Artisans of Dartmoor - Book - Page 115
“I barely needed any equipment to get started – just
a lino block, some tracing paper, carving tools, ink
and a roller.” She even got by without a printing
press for her first year; instead, she used the back of a
tablespoon to press her lino blocks onto paper.
As her business started to take off, Ambrose made
Isla a wooden press, which she used to print small
notebooks and greeting cards. Later, she invested in a
cast-iron press for original prints.
A collaboration with Princetown Press (page
179) is also in the works, where she will produce a
new range of seasonal flower posters using their vast
vintage letterpress.
“Printing is my favourite part of the process because
it completely transforms a piece,” Isla explains. “It
takes a long time to carve out a block and it’s always
back to front, because, with lino printing, you carve
out the details, which makes it hard to envisage. But as
soon as you print it, it comes to life.”
Although Isla knows that designing on a computer
could speed up her process, she still prefers to work
by hand, sketching out her designs and then using
tracing paper to transfer them onto lino. “Drawing
and carving by hand is such a tactile, hands-on and
thoughtful process. You can’t experience that working
on a computer,” she says.
This traditional approach is central to Isla’s business
ethos. One of the things she loves most about being
an independent maker is having personal contact
with her customers. “It’s lovely to hear how my work
has inspired people to start gardening or foraging,”
she says. “I think people cherish their possessions
much more when they know the maker and
story behind them.”
Isla gathers inspiration for her designs on foraging expeditions in the
Dartmoor countryside, with wildflower meadows
and riversides favourite hunting grounds.
The Printmaker • Isla Middleton
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