsession with doodling and his personal struggles..

Avid Fenner Paper diary fans may remember our 2019 diary cover created by Mr Doodle and regular readers of this blog may recall wne I met the (then) 23 year old Mr Doodle (aka Sam Cox) at The Art of Ping Pong opening and was truly inspired by his work which is when I asked if he would like to collaborate on our diary!

As I understand it Mr Doodle not only has a successful career but he is now married (presumably Mrs Doodle?) 😊 and they have a son too, so congratulations to them both and I look forward to watching the documentary on Wednesday...

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-trouble-with-mr-doodle

 

As a reminder, here is the amazing 2019 Fenner Paper diary...

Click on images to enlarge

My thanks to Mr Doodle for collaborating with us on our diary back in 2019, when he was slightly less famous! ...and I should like to wish him continued success with his career.

Posted by Justin Hobson 07.07.2025

Independent Paper Show - today!

The Independent Paper Show

Wed/June 11th: 2pm – 6pm + Networking drinks (6pm – 8pm)

Thurs/ June 12th: 12pm – 5pm

Register your place here:

https://papershow.co.uk/

At CRYPT ON THE GREEN,

CLERKENWELL, LONDON, EC1R OEA

Posted by Justin Hobson 11.06.2025

 

Another paper mill hits the buffers...

Sadly, yet another mill has gone into insolvency and closed. They are hoping to restructure, although if they manage it, this will be the third time.

Based in Uetersen outside Hamburg, the mill specialises in making coated label papers for pacakging.

You can read the full article on Printweek here...

https://www.printweek.com/content/news/feldmuehle-insolvent-hopes-to-restructure-again/

Posted by Justin Hobson 07.05.2025

Independent Paper Show 2025

Fenner Paper is cordially inviting you to the second Independent Paper Show to be held in London and if you have received one of these amazing invitations, you'll appreciate just how special they are!

The Independent
 Paper Show is coming to London again. The second London edition of the IPS will be presented in the Crypt on the Green and all are welcome (whether you received this amazing invitation or not!)

The invitation is contained in this beautifully finished box, which is 245 x 190 x 17mm.

There is a 6pp concertina invitation 195 x 150mm with multiple finishing effects, too numerous to list here...

The Independent Paper Show is presented by three Swiss companies who founded the original Swiss  show: Bubu, Lorenz Boegli and Sonderegger, and the London show has been brought to the UK in partnership with Foilco. There will be lots of other paper companies there too (it's not just us!)

The event is on Wednesday, June 12th 1pm until 8pm and Thursday, June 13th 10am until 5pm at the Crypt on the Green
 St. James’s Church,
 Clerkenwell
 London EC1R 0EA . 

You can read more about it on their website.. To attend, you just need to register on the event website: https://papershow.co.uk/

We hope to see you there - where you will be able to see a copy of this amazing invitation.

Posted by Justin Hobson 29.05.2025

First Blue Angel for printing inks

I am often telling people about the Blue Angel mark as here in the UK, it is hardly known about or recognised, whereas in Germany (where it was established) and in mainland European countries, it is both highly visible on products and very highly regarded.

The Blue Angel (Der Blaue Engel) is a German certification for products and services that have environmentally friendly aspects. The Blue Angel mark is the oldest ecolabel in the world, and it covers some 10,000 products in some 80 product categories - not just paper!

It was originally conceived and put in place by the government of the former West Germany and has been awarded since 1978 and I have written about it before, extensively HERE.

In a first, an ink manufacturer has now been awarded the ecolabel: Schuite & Schuite Druckfarben GmbH is an innovative company that specialises in the production of high-quality web offset printing inks for professional printing machines. As the first holder of the ecolabel for printing inks, inkjet inks and toners for paper and cardboard on professional printing machines (DE-UZ 237), the company based in Thuringia is sending a strong signal promoting environmental friendliness in the printing ink industry.

Anne Worsch (RAL), Bettina Uhlmann (UBA), Thomas Fuß COO Schuite & Schuite Druckfarben GmbH, Bauke-Jan Schuite CEO Schuite & Schuite Druckfarben GmbH, Christian Tebert, Ökopol GmbH

Dessau. “We decided to demonstrate our commitment to environmental protection by certifying our products with the trusted Blue Angel ecolabel. Our UNI 500 and MG 1500 ink series have thus now been certified in accordance with the strict criteria defined by the Blue Angel. By gaining this certification, we want to demonstrate to our customers and their clients that we are keenly aware of our responsibility to future generations. With the right mindset, commitment and technical expertise, we can make a contribution to building a sustainable future together”, explains Thomas Fuß, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Schuite & Schuite Druckfarben GmbH at the ceremony to present the Blue Angel ecolabel.

The new ecolabel for printing inks, inkjet inks and toners is designed to ensure that the certified products have a significantly lower impact on the environment and health during their production and use. It minimises or completely excludes the use of pollutants such as PFAS, heavy metals, particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The ecolabel ensures that the printing products have a high level of recyclability, which must be verified in deinking tests of the inks and recycled paper. It also includes strict criteria that ensure the most important oils and their derivatives are sourced from renewable raw materials, which helps to protect natural forests. As a B2B ecolabel that is closely aligned with the ecolabel for printed matter (DE-UZ 195), it makes applying for the ecolabel for environmentally friendly printed matter easier.

Although it is a shame that this manufacturer does not cover inks for sheetfed offset litho, hopefully it will encouarge other ink manufacturers to look forward...

Posted by Justin Hobson 21.05.2025

Save the date!

The Independent
 Paper Show is coming to town! Yes, this June in Clerkenwell, the second London edition of the IPS will be presented in the Crypt on the Green and all are welcome.

Presented by three Swiss companies who founded the original show: Bubu, Lorenz Boegli and Sonderegger, the London show has been brought to the UK in partnership with Foilco.

These superb 'Save the Date' cards have been sent out in the post and you may have received one already!

The event is on Wednesday, June 11th 2pm until 8pm and Thursday, June 12th 12pm until 5pm at the Crypt on the Green
 St. James’s Church,
 Clerkenwell
 London EC1R 0EA . You can read more about it on their website.

To attend, you just need to register on the website: https://papershow.co.uk/

We hope to see you there!

Posted by Justin Hobson 28.04.2025

Earth Day 2025

Earth Day is an annual event first held on April 22, 1970. It now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. Above all, Earth Day is the "people's day" for doing something to take care of the Earth. That "something" can be local, national or global. It can be a solo action or involve a crowd.

What better day for me to remind you about one of our range of recycled and environmentally friendly text and cover papers...

 

Creative Print is a range of 100% recycled, uncoated text and cover materials. 

The paper has an uncoated, natural surface and is produced on the "Rolls Royce" of papermaking machines - a twin wire machine which ensures even-sidedness which improves printability over other inferior products. The range is available in two shades, Diamond and Champagne and the weight range is 90, 120, 170, 210, 270 and 350gsm.

 

Creative Print is manufactured by Euler in Germany, which is part of the Koehler Paper Group. The range carries the "Blue Angel" certification. Introduced in 1978, the Blue Angel scheme is the oldest ecolabel in the world, and it covers some 10,000 products in some 80 product categories. After the introduction of Germany's Blue Angel in 1978 as the first worldwide environmental label, other European and non-European countries followed this example and introduced their own national and supra-regional environmental labels. The common goal of these labels is to inform consumers about environmentally friendly products thereby giving global support to product-related environmental protection - perfect for highlighting on Earth Day!

 If you would like a swatch of this range, just drop me an email Justin@fennerpaper.co.uk

 

Posted by Justin Hobson 22.04.2025