Made in England
Global Britain, as described by Richard Ginger
AS one of the few remaining artisan globemakers in the world, the catalyst for Peter Bellerby’s business was an approaching landmark birthday for his father and the desire to present him with a traditional globe.
“I wanted to find a gift for my father’s 80th birthday. The options were either poor replicas or priceless antiques. It seemed the tradition of globe-making was gone. I decided to go about making my own – thinking I would make one for my father and one for myself and that would be it.”
However, like most well-crafted objects that appear sublimely simple in their design, he soon found that appearances can be deceptive. The arcane art of constructing a smooth and perfectly formed sphere proved no simple task. There was also nowhere to turn to for tuition or advice.
“There is no manual to learn to make globes. I taught myself and learned by trial and error. After two years of teaching myself and hundreds of globes that were not good enough, and after nearly bankrupting myself, a business was born. I’m still learning new things ten years on.”
With such a multi-disciplined craft, there’s plenty to learn. Each element of the process, from cartography and goring, to watercolours and carpentry, takes time to master. And as Peter’s business grew, success brought with it the new challenge of finding the right people with the necessary skills or aptitude to take on such exacting tasks. Today, his workshop currently has over 20 people working on the globes, from makers, painters and woodworkers to metal workers, illustrators and engravers.
“I give them advice but they also need to train their hands, which can only be done by trial and error, and doing the same movements hundreds of times. Some people spend months trying and never make a globe to the quality we expect – you can’t train patience or an eye for detail – so we have to see someone work, how they tackle challenges and use their hands, and help to mould them from there.”
It’s a practice that takes preternatural patience, a steady hand and a highly precise attention to detail throughout every stage of construction. As the majority of Bellerby & Co’s globes are bespoke and made to the unique demands of customers, it’s also a collaborative approach. “We work with each customer to help them design their globe as they’d like it. This can sometimes be a process over months or even years.”
When the design is finally agreed upon, two half moulds (made by Formula 1 fabricators due to the exacting demands of tolerance) are produced to create a millimetreprecise sphere, and the surface map is edited and personalised depending on customer preferences. It is then printed on paper and cut up by hand into precise shapes, rather like elongated leaves, called gores.
“The gores are painted by hand using watercolours, which gives a unique result for each globe.”
Once dried, next comes the painstaking operation of attaching them to the globe, which is called “goring the globe”.
“This stage is very precise work and very difficult because you’re wetting the paper and stretching it. Wet paper, as you can imagine, is very fragile and wants to rip, ripple, bubble or tear. If you work with one piece for too long it will naturally degrade. At the end, all your pieces need to match up perfectly. One fraction of a millimetre off with one gore and you will have big issues once you lay that last strip.”
When each of the gores has been expertly applied, many more layers and further details in watercolour are added by hand to the surface of the globe before it’s finally sealed with a hard-wearing gloss or matte finish.
It’s then placed on its unique base.
“We make a variety of traditional and modern wooden bases of our own design, which are fully handcrafted and stained to the customer’s preferences.” Next, after a final quality control check it’s carefully packaged in a bespoke “flight case” or crate and shipped off to its new home.
The entire endeavour, from the point of order to eventual dispatch, can take anything from between a few weeks to six months depending on the size and detail of the globe and its base. In an impatient and increasingly demanding age accustomed to instant gratification, Peter’s business could seem something of an anomaly, but he believes his customers appreciate that good things are worth the wait.
“Think of the difference between a hand-painted work of art and something digitally designed and printed off the computer. Something made by hand passes through at least five sets of hands, so is not only one of a kind, but a huge amount of love, thought and care has gone into it.”
It’s an approach that also gives each customer the opportunity to choose every one of the finer details of their individual globe, adding all manner of personal touches that pertain to their own experiences and travels.
“We keep a lot private, as you can imagine. It’s always interesting to see the ideas that clients come up with, such as favourite memories from their travels, or their family history of movement around the world.”
He cites examples of one customer who proposed with a globe instead of a ring, and another with well over 100 illustrations. “We had a band who has been touring for 40 years, tracing every travel route they had taken from their hometown to around the world. We’ve had commissions from heads of state, secretive organisations, Hollywood actors; all sorts, so it’s been fun.”
Of course, such commissions don’t come cheap, with the company’s smaller desk globes, measuring 36cm across, costing over the £1,000-mark; while their larger globes, measuring some 127cm, will set you back many more thousands. However, such is the demand that they send them out to a truly global customer base.
“We have shipped to Papeete in French Polynesia, throughout South America, Asia, Africa, North America, Canada and Europe. Our last three globes we shipped were all large, one to the Philippines, one to Zimbabwe and one to Cambodia.”
In an age of Google Earth and a plethora of digital apps driven by satellite technology, how does Peter explain the enduring appeal of his products?
“Google Earth is to get you from A to B, something on your phone or computer. It will never inspire you or be an object of beauty. You would not use a globe to find a shop down the street, of course. A globe will inspire you to look up a place in more detail and it’s something handmade and hand painted – one of a kind that you can pass down to future generations.”
He also believes that the skilled craftsmanship is recognised for its value in a world of mass-production and in-built obsolescence. “People these days want fewer items and items with meaning. Items where they know the background and story of who is making it, how they are making it and why.”
It offers Peter the satisfaction of building a unique business that, while he increasingly has to focus on such elements as managing, training and accounting, is highly rewarding in countless ways.
“I love that I can employ local artists in London and train people in an art and skill that is at risk of being lost. I thought I would always have a very small business, making a few globes a month at most, but it’s been wonderful to see the interest in our company and how we’ve grown as a result.”
It’s clear that he’s a man with the whole world in his hands.
RICHARD GINGER Bellerby & Co, 7 Bouverie Mews, Stoke Newington, N16 0AE. bellerbyandco.com