Last week I was fortunate enough to be on holiday in Italy visiting Rome and Pompeii. On one of the days which was rather wet we were at a bit of a loose end. I saw a town called Amalfi on the map and remembered (by chance!) that there was a handmade paper mill there. So we hopped in the car and off we went to see a paper mill that was established in the 13th century - real medieval stuff!
It is situated half way up the mountainside on which the town of Amalfi is situated. At one time there were 16 paper mills on the mountain making use of the fast flowing fresh water streaming off the mountain to make paper and power the water wheels. The mill itself (which is now preserved as a museum) is carved out of the solid rock. This is a picture of the mill entrance:
The inside of the mill, hewn out of the rock:
The vats of pulp/water for handmade paper production:
Now, here's a truly amazing thing - the mill installed a "Hollander Beater" which is a machine which was a 18th century Dutch invention, to more efficiently break down fibres (rags) for papermaking - rather than beating them with a hammer with sharp spikes. This mill invested in this new technology and the machine was installed on 18th November 1745 - and this is the machine, still powered by the water wheel which I saw actually working , pictured below:
In the 19th century, the mill made inverstments in the new fangled paper machines which are shown below - although they are not currently in production (they only make handmade papers now), they work on the same principle as all modern paper machines.
On the picture below, note the saw in the foreground, which is the way in which the sheets were cut off the (very slow) machine and also in the background, the way that they created extra room for the machine by cutting further into the mountain:
...and to prove I was actually there, here I am with the machine in the background:
If you are in the area, it is definitely worth a visit.
Posted by Justin Hobson 25.04.2012
London based design company, The Grid, created this piece of literature for Italian sportswear manufacturer Kappa to lauch their new range of Luggage. Working with retail marketing specialists TCC Global, the purpose is to produce a brief overview of the range aimed at press and retail outlets.
Yesterday evening I went to the European premiere of "Linotype The Film" and it was brilliant! It was a clever and most engaging piece of documentary film making which neatly combined the historical aspects of this incredible invention by Ottmar Mergenthaler in the late 19th century with the world changing consequences and nearly a hundred years of service making mass print communication a reality and it's relatively recent commercial demise. It's amazing just how many people are still interested in the machine and the process and are keeping it alive. 
The film was screened as one of the evening events at the week long "Beauty in The Making" expo in London hosted by that other, Hull based, paper company! At an exhibition space in London's Bloomsbury, they set up an exhibition which covered everything from paper making and technology to letterpress printing on Adana presses, handmade envelope demonstrations and a Monotype exhibit featuring some of Eric Gill's original sketches for Gill Sans. All in all, it was an excellent event.
It is situated half way up the mountainside on which the town of Amalfi is situated. At one time there were 16 paper mills on the mountain making use of the fast flowing fresh water streaming off the mountain to make paper and power the water wheels. The mill itself (which is now preserved as a museum) is carved out of the solid rock. This is a picture of the mill entrance:
Some of you will remember Artomatic, a very creative print/production house based in London from 1983-2003. 
Award winning theatre company Slung Low are making five new performance pieces for five North Yorkshire Festivals: Coastival, Swaledale, Grassington, Harrogate and Ryedale. A series of new pieces based on the novel "The Ground Remembers" by Matthew David Scott. Set in unusual and unique locations, the shows re-examine how audiences go and see a piece of theatre. 
Jo Malone is a London based company renowned for British bespoke fragrances for Women, Men and the Home. The brand is renowned for it's products being immaculately wrapped in a signature cream box with black corners - packaging which defines quality and an understated style. 
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