Place in Print is a UK-based design studio and online store specialising in location art and travel posters. Our illustrations are created in-house as well as through collaborations with some of the country's leading illustrators.

Founded by Ed in 2013, Place in Print is a family-run business that works hard to bring its customers affordable and attractive products that celebrate the places we all love.

We specialise in the production of fine art prints celebrating interesting and sometimes unusual landmarks throughout the UK. Nearly all of our prints are fine art giclée prints. Giclée is a high quality printing process which combines pigment inks with archival paper to create bright prints which don't fade.

History

I've always loved art and design. At school I studied art at GCSE level, and nearly A-Level too (until my art teacher convinced me not to bother!). Fast forward a few years and at university I studied Urban Design (a bit like architecture, only for the spaces in between buildings!). That led to a few years working professionally as an Urban Designer, and developing an appreciation for the buildings, streets and landscapes that surround us.

It was while working as an Urban Designer that I met my friend Martin. While we were both living in Forest Hill, South London, we hit upon the idea of creating some illustrations that featured local neighbourhood landmarks, using some of the design skills that we'd developed at work. After a bit of market research, we pitched up at a local farmer's market in Herne Hill with about five or six different designs for sale as art prints under the name South London Prints.

From that very first market, we knew that we were on to something. We quickly went away and worked on some more designs and started going back to the market every week or two. Soon enough we started venturing out to other local events and seeing similar success there.

An early South London Prints stall at Brixton Market

Within a few months we had signed the contract to take on our first studio space - a shared unit between Brixton and Tulse Hill. We hosted a great launch party (champagne and everything!) and started to take things a bit more seriously.

The South London Prints launch party! Me on the left, Martin on the right.

By this time I had left the security of my full time job and was juggling some freelance Urban Design and web design gigs with the fledgling print business. Unfortunately Martin wasn't in a position to take the leap into self-employment with me, so I took hold of the reins.

WIth a new business name, now Place in Print, I moved into a new studio closer to home on Havelock Walk in Forest Hill. My first studio there was mostly underground (the previous occupant had been growing illegal substances down there - only rumbled when the smells in the drains raised the neighbours' eyebrows!) but was a bargain considering the space I now had.

First Place in Print studio at Havelock Walk Open Studios

I started reaching out to potential collaborators, and met my longest standing partner in crime Paul Pateman (a.k.a. Pâté). He began working on his 'neighbourhood pun' collection which would become an important backbone to our print collection.

The number of designs continued to grow, as did the number of events I was attending. In 2016 I took on my first employee, Nancy, who introduced me to the world of Instagram and decent product photography! We started to take on some corporate commissions, developing lamppost banner designs for a number of London neighbourhoods, alongside private commissions for individual customers.

In 2018 my wife and I made the decision to leave London and raise our daughter in the countryside. We bought a lovely house in Shropshire, where I now have a studio and workshop in what was once the working kitchen and servant's quarters (that sounds a little grander than it actually is!). While I'm no longer in London on a day-to-day basis, I'm still very much a Londoner at heart, and am back regularly for markets and to see stockists.

Exterior of the current studio in Shropshire.

Today, I continue to expand the Place in Print collection through in-house designs created by myself and some talented freelance designers. I also continue to collaborate with other illustrators on exclusive collections in complementary design styles. While the majority of the business is via our website and Etsy shop, we still have a number of wholesale stockists and take part in numerous fairs and events during the year.

Eight years on and still going strong. I'm going to continue to develop exciting new designs to help my customers celebrate the places they love the most.

Thanks very much to everyone that has placed an order with us over the years. It's amazing that a business can grow from just a simple idea, but it wouldn't have ever got there without your trust, appreciation and support!

Ed

Me with my daughter at her first Place in Print market!