Issue 3

Foreword: By Nick Sullivan
In the Details: Aera And Moo Printers On Material Craft
Featured: Fashion Designer Oliver Spencer On The Power Of Print Magazines
Showcase: Artist Sarah Z. Short
Last Word: By Nick Sullivan

The irony is not lost on us...but this digital edition of the Aera Journal celebrates the analogue joys of paper in all its forms. We may see paper as a rather basic invention in the digital age, but it was an innovation that lasted nearly 2000 years without competition. While humans have been writing on things – from tablets to slate to parchment and papyrus for many thousands of years, paper, as we know it, dates to 105 AD, when Ts’ai Lun, an official in the Chinese court, perfected paper made from mulberry bark, hemp fibres and rags. In so doing, Ts’ai created a powerful revolution in communication and the spread of knowledge. It was a pivotal moment for humanity. Paper is still with us, of course, but in the modern maelstrom of digitised culture, it has become, increasingly, an analogue luxury, a place to do special, creative and meaningful things, just like Aera’s mechanical wristwatches.
Yard-O-Led’s Grand Victorian Fountain Pen in one of its longest running and most popular writing instruments. The pattern is chased by hand, without using a stencil, by Yard-O-Led’s master silversmiths. The in-house team of artisans are able to recognise each other’s chasing work, in the same way a person’s handwriting would be familiar to those close to them. Each pen comes with a lifetime guarantee, and when a pen returns to the Yard-O-Led workshop for servicing the team is able to identify whose chasing
Yard-O-Led’s Grand Victorian Fountain Pen in one of its longest running and most popular writing instruments. The pattern is chased by hand, without using a stencil, by Yard-O-Led’s master silversmiths. The in-house team of artisans are able to recognise each other’s chasing work, in the same way a person’s handwriting would be familiar to those close to them. Each pen comes with a lifetime guarantee, and when a pen returns to the Yard-O-Led workshop for servicing the team is able to identify whose chasing

The Last Word

The art of putting pen to paper is an act of humanity. There remains no more elegant way to communicate in the age of digital communication than investing your mind and emotions in committing your thoughts creatively, thoughtfully, to paper with a finely crafted fountain pen. The fountain pen was perfected in the first years of the 20th century by brands like Germans Montblanc and British makers of sterling silver writing instruments Yard-O-Led, chiefly by engineering, through capillary action, a consistent flow of ink through the nib. It was a small revolution, and the fountain pen quickly became a talisman of status, a tool as vital in the working day as a well-made wristwatch. Arguably today, in the era of the DM and the Text, taking time to compose your thoughts and express them on paper elegantly, personally, is a rare luxury and a meaningful use of time. On occasions it’s one that’s well worth the commitment. Whenever you wish to make a lasting impression, from penning love letters to signing peace treaties, a fine pen will always add that memorable extra flourish.