Jobs from the past - Number 114

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.

Spring - Bespoke Watermarked Paper 2014
Originally from Australia, Skye Gyngell is now one of Britain’s most respected and acclaimed chefs. After initially training in Sydney and then Paris, Skye moved to work in London and after gaining experience and an increasing reputation, eventually took the role of head chef at Petersham Nurseries. It was there that she became renowned for her distinctively seasonal, elegant cooking. Skye opened her own restaurant 'Spring' in Somerset House in London in 2014.

Studio Frith based in London was commissioned to work on the restaurant identity. Frith Kerr, founder of Studio Frith  is described by the New York Times as “the go-to graphic designer for creative clients” . The studio is renowned for its original work and exceptional clients including some of the world’s leading cultural institutions.

Fenner Paper was approached by Studio Frith about the possibility and practicality of producing watermarked paper for use as the menus for the new restaurant. Having explained the process of reproducing a design as a watermark and the producing a "mill making" of paper, the studio then asked me about the the possibility of not just one watermark but six different watermarks! ...a different one for each use, wine list, starters, deserts and cheese etc. Having costed the whole exercise with our paper mill partner, the go ahead was given for a mill making of over three tonnes of paper - approximately half a tonne each of six different watermarks.

The illustrated artworks were supplied as pdf's to the mill, where they have to be interpreted by the master craftsman who solders (by hand, using his eyes and experience) an electrotype die onto a skeletal "dandy roll" as you can see from the image below.

The below image shows the finished Dandy Roll

Watermarks are created during the early stages of paper manufacture using this "Dandy Roll" (the invention of the dandy roll is attributed to John Marshall from England in 1826) This skeletal roll made from a copper wire mesh, skims the top side of the paper on the machine at the point that the paper is still very wet. The image mark is pressed on the surface whilst also displacing the fibres causing areas of higher and lower density, this has the result that the image is apparent both on the surface and on looking through the sheet.

The picture above shows a Dandy Roll on a paper machine, just 'skimming the surface' and the picture below shows a close up of the mesh type nature of the skeletal Dandy Roll.

Studio Frith were kept informed throughout the whole process, including being sent photographs of the manufacturing process.

One of the hardest things for me to show in this article is the end result! Although I am sure that a professional photographer would be able to do a fantastic job, my limited facilities don't do justice to the end result, however, here are a couple of examples of the final product...

Click on images to enlarge

The paper was supplied as A4 sheets and is a 90gsm weight in a neutral white shade. As I mentioned earlier, in total there were six different watermarks, which I show below from the original pdf's I was sent.

It was an amazing project to have been involved with and it was great to work with a design studio and end client who had the creative vision to embark on such a project. 

If you are interested, you can read more about the watermarking process here.

http://springrestaurant.co.uk/
https://studiofrith.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 03.04.2019

Britain in a bowl

This is a piece about an interesting project that we were involved with last week and that was also part of London Design Festival.

Here's some background information about the project:

This year, The New Craftsmen commissioned potter Billy Lloyd to design an exclusive range of tableware, to be manufactured in Stoke, the heart and home of British ceramics. The Billy collection begins with a deep, flat-bottomed earthenware bowl in white with ridged exterior; multifunctional in purpose, and characteristically considered in design. To mark the launch of the bowl this September, The New Craftsmen and Billy Lloyd have teamed up with 5 leading food creatives in order to bring to life the bowl’s function and purpose, and illustrate the vibrant synergy between cookery and pottery; one that relies on a human touch with craftsmanship at the core. Foodies  Jeremy Lee of Quo Vadis, Abdul Yaseen of Cinnamon Kitchen, Skye Gyngell of Heckfield Place, Kerstin Rodgers aka MissMarmiteLover, and James Ramsden of The Secret Larder have each devised a mouth-watering recipe which will be sold together with our first edition of 50 batch production bowls, designed by Billy Lloyd and made in Stoke. “The provenance of food has become incredibly important to people over the last few years, and careful and sustainable sourcing is a well understood concept”, says Natalie Melton, of The New Craftsmen. “Collaborating with chefs who care deeply about good sourcing seemed a natural fit for the launch of this bowl. What we love about Billy’s work is its honesty and integrity; and he has carried that into this industry collaboration, bringing a keen attention to detail and a careful approach to collaborating with the best in Stoke. Good ingredients, skill, attention to detail, and an appetite for pleasure are at the root of everything we do. Britain in a Bowl epitomizes this and we are delighted with the outcome.”

Last Tuesday, at The New Craftsmen Garage in Adams Row (which is actually a garage in Mayfair!) the launch of the week long  ’Britain In A Bowl’ campaign started.

You may be wondering what this has to do with paper! ...so here it is: Five recipe cards were printed with the ingredients, which were designed to look like and work as placemats. These mats and the introduction sheets were all produced on our new CRUSH range of papers.

The size of all the pieces is 180mm square. The recipe cards are printed on Crush, corn 350gsm and the title pages are printed on Crush Olive 120gsm. 

 

These beautifully produced items are silkscreen printed - 2colours for the recipe cards and on colour for the title pages. They are printed by London silkscreen printers Bob Eight Pop ...and a fine job they have made of them. Silkscreen often has a reputation of being a rough and ready type of printing but the coverage is beautifully even and the small type is crisp and sharp.

Design is by Julian Roberts at Irving & Co. The lovely illustrations are by John Broadley.

www.billylloyd.co.uk
www.thenewcraftsmen.com
www.irvingandco.com
http://johnbroadley.blogspot.co.uk/
www.bobeightpop.com
http://www.favini.com/graphic_specialities/en/crush-prd-26.php

Posted by Justin Hobson 23.09.2013