I find talking about myself uncomfortable. But I did need to step out of my workshop, my happy place, to show you a little of the person behind the business.

A long time ago I Attended the Bournville Collage of Art and then did a Degree in Industrial Design Engineering. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make any use it because of a recession at the time. Until recently, I was a Heavy Goods Driver for a steel haulage company in the Black Country. But I came to a point in my life when doing the thing that I wanted to do became more important than a stable job.

I have artistic talent, design skills and a love of technology. Additionally, I have a perception that seems to be unusual. I see the connections between these things and innovative way that those connections be used.

The maps I produce are an example of these connections. I see the artistic merit in certain areas of a map. The design of the maps is altered and modified for clarity. I choose areas that have cultural significance. Customers choose an area the has emotional or personal significance to them. Corporate clients see a means to express the history and legacy of their company. And last, I have over time developed a very specialised skill set to recreate those maps in something that is durable, that can be touched, that is a tangible permanent object.

It has become accepted wisdom lately to say that the English do not have a culture. Or if we do then it is something trivial like fish and chips or waiting in queues. But that is not at all true. I won’t define what our culture is as others have done that better. What I found is the history of the places we live in, how they became the way they are. When I go back in time through the old maps I see how this land has changed over time. This is evidence of our rich history, our culture and I do not wish to see fade away.

When I show these old maps, memories mostly forgotten coming flooding back. Stories come back to life. Old friend’s names come back to them. I have found this most of all in older people not given to conversation, they become animated as dozens of memory triggers go off. That is just a joy to experience. This is evidence of our culture I do not wish to see it fade away.

That is why I do this. The most gratifying thing I have seen is a map I gave to a grandparent when a grandchild was present. I witnessed those memories, that culture passed on. To pass those memories on is important I don’t know exactly how to express why it is important, but I know that it is.

My next challenge is finding a way to show people that I have this service… so onwards.