into the fforest

Enter a world of Welsh wool, heartwood and antler firesteels in this painstakingly curated selection from fforest

Firestriker Steel with antler handle, £16.95
These Swedish firesteels will not let you down even when other lighters and matches fail. Reindeer antler handle with a reindeer leather lanyard.

Fforest Welsh Wool Blanket (dark specials), from £130
Woven at an old water mill on the banks of the Teifi. Available in two colours: burnt oak and charcoal. A fforest classic to keep and treasure.

Fforest Heartwood Halo
Chandelier made from heartwood of dead oak from Fforest. LED lamps embedded in the branches emit a soft, warm light. Made to order.

Fforest Welsh Wool Plaid Blanket, £190
Berry red plaid blanket woven using traditional methods on a Dobcross loom, on the banks of the River Teifi. Perfect on these chilly nights. 

Cymraeg y fforest Prints, £15
Series of prints illustrating Welsh words at the heart of fforest.This little fellow is ‘gwiwer’, or squirrel. Fox (cadno) and deer (ceirw) also available.

Fforest Heartwood DSW chair, from £300
If Charles and Ray Eames had lived in a cabin in the woods, this is how their famous chair might have turned out. Made to order. 

Fforest Blanket Scarf, from £55
Made from Fforest’s Welsh blanket cloth. Available in a range of colours in a choice of narrow or wide width. 20 x 180cm £55, 30 x 180cm £75

Fforest Utility Nautical Rucksack, £75
Second World War Swedish Army rucksack with strong canvas on metal frame and adjustable leather straps. Embroidered with beautiful nautical flags.

Discover more about fforest in our online directory.

This is a sponsored blog post, created in collaboration with fforest. For more information on partnerships and joining our directory please email advertise@ernestjournal.co.uk.

Age of Reinvention

Do you have the inventor's eye? Have you ever looked at a seemingly commonplace item and dreamt up multiple ways to reinvent it? If the answer is yes, then step this way...

Photo: sailhandmade.com

Over a century ago, Britain was known as “the workshop of the world.” It was a hotbed of invention and industry. After 100 years of decline, we’re seeing a real resurgence of craftsmanship – a return of traditional industries, swathes of makers taking risks to set up businesses based on doing what they love and buyers who value the story behind the products they buy.

To celebrate this new age of innovation, we are launching the Age of Reinvention competition – a chance for amateur inventors to furrow their brows, doodle on graph paper and transform old items into unique and practical products. The competition is brought to you in collaboration with our friends at Pedlars, purveyor of wonderful homewares, gifts and quality vintage, and The Good Life Experience, a festival of music, food, culture and the great outdoors.

Between January and August 2015 we will offer eight items for reinvention. Each month, Ernest Journal and Pedlars will choose their favourite design concept then post the item to the inventor so they can work their magic. Winners will be announced in our newsletter and we will then exhibit the eight completed items at The Good Life Experience (18-20 September 2015) and give each successful inventor two free tickets to the festival and a subscription to Ernest Journal. The first item on offer is a Swiss Army groundsheet – but what would you turn this into?

Item #1: Swiss Army groundsheet (150cm x 150cm)

How to enter 

Simply share a sketch of your proposed design with us on Twitter or Instagram, mentioning @ernestjournal and @PedlarsWorld and using #AgeofReinvention.

The deadline for your first design idea is 8 February 2015. 

If you have any queries, email features@ernestjournal.co.uk

Terms and conditions:

1. The closing time and date is 11.59pm on 8 February 2015. Entries after that date will not be considered. 2. The winning entrant will be posted the item for them to reinvent and display at the Good Life Experience. 3. The prize is two tickets to The Good Life Experience and a subscription to Ernest Journal. 3. The prize is non-transferable and no cash alternative can be offered. 4. See our full terms and conditions.

Surfing the analogue wave

In a buzzing studio in North London, Darrel Sheinman and Adam Sieff of Gearbox Records cut vinyl on vintage equipment, working with the likes of Kate Tempest, Ronnie Scott and Paul Weller. They tell us about the beauty of vinyl... 

Tell us about Gearbox Records. What do you guys do?

We are an audiophile vinyl record company with our own analogue vinyl cutting studio at Tileyard Studios near King’s Cross, London. We release high quality, previously unreleased vinyl cuts and new recordings by contemporary artists. Our goal is to support new music and lost treasures on vinyl – our recent releases include records by Kate Tempest, Nucleus With Leon Thomas, Michael Garrick, Max Cooper, Kenny Wheeler, Slowly Rolling Camera, Dexter Gordon, Jazz Jamaica, Ronnie Scott, Mark Murphy and Michael Horowitz with Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Paul Weller.

Tell us about your vinyl cutting.

Although the vinyl cutting studio was originally set up for the label’s own use, so many people wanted to use our vintage equipment with its 100% analogue chain that we now offer a vinyl mastering and cutting as well as a complete consultancy service to help artists and producers though the minefield of vinyl mastering and production. 

What is the joy of listening to vinyl, compared to digital recordings?

Apart from the fact that it just plain sounds better when properly set up, many feel – and we agree – that there’s a stronger emotional connection when listening to vinyl. It’s as if you’re surfing a smooth analogue wave instead of having to digest thousands of slices of digital pie. And there’s the all-important ritual of taking a record out of its sleeve, cleaning and placing it on the turntable before dropping the needle into the groove. Vinyl is for the times when you want to really listen to music, not just hear it. But digital can be very handy, especially when out hiking or cycling! 
 

What vintage equipment do you use?

Our cutting lathe is a 1967 Haeco Scully with Westrex amps, the same set-up Blue Note used – we checked with Rudy van Gelder! We also have extremely rare Studer C37 and H37 valve tape machines, a vintage Philips Pro51 from Decca West Hampstead, and superb sounding Audionote amps and monitors. We have tie lines to Mark Ronson’s Zelig Studio next door and have recorded live sessions from his studio direct to our cutting lathe, notably with Emily Barker and The Red Clay Halo for Record Store Day last year.
 

What's important to you?

Carrying on the tradition of keeping to the highest possible standards in all that we do. And making the best records we possibly can.
 

What artists should we listen out for in 2015?

Binker And Moses are two fantastic young musicians from Zara McFarlane’s band, and their album Dem Ones is live saxophone and drums recorded direct to tape. Max Cooper and Kate Tempest will go from strength to strength, Sasha Siem will make a breakthrough and it will be the anniversary year of British jazz legend Tubby Hayes. And there will be others that we haven’t even planned for yet. 

Gearbox Records is one of our Directory members. If you are interested in joining our Directory, email advertise@ernestjournal.co.uk.

Elements of wit

Perpetual calendars, letterpressed stationery and clever innovations to streamline your desk space – Ernest has chosen wisely from design duo Witshop's playful wares

Perpetual Calendar, £21
A stroke of design genius, this calendar sits neatly on your desk and there’s even a blackboard for you to chalk up the month.

Maths Paper Notebooks, £9
A celebration of school maths papers in a set of three: dotted, squared and isometric, bound in letterpressed covers. 

Veg Tea Towel, £10.50
Screen-printed in Yorkshire, depicting root veg in the style of a school science chart, but with a modern graphic feel. 

Fish Print, A3, £18
Vibrant risograph print of hand drawn illustrations of trout, sole and sea bream, inspired by an old science poster. 

Spirograph Sketchbook, £7.50
Inspired by Witshop’s visit to Kerala where street hawkers sold spirograph sets.We love the silver ink letterpressed covers. 

Aztec Gift Wrap Pack, £5.40
To make your pressie zing with colour this pack comes with jazzy green gift wrap, yellow greeting card and orange ribbon. 

Wood Gift Wrap Pack, £5.40
Ideal for nature lovers this pack comes with a sheet of wood grain gift wrap, greeting card, envelope, gift tag and raffia ribbon. 

Hanging Organiser, £38
Write notes on the pad, pin reminders on the cork board and store paper in the nubuck leather pocket – an office godsend. 

Discover more about Witshop and their design-led stationery homewares in our online directory.

This is a sponsored blog post, created in collaboration with Witshop. For more information on partnerships and joining our directory please email advertise@ernestjournal.co.uk.

A woodcutter's cabin

In our fourth digital issue, we asked printmaker Robin Mackenzie to create a map of a travelling craftsperson's journey building a boat along the River Ouse in East Sussex. Robin tells us more about his unique method of illustrating, his grandmother's old cabin and his inspirational banjo...

Illustration: Robin Mackenzie

Tell us about your unique method of illustrating. What's your process?

The process always begins with the story. I read through the piece, whether it be a song, poem, editorial piece, and sketch out little thumbnails while I'm reading. Certain parts of a narrative have greater visual potential than others so I focus on these and develop the thumbnails further into a series of rough sketches.  

Then I choose my favourite and draw it out in pencil on to a wooden block. Some printmakers trace their drawing onto the block but I prefer to draw it on freehand from my sketch – I think tracing can look a bit laboured and lose the freshness of the original sketch. I then go over the pencil with a permanent marker so I can then darken the block with a thin layer of writing ink. I do this so that when I am engraving I can see the balance of contrast more clearly as any cuts I make will show the white wood under the dark surface.

Once the block is darkened, I begin engraving.  This is my favourite part of the process as I love the sound of the tools cutting through the wood and seeing my design take shape on the block. 

When I think I have finished the design I take a proof print (sometimes I then need to make minor adjustments to the contrast and forms) and then when I'm totally happy I print the edition.

Why do you love illustrating with wood engravings?

I love that it allows me to work with my hands and forces me to commit to design decisions. There is no undo button and if I make a mistake I have to start again. 

Tell us about your workshop. 

It's a beautiful garden cabin that my grandmother used to work in – she was a stencil artist and lino cutter so it is wonderful to work in the same space she did. The walls are covered with mementos and objects she collected so I am surrounded by inspiration for my work. It is a lovely space to sit and ponder ideas for prints – quite often I'm tinkling on the banjo while doing so!  

What's your favourite snack to fuel an afternoon's illustrating?

Definitely a flat white coffee and a piece of fruit cake.  I really need to cut down on the coffee – don't buy an espresso machine.

What's on your bedside table?

My alarm clock, which endeavours to get me up on time everyday and my current favourite read The Hundred Year Old Man who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared.

Robin is a printmaker and illustrator specialising in linocuts and wood engraving. His work is inspired by all things folk, in particular the traditional music of the Appalachian mountains.

You can see his beautiful illustrations in our Journeywoman feature in iPad issue 4, available to download now.