This summer, my daughter and I are carving out time each week for an Artist Date — little creative pilgrimages to refill the creative well. Our first stop? Robert Smail’s Printing Works in Innerleithen, one of the few fully operational Victorian letterpress printers left in the UK, which reminded me of how important tactile brand design is to me.
I wasn’t sure what my daughter would make of the letterpress tour. It’s a quiet, methodical kind of place, full of heavy drawers and inky rollers. But she was captivated, interested and curious to ask questions.
She made a bookmark, bought the 2026 calendar with her pocket money, and asked if we could book the longer tour next time. A friend to join me on my inky escapades!
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Powerful print
As a designer, I’ve always loved the moment when I can hold a finished project in my hands. All too often, our work is confined to screens. We rarely get to touch the things we create.
But there’s something powerful about print. The texture of a postcard, impressed with inky goodness. The scent of fine paper, imbued with beautiful words. The quality of letterpress, printed on a 100-year-old press.
The Printing Works is a beautifully preserved space, where time slows down and each item has a story. Ink is mixed by hand. Type is laid one character at a time. Paper is fed carefully into cast-iron machines that still clunk and whirr. When I’m in a space like this, it makes me realise how far we’ve drifted from using our hands to create.
Creative rituals
The “Artist Date” is a concept popularised by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way — a weekly solo creative outing, designed to reconnect you with curiosity and creativity.
I know I’m bending the rules by inviting my daughter along…but the spirit is the same: making time for playful, sensory fun. For us, that means a summer of printing, collaging and bookmaking — things that require our hands and things that remind us we’re here.
Of course, an Artist Date doesn’t have to be elaborate. It might be a walk in nature or a trip to a bookshop. But for me, tactile work is especially potent. Rooted in sensation, not performance, it invites presence, unlocking ideas that no amount of scrolling ever will.
Tactile collaborations
That sense of care has been woven into my work too, especially in the Brand Seasons® Playdeck, which was lovingly letterpress printed by Sarah & Maude. Her approach mirrors everything I felt at Smail’s; the work impressed with hands and heart. I wrote about my creative practice and touched on our experience working together for her Behind the Brand series. We both featured in this piece by my client, Saorsa Psychology, exploring the printing of Your Woven Year, a journal I designed, with its bookmark thoughtfully printed by Sarah & Maude.
The Brand Seasons® Playdeck is a tool for reflection, printed on G.F Smith papers made from recycled coffee cups and textile garments, and packaged in a letterpress-printed matchbox-style container. Every detail, right down to the folding guide tucked inside, is thought through. If you’re craving sensory creativity — and the opportunity to reconnect with your brand — you might enjoy the card deck, currently 20% off in my online shop. You’ll also find a mini zine and (soon) more paper goods.
It’s not the first time I’ve found myself drawn back to print. In the past, I’ve worked with Blush Publishing on limited edition prints and luxury stationery items, and it’s a medium I keep returning to. Focusing primarily on branding over the past few years has created more space for that, a through-line I didn’t quite see until now.
