The Materials

Materials & Sustainability

Every piece begins long before it reaches the press. The materials and tools I choose are selected with the same care as the design itself, favouring natural materials, honest sourcing and quality that lasts.

The Paper

Sourced from a paper mill with nearly 200 years of papermaking history, this 100% pure cotton paper is made from naturally grown fibres without chemical additives, with no wood pulp at all. The paper is acid free and pH neutral, which is what gives cotton stationery its archival quality. Its softness comes with gentle, natural irregularities in colour, a quiet reminder that no two sheets are quite the same.

The Ink

I mix vegetable oil based letterpress inks by hand. Choosing a vegetable oil base, rather than a petroleum based one, is a deliberate decision: it prints beautifully on cotton paper and leaves a gentler footprint.

The Plates

Each design is transformed into a polymer printing plate by a specialist plate maker with over 40 years of experience dedicated solely to this craft. The precision of the plate is what allows my 1905 treadle press to give every letter the deep, tactile impression that defines letterpress.

The Press

My treadle press runs on foot power alone, with no motor and no plug. Each sheet is fed and pressed by the steady rhythm of a pedal, just as it would have been when it was first built in 1905. Printing without electricity is not a constraint here, it is simply how this particular craft has always worked.

The Cleaning

My treadle press and the polymer plates are cleaned after every print run with a natural, citrus based solvent, never a harsh, toxic degreaser. It lifts the ink cleanly from both metal and rubber, leaving behind nothing but a faint, fresh scent of citrus, gentler on both my hands and the environment.

The Wax Seals

Each wax stick is hand mixed by my supplier using traditional methods, genuine sealing wax rather than a plastic imitation, so no two are ever quite alike. The same is true of the seal itself, pressed entirely by hand, so no two letters are ever closed in quite the same way.

The Packaging

Stationery deserves to arrive as thoughtfully as it was printed. I favour packaging suppliers who are FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) certified, with materials that are recyclable and produced with care for the environment. One of my suppliers also runs a reforestation programme, planting one tree for every parcel sent, a commitment to the planet that is one of the reasons I chose them.

Why It Matters

Letterpress has always been a slow craft, favouring permanence over disposability. Choosing natural cotton paper, vegetable based ink and responsibly sourced packaging is simply an extension of the same philosophy: stationery made to be kept, touched and treasured for years to come.