Merry Christmas Everyone!

Thank you to everyone we have worked with and supported us this year...

Wishing you all health, wealth and happiness

Christmas Night Out New Zealand Style!

Thank you Tony for organising this and thank you to all our wonderful staff and volunteers... you are amazing!

Switched On Sunday, 12 December 2010

A fantastic event involving the whole community, there was shopping, events, activities and the Switching On of the 'Best Lights in the Borders'! What a day!

Get Crafty for Christmas, 28 November 2010

Children of all ages came to make cards, wrapping paper and gift bags... well done Rachel!

Shopping After Dark, 26 November 2010

We held a very successful late night shopping event, thank you to everyone who supported us and to Mr Harrison for his exceedingly good home made mince pies!

pARTicipate in Print, 6 November 2010

The third of our workshops brought us back to the Printing Works for a day of getting hands on with Letterpress. This workshop allowed participants to get more involved with type, beyond our standard tour. It was a hugely over subscribed so we shall be doing it again!

pARTicipate Book

Leaf Printing, 29 October 2010

Thank you Susan, Scottish Borders Ranger and Rachel... well done everyone!

Master Printer

Beeson Fish

pARTicipate in Books

Wow, what a day!
Well done everyone and thank you Isabelle... inspiring as always! I will endeavour to get photos here over next couple of days...

luddite fingers crossed...

pARTicipate in paper... what fun

Thank you Joanne for delivering us such a wonderful workshop... most fun I have had in ages! Well done all the participants for making it such an enjoyable day. Please let us know what you would like to do it the future!

Can't wait to turn the paper into books with Isabelle next Saturday.

pARTicipate in Paper

Above a couch of paper is forming, Below: more ingredients are added.

Above: Joanne adds more ingredients to the pulp mix (strands of ribbon).

Below: The water flows.

Above: Rachel scooping pulp with mould and decal.

Above: Gen gathering neri for thickening paper pulp solution to slow down the flow of paper solution through the mould.

Artist Joanne B Kaar gave a paper making workshop today, for the National Trust of Scotland as part of the pARTicipate workshops at Robert Smail's print works. The workshop participants were treated to demonstrations on how to make paper from linen and then add ingredients such as colour, fabrics and natural materials. It was a great opportunity for people to learn a traditional skill that they can then practice at home or college. Hopefully many of the papers made will be made into books at next weeks, 'pARTicipate in books' workshop.

Robert Smail and Sons

Robert Smail and Sons in Innerleithen, Scotland, was entrusted to the National Trust for Scotland in 1986, after 120 years of trading.
Smail's is now the last fully functioning Victorian letterpress print works left in Scotland, an industrial time capsule, it is a precious remnant of our history, a vital working example of how printing used to be done before the advent of computers.
Robert Smail's print works hails from a time when most small towns and villages would have had their own print works to meet all the communities publishing needs, it is a key part of the history of the printed word in Scotland.