A BUG’S EYE VIEW.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Dutch photographer Theo Bosboom shoots flowers from a bug's perspective.

View

HOW BRAT BECAME BRAT.

DESIGN
The Art Director behind brat reveals unseen drafts and the export error that made it iconic.

Watch

WEAR AND TEAR.

ILLUSTRATION
Heel blisters, sunburn and bite marks – the everyday pains Ana Terral won't let you forget.

Discover

FRED AGAIN.. GOES ANALOGUE.

MUSIC
Meet the 70-year-old Bollywood sign painter behind his India tour poster.

Discover

HOW A PHOTOGRAPH BECOMES BREAD.

ART
An eye grown from wheat in a French field is due to be harvested and turned into bread.

View

THE ART OF TYPOGRAPHY.

CRAFT
A short film about Carmine Cervone, the Naples typographer keeping traditional print alive.

Watch

NEON AMERICANA.

ILLUSTRATION
Louise Laborie paints a melancholic, neon-lit road trip through empty America.

Discover

ANALOGUE ANIMATION.

ANIMATION
Mumbai animator Dhrutika Khimani rejects digital tools for the feel of real materials.

Watch

GREATER MANCHESTER ON DISPLAY.

EXHIBITION
HOME's celebration of Greater Manchester's creative talent has just opened, running until 6th September.

Visit

THE PEOPLE'S JERSEY.

FASHION
Mamdani teams up with a family-run factory in Brooklyn to make 1,500 hand-cut World Cup jerseys at an affordable price.

Wear

SOAP, THE OLD WAY.

CRAFT
Inside Turkey's handmade olive oil soap industry, still running on old methods.

Watch

90 MINUTES IN 1 FRAME.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Geoff Lowe photographs World Cup matches as one continuous, chaotic frame.

View

HELP KEEP PRINT ALIVE.

PRINT
Friends of PREST, Jot Press, are crowdfunding a 1970s Heidelberg. Rewards include greetings cards, stationery bundles and print workshops.

Donate

180 YEARS IN WATERCOLOUR.

CRAFT
Over 2000 hand-painted frames tell the story of Loewe's 180 years, from leather workshop to luxury house.

Watch

ILLUSTRATION HAS A HOME.

ILLUSTRATION
Quentin Blake's lifelong ambition finally opens its doors in Clerkenwell this week.

Visit

THE LAST ANALOGUE GENERATION.

PHOTOGRAPHY / FILM
Paris duo Souffle document the physical rituals that disappeared when digital life swallowed everything.

Discover

DISPOSABLE CANVAS.

ART
Helena Minginowicz airbrushes portraits onto paper towels, tissues and napkins.

View

DON'T FEED THE DUCKS.

ANIMATION
AJ Jeffries' zany animation about what happens when you ignore the signs.

Watch

THE PAPERMAKERS OF THE LAKE DISTRICT.

CRAFT
A film about the family who refused to let British papermaking die.

Watch

THE DARKROOM IN YOUR HANDS.

PHOTOGRAPHY
A wood and brass camera that makes photography feel like making again.

Discover

HELLCARE REGULAR.

DESIGN
The illegibility of doctor's handwriting turned into a political typeface.

View

INTO THE WOODS.

ANIMATION
The hands that made “Coraline” return with a new stop-motion fantasy epic (worth watching the behind-the-scenes as well as the trailer).

Watch

DRAWN BY KIDS, THEN BUILT FOR BIRDS.

EDUCATION
Children in Cambodia make sculptural birdhouses from their imaginative drawings.

Explore

DESIGN NEXT.

PODCAST
Honest conversations with creative leaders on excellence, leadership and what’s coming next. Series three is out now.

Listen

PAINTING WITH THREAD.

CRAFT
Cassandra Dias stitches impressionistic landscapes with the depth of impasto painting.

Discover

BLINDED BY THE FLAG.

ART
Banksy installs a statue of a man marching blind behind his own flag in central London.

Watch

SIGNS OF GREATNESS.

TEXTILES
Ed Hall stitches Britain’s most political banners. The Crafts Council have dropped the paywall on his story.

Read

WHAT IS DYSLEXIA?

ANIMATION
Art&Graft’s hybrid animation uses painterly imperfection to reframe dyslexia.

Watch

ART AS DEFIANCE.

MUSIC
Kneecap on using music, language and culture to stand up for what they believe in.

Read

FIELD TO FACTORY.

FASHION
Mulberry’s new collection uses leather that’s sourced, tanned and crafted entirely in Britain.

Watch

LAST IMPRESSIONS.

PRINT
Irish artist John Conway documents patients' final words through bedside printmaking.

Discover

THE TOILET TYPEFACE.

DESIGN
Daniel Reed turns hand-painted toilet signage into a typeface, available for just 50p.

View

7 TRACKS. 700 SLEEVES. 1 CHARITY.

MUSIC
Design a vinyl sleeve for War Child's Secret 7" and support children affected by war.

Create

THE KEEPER.

NATURE
A New York beekeeper with a fatal bee allergy tends hives on Manhattan's rooftops.

Watch

GLASTONBURY AT DAWN.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Mischa Haller’s photobook captures the giddy glee of Glastonbury between 4AM and 8AM.

View

NOTHING WASTED.

CRAFT
Issey Miyake turns waste paper rolls from garment production into handcrafted furniture.

Discover

PAINTER OF THE NORTH.

ART
Peter James Houghton paints the North’s industrial landscape.

Explore

0.014 MEGAPIXELS.

PHOTOGRAPHY
The photographer swapping 4K cameras for a Nintendo Game Boy.

View

THE INDEPENDENT PAPER SHOW.

EVENT
A showcase of new papers, creative printing and innovative crafting comes to Manchester this June.

Visit

FLATPACK PLAYGROUND.

DESIGN
UK-based charity Playrise designs a modular playground for children in refugee camps.

Play

A CITY MADE OF PAPER.

CRAFT
Charles Young's growing paper city, colour-matched to a Japanese palette guide.

Discover

HOW DO YOU STAY HUMAN?

PODCAST
Creative Boom’s podcast returns to ask how we stay human as AI reshapes everything around us.

Listen

I almost didn’t write this one. March has genuinely been one of the quieter months at PREST, and I wasn’t sure there was enough to say. But consistency matters, so here we are.

A lot of my energy this month has gone into my day job. Plenty of overtime, and I even picked up a promotion along the way, which is great news but hasn’t exactly freed up more time for making. Things have been moving slow, and I’m making peace with that.

So, here’s what’s been in the works at PREST this month.

TLDR: A custom order. Social media strategy. New Risograph samples.

✏️ A custom order
Last month I mentioned a custom order for @DannyTriesThings. I've finally got the materials in and I've been getting on with making it. It's been a nice project to have on the bench during a quieter month, something concrete to work on while other things tick along in the background.

📱 Making sense of social media
I’ve been feeling the pressure around social media for a while, so this month I sat down and worked out a proper content strategy for PREST. I’ve landed on five content pillars that should make things feel a little simpler. I’m calling it the 5 Ms.

• Maker: Me and my story. Outward-facing and honest. Insights from a maker, the realities of building something from scratch, and how it actually feels.

• Making: The craft itself. Process-led, hands-on content that puts the work front and centre. Maybe some ASMR bits.

• Made: The finished product. Campaign quality images, detail shots, the kind of thing that makes you want to pick up a PREST exercise book. I’m not great at this yet.

• Mind: The thinking behind PREST. Material choices, decisions, the thought and reasoning that doesn’t always make it onto the product page.

• Mission: Anti-doomscrolling. Why creativity and making matters. School donations, arts funding, and the bigger picture behind what I’m building.

Having a framework makes it easier to plan without the blank page panic. I’m sure these will merge and change as time goes on but it already feels a bit more manageable.

🎨 New Risograph samples
The shade of blue on the Batch 001 postcards has been bothering me for a while, but Risograph colours are predefined so it's not a case of just tweaking a hex code. The printer I used originally just doesn't have the blue I'm after, so I've sourced a new printer and got some new samples in. There’s a shade I'm happy with, so I'll be sending the next postcards off for print very soon.

THE TOOLS WE FORGET TO SEE.

ART
Hugo Rocci’s paintings ask you to look properly at the things you use every day.

View

THE MATCHBOOK BOOK.

BOOK
A son inherits his father's matchbook collection. CentreCentre turns it into a book.

Read

THE COLOUR OF MONEY.

DESIGN
Why are Pantone colours so expensive? And can anything replace them?

Watch

BASKERVILLE'S PUNCHES.

CRAFT
The University of Cambridge have digitised 3,000 hand-cut steel punches behind one of history's most influential typefaces.

Discover

HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Austin Bell’s five-year quest to document every outdoor basketball court in Hong Kong.

Explore

A LITTLE LIBRARY.

CRAFT
The V&A unboxes some of the world’s tiniest books.

Watch

THE MOUNTAIN, THE MOON CAVE AND THE SAD GOD.

ANIMATION
Gorillaz unveil their new hand-drawn short film.

Enjoy

PINTS, PRAYERS AND HORSE RACING.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Martin Parr captures rural Ireland in the 1980s.

View

CURLING'S STONE ISLAND.

SPORT
Every Olympic curling stone comes from one tiny Scottish island, and you can own a piece.

Part 1 • Part 2

SMALL WORLD.

CRAFT
Michael Pederson makes tiny scenes in the cracks of everyday city streets.

Discover

PENCILS BEFORE PIXELS.

DESIGN
Matteo Di Iorio makes the case for sketching before you open any software.

Read

LOWRY SPEAKS.

ART
Ian McKellen lip-syncs to newly unearthed recordings of LS Lowry.

Watch

February's been a full one, but not always in the PREST sense. A couple of trips away to the Peak District and Belfast plus some overtime in my day job have meant things have been moving a little slower than I'd like (no change there). But slower doesn't mean stopped, and there's still plenty to report.

So, here’s what’s been in the works at PREST this month.

TLDR: Sold out. A new collaboration. Pocket-sized trials. A custom order. Pizza party.

📦 Sold out
The seconds sale for Batch 001 is done and dusted. Every last order has been posted, and I'm really pleased with how it went. It's a good feeling knowing those books have found a home rather than sitting unused in a box or going in the bin. Thanks to everyone who picked one up. I’ll be aiming for fewer seconds on the next batch.

🤝 A new collaboration
I recently met up with a local urban sketcher who's going to be illustrating the next postcard for Batch 002. I'm not ready to reveal who it is just yet, but I’m excited to see what they produce for it. One major learning from this process is that the lead times for commissions and printing are long, so it’s definitely something I'll need to get ahead of for future batches.

📘 Pocket-sized trials
I mentioned this in last month's newsletter, and I've been quietly getting on with it. I've been testing out a pocket-sized format, smaller, more portable, something you can just slip into a jacket pocket (pictured above). Still early days but it's feeling promising.

✏️ A custom order
I've been approached by an early PREST customer, @DannyTriesThings, to create some books for a new project he's starting soon. I love this kind of thing, making something specific to fit someone’s vision. I’ll be getting some materials for this ordered very soon so more details to follow as the project takes shape.

🍕 Pizza party
On a personal note, I continued my pizza-making this month by cooking for 16 people. I knew it was ambitious, and the weather did its best to make things difficult, but I do love the feeling of feeding a crowd. Admittedly the dough wasn’t the best, but it was definitely good experience. Worth every soggy minute.

SQUAT PORTRAITS.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Rediscovered portraits of 1970s East London squatters.

View

AUTO AMORE OPEN CALL.

ART
Make work on an Auto Amor board, then submit it for UK exhibitions.

Create

PRINTS. PINTS. UTOPIA.

EXHIBITION
Trackie McLeod’s reimagines the working men’s club as an art installation.

Visit

WOMAN AT WORK.

BOOK
A new monograph on the designer who shaped Britain’s road signs.

Read

TEXTILE BAKES.

TEXTILES
Lee Jimin makes toast out of delicate textiles.

Eat

DAVID’S DAILY IDEAS.

DESIGN
Hundreds of product ideas. Some practical, some weird.

Explore

OFF THE GRID.

PRINT
Alexander Endrullat turns discarded electronics into printing press plates.

View

INSIDE BEIGEL BAKE.

FOOD
Sam Youkilis celebrates East London’s historic bagel spot.

Watch

A CUT ABOVE.

ILLUSTRATION
Chloe Isteed uses collage to tell stories about everyday life.

Explore

CERAMIC STOP-MOTION.

MUSIC
Julia Fernandez animates a music video with ceramic tiles.

Enjoy

WEARABLE LEGO BRICKS.

FASHION
Crocs and LEGO create oversized brick-inspired shoes.

Wear

SHEFFIELD’S $800 SCISSORS.

CRAFT
Scissors with sharpness and longevity worth their price.

Watch

This month has been quieter on the making front whilst I settle back into full-time work after Christmas, but there’s still been plenty happening behind the scenes. I’ve been finishing up Batch 001 with our Seconds Sale, thinking about how to use some leftover materials, rearranging the studio for a smoother workflow and starting to plan for Batch 002.

So, here’s what’s been in the works at PREST this month.

TLDR: Seconds Sale nearly gone. A pocket-sized batch. Embosser issues. Studio Reshuffle. Batch 002 planning.

🧵 Seconds Sale nearly gone
Our first ever Seconds Sale went live earlier this month and is almost wrapped up. There’s only four books left now, which means Batch 001 is nearly gone for good. If you were thinking about picking one up, this is likely the last chance to own a Batch 001 book (if you don’t mind a few flaws). You can find them here:

SHOP THE SECONDS SALE

✂️ A pocket-sized batch
When making Batch 001, I started with large sheets of paper and cut them down to the final book size, which left some smaller offcut sheets. I thought at the time that they could be used to make smaller books, so I kept hold of them in case. I’ve since had a few requests for this, so it feels like a practical way to use what’s here and reduce some waste. Nothing confirmed yet, but I’m toying with the idea now that Batch 001 is coming to an end.

🛠 Embosser issues
The branded embosser has been giving me a bit of trouble because the plates became misaligned (you can see a comparison shot above). I’ve had to get a 2nd replacement sent out. It’s a bit frustrating, but hopefully 3rd time’s the charm and it’ll be back in action properly soon. The manufacturer said they’re using new glue now so it won’t happen again, but I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m just hoping it doesn’t delay the next batch too much.

🧱 Studio reshuffle (again)
I’ve spent a fair bit of time rearranging the studio again. It took way longer than expected, but I think I’ve finally landed on a layout that works with how I make. Everything has a place, and it feels more open and easier to move from one stage of making to the next, without unnecessary steps or clutter. I can access my desk from three sides now too (left image), and I’ve added pipe insulation to the ceiling beams (right image) so I don’t hurt my head every time I forget they’re there and walk into one.

📅 Batch 002 planning
I’ve started gently gearing up for Batch 002. Early stages mostly, but I’ve been planning photography and thinking about content around it. There’s a lot still to decide, but I like having a rough plan so I can hit the ground running when I do eventually start making.

PRIVATE ROOMS.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Menno Aden shows interior spaces as dollhouse-like worlds.

View

AN ILLUSTRATOR’S BEST FRIEND.

ILLUSTRATION
Clay Hickson shares how sketchbooks and pens shape his creative practice.

Watch

IN LIVING MEMORY.

COMMUNITY
Park benches become tributes to cardiovascular disease survivors.

Explore

PLAYING WITH FIRE.

EXHIBITION
A showcase of art from ceramics masters Edmund de Waal and Axel Salto.

Visit

EDIBLE OBJECTS.

FOOD
Saskia Martindale turns everyday snacks into everyday objects.

Eat

GRUFF.

ANIMATION
A film of grief and care, handmade from paper over three years.

Watch

Making things by hand means things don’t always turn out exactly as intended. So, as promised, we’ve got a few Batch 001 books available in our first ever Seconds Sale.

Some of them were trimmed unevenly, others have small scuffs on the spine from the cutting process, and a couple even have my fingerprints on them. But despite these flaws, they’re otherwise fully functional and made with the same high-quality materials as our firsts.

In fact, their imperfections make them perfect for your everyday work, rough ideas or those projects you want to start without worrying about keeping things pristine.

Over 30% off.
Limited quantity.
Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Cheers
— Callum

SHOP THE SECONDS SALE

OBJECTS FROM FRAMES.

SUSTAINABILITY
Cara Campos reworks abandoned bikes into minimalist furniture pieces.

View

STAMP-SIZED PAPER WORLDS.

CRAFT
Laura K Sayers makes tiny paper collages in stamp form.

Discover

TYPOGRAPHY AS ART.

EXHIBITION
Harland Miller’s graphic paintings at the Design Museum.

Visit

NEW YORK LIVES.

ANIMATION
Felix Dechant turns ordinary stories into moving moments.

Watch

MANCHESTER OPEN 2026.

ART
Open call for HOME’s exhibition of Greater Manchester creatives.

Apply

TERRY FACEY’S TINY FURNITURE.

MAKER
Handcrafting a 1674 marquetry table in miniature.

Watch

I know I usually send In The Works out on the last Sunday of the month, but somewhere between Christmas dinner and too many chocolates, I lost track of the days… I’m sure I’m not the only one. So rather than a what’s-been-happening update, I wanted to use this email to wrap up the year and say thanks for supporting me and my silly little stationery brand.

📅 This year
This year has been about laying foundations. Spending time thinking deeply about why PREST exists, what it should stand for and how it can gently encourage you to start new things, or simply spend a little more time away from your phone. A lot of the work hasn’t been loud or particularly visible. It’s been slow thinking, testing ideas, seeing what feels right and what doesn’t. One of the highlights was obviously launching the first ever batch of notebooks. Seeing those first notebooks go out and reach people felt like a real milestone. It might have been small in scale, but it was massive in meaning.

🏷️ Sample sale
Looking ahead to the start of the new year, there’ll be a small sample sale coming up. I’ll be offering a limited number of notebooks with minor flaws at a discounted price. Nothing that affects how they’re used, just small imperfections that mean they can’t be sold as full-price stock. I’ll share more details soon but as an email subscriber, you’ll be the first to know. Keep your eyes peeled.

🙏 Thank you
Thanks for following along this year, for reading, replying, sharing, making time to make things, or simply keeping PREST in the back of your mind. Whether you bought a notebook, followed along quietly or just enjoyed seeing a business get built, it genuinely means a lot. We’ve also just reached 500 subscribers to this newsletter which feels pretty significant. Thanks again for being here, and for making this feel worth building.

For now, I hope the space between Christmas and the New Year has been treating you kindly. I hope you’re finding time to rest, reflect and maybe scribble a few thoughts about what you’d like to make next year. Let’s make 2026 the year of analogue.

Callum
PREST

READ THE SMALL PRINT.

EXHIBITION
Over 100 miniature books on display at London’s Tenderbooks.

Visit

ILLUMINATING STORIES.

CRAFT
Hari & Deepti conjure magical narratives with illuminated paper sculptures.

Discover

GRIME THROUGH THE LENS.

PHOTOGRAPHY
A 20-year visual journey through the UK grime scene.

Read

MAKER MURAL.

ART
New mural celebrates Stockport’s local makers and heritage crafts.

Discover

THIS IS A LOVE PROTEST.

COMMUNITY
A UK-wide street gallery spanning 11 cities, highlighting love as a force for change.

View

INSIDE DIXONBAXI.

DESIGN
Peek behind the scenes at one of the world’s top design studios.

Watch

OUT OF WORDS.

TECH
Most games are built from code. This one’s made from clay, fabric and glue.

Play

FIELD TO FLEECE.

FASHION
The making of a work sweater, spun from scratch.

Watch

NO SCREENS. JUST KNOWLEDGE.

SUSTAINABILITY
An illustrated guide to rebuilding civilisation… just in case.

Read

3 YEARS AND 11,000 DRAWINGS LATER.

ANIMATION
A hand-drawn short film from the director of Brother Bear.

Watch

WORLD’S BIGGEST (WAX) MELTS.

CRAFT
Handcrafted candles that’ll probably piss your dad off.

Enjoy

STOP SKIPPING SONGS.

WELLBEING
Convenience is killing boredom, connection and discovery.

Listen