Hampshire oak gall ink (limited edition)

HAMPSHIRE OAK GALL INK A unique formula of SUPER GRANULATING oak gall ink made from oak galls from Hampshire, England. With a slightly purple undertone to the greys when used in a wash this is a special ink. This ink creates large particles of granulation and smokey textures in large washes. Every application will be different, try pooling in the ink for deeper shades on the paper. This colour would be particularly good at subtle layering affects.

IRON OAK GALL INKS Made in small batches and blended to give the required consistency and strength. Fully waterproof in 5-7 days. Permanent and Lightfast. Steeped for several weeks and left to ‘mature’ for several more in the bottle before first use. It is an ‘aged’ ink. When used on treated animal skin, oak gall ink reacts with collagen, due to its acidic nature and bonds with it, affectively ‘etching’ itself onto the surface of the skin. This makes the ink extraordinarily long lasting; it is continued to be used to record acts of parliament, on parchment, today. This is an soft grey waterproof ink. In Ingredients: English oak galls, distilled water (rain water), Gum Arabic, Iron(II)sulphate and clove oil. •great for calligraphy can be used with a dip pen and brush •makes lovely pale washes and intense velvet matte blacks •can be diluted with water •permanent

HISTORICAL INKS Our inks are hand-made in England to 17th, 18th century and medieval recipes. Made in small batches and processed in Cambridgeshire and London, they contain locally sourced natural and organic materials. Each ink recipe has been meticulously researched from primary and secondary resources and the resulting ink is a culmination of many hours of experimenting and fine tuning. Many ancient weights and measures do not have corresponding modern equivalents so often scholarly articles are utilised to ascertain these vernacular quantities to the highest accuracy possible.

BRITISH CRAFT TRADITION This collection of inks is a unique offering of time-honoured tradition from British history. Each ink is a true historical recipe faithfully recreated and in some was resurrected, using traditional methods and materials. Colours from bygone eras are once more revealed.

INDUSTRIAL INK PRODUCTION Modern inks typically use synthetically produced chemicals that can sometimes be toxic, often harmful for the user and the environment. Artificial colour enhancers once added, can shorten the life of the ink both in storage and on paper. Our inks use naturally occurring organic ingredients. Tannic acid in oak galls give the ink its intense dark colour, and in commercial inks this is synthetically made in industrial quantities. It would be very hard to find enough oak galls to cater for such vast amounts of ink. In contrast we champion the specificity of the origins of the ingredients for our inks.

NATURAL INK MAKING PROCESS Natural variations in raw materials due to seasonal changes do attribute to slight colour variations. Therefore, different batches of ink are blended to allow for consistency. These seasonal variations that create colour nuances add a sense of the rarefied experience and allow artists to appreciate singular moments in time. This ‘slow craft tradition’ is important in continuing Britain’s unique cultural traditions.