January 2025 started off with the realisation of a long held dream.
After 25 years of being a photographer (who had lately dabbled in lino carvings…) I woke up on New Year’s day and knew that now was the time to embrace being a full time Printmaker.
At 49 years old I was both excited and astonished to realise that my ‘side hustle’ now had the potential to be my career and the time had come to embrace the idea of printmaking each and every day. What that meant from a practical point of view was that it no longer mattered where we lived. In fact, it made plenty of sense to move back to Cornwall where I’d grown up, where I found much of my inspiration and where my wife and I longed to put down roots. So it was in February 2025 that we made the move ‘home’. A move I will never regret.
Packing up our lives in Oxfordshire was a task and a half. The last 14 years had been spent in the same house and to say we had a lot to pack was an understatement. But we did it. We made multiple runs down the M5 and waved to the ‘nearly home’ trees more times than I can count….and then passed them again on the way back to pick up more boxes. In the end, business and home relocated, we settled very quickly and happily into a new cottage just ten minutes from my studio space next to my parents home.
I straight away moved my press and printmaking equipment into the ground floor of the studio first since the top floor was still occupied. A snug fit for a printmaker, his press, hundreds of coastal prints (and all the paraphernalia that comes with selling them) but we made it work and I loved being settled in a studio I remembered from a childhood growing up next door.
We were then lucky enough to also move into the upstairs space in the summer and the dream was complete. It’s funny, because all those years of hoping and mentally planning a move back to Cornwall, it wasn’t a cottage by the coast that I pictured in my head. The image I had always held dear was this studio, where I could work to my heart’s content, carving prints of Cornwall and holding printmaking workshops to share the knowledge and joy of lino carving.
We can’t see the sea from the cottage (well a glimpse through the trees on a clear day) or the studio but we are only ten minutes or so from Falmouth, five minutes in opposite direction to the Helford and a bit further to picture perfect Portscatho and Mousehole (certainly do-able on a day trip). The first print I carved when I returned home was of Helford Passage, a gorgeous little spot on the river, quiet and unassuming and full of magic even on a grey day. I still consider this my ‘homecoming’ print - not a grand or majestic picture, it shows the simple row of former fisherman’s cottages on the waterfront and three rowing boats pulled up on to the pebble beach. A little corner of Cornwall that is seemingly untouched by tide and time, Helford Passage retains a gentle charm and character which also matched perfectly with the quiet contentment that I felt returning home. I hope that comes across in the finished Helford print.
I was keen to continue attending craft and makers markets after we moved - one of the parts of my new career that I enjoy the most. I love everything about it: from setting up my stall, displaying my ‘wares’ and chatting to customers about the inspiration behind my prints and how they are made. It’s nice to explain the analogue process of printmaking and I know that people appreciate understanding a bit of the story behind the prints that they put up on their walls. A somewhat solitary craft, it is a joy to suddenly turn myself into an ‘old fashioned shopkeeper’, chat away all day to those that pop by and get to know other stallholders selling their fabulous creations.
A return trip to ‘The Kitchen on the Edge’ in Holmen Lofoten in the Arctic Circle was another highlight of my year. An old hand now (!) I know what to expect from this extraordinary place but even so, the sights and sounds and tastes of this unique culinary and cultural experience takes my breath away. Each group of ‘adventurers’ stay four nights overlooking the Norwegian waters, surrounded by staggering scenery, enjoying locally sourced ingredients cooked by exceptional chefs while spending the day exploring the area and learning a new craft (in steps your enthusiastic printmaker!). I am delighted to be returning for a third time in 2026, carving tools and camera at the ready to capture more Northern Lights and behind the scenes moments during my time there.
And finally, Finn. We had always wanted to add a dog to our family but time and space had made that a tricky proposition. One day, as we walked down to the beach after dinner and watched all the dog walkers enjoy the sunset with their hounds, we knew the time was right. After plenty of research we decided the wonderful Whippet was the breed to go for and Finn ‘chose’ us when we went to visit a local litter here in Cornwall. A beautiful white and fawn, clever and (relatively!) calm puppy, Finn arrived in the summer and we very genuinely can’t imagine our lives without him now. Initially hard work (as all puppies are) we soon got to grips with the world of zoomies and recall and now, he’s the perfect studio pup, happy exploring the woods by the studio, curling up in his bed for hours and showering us with love. Maybe a Whippet linoprint will be next year’s project….
