Tell us a bit about Little Enn
My name is Nastasha Boyce and I’m a Cambridgeshire based printmaker working mainly with linocut, monoprint and collage. Little Enn is the name of my company which was born out of lockdown, a time that allowed me the opportunity to revisit the skills I learned in the print studios during my Fine Art degree, and apply those skills to creating bold and brightly coloured paper products, such as greetings cards and gift wrap. I also run regular workshops where I get to share the joys of printmaking and watch over the participants as they peel away their first prints, grinning from ear to ear!
Tell us more about your studio and ways of working
A lot of my inspiration comes from museums and art galleries. I love thinking about how to transform collections of interesting objects and artefacts into products that people can take home with them. I start by sketching sculptures, ceramics and everything inbetween, focusing on objects that have an intriguing shape or pattern, before considering how to turn those sketches into linocut prints.
The process of printmaking is incredibly rewarding, from the intricacies of carving the lino to the immediacy of pulling a successful print and seeing your design come to life. Even the waste products of printmaking can be put to good use and I’ll often monoprint repeat patterns with the dregs of ink left on the plate and use these later to create collages, or I’ll save all of my offcuts and unsuccessful prints to be used for paper weaving and scrapbooking.
What inspired your range in the Kettle’s Yard Shop?
The recipe journal and jar labels were inspired by the medlar tree found in the Kettle’s Yard cottage garden, a talking point for visitors who recognise the strange lesser-known fruit. Sabrina, one of the longest-serving Visitor Assistants at Kettle’s Yard harvests the fruit each year and watches over them tentatively, waiting for the precise moment their ripeness peaks, before boiling, straining and containing as many jars of medlar jelly as possible. These jars find their way onto the desks of Kettle’s Yard staff, ready to be taken home and shared with family and friends over the Christmas period.
I wanted to create a product that honoured this annual Kettle’s Yard tradition and encourages the idea of seasonal-eating and connecting with each other over food, much like the “tea and toast” gatherings that Jim and Helen Ede would host. Sabrina’s instructions for making Medlar Jelly can be found on the first page of the recipe journal. Recreating her hand-scribbled, much loved recipe into something that can be shared and celebrated, was one of my favourite parts of the project.
Over the past year or so, I’ve become increasingly inspired by vintage packaging design and exploring how the traditional methods of printmaking can be used to create functional objects, whilst adding a nostalgic handprinted feel. So far, I’ve constructed gift boxes with intricate folding mechanisms, seed packets for when the garden dies down in autumn and more recently, the jar labels which accompany the recipe book. I hope the labels will encourage others to re-use their old, empty containers for storing homemade jams and jellies and to share them with loved ones.
Why did you want to collaborate with us?
To me, the Kettle’s Yard house is about far more than the objects and artworks found within and just as much about the storytelling, friendships and traditions that the Ede’s nurtured during their time there. It’s about thinking of new ways of living and connecting with the people and places around you. It was a real joy to collaborate with Kettle’s Yard on products that inspire others to live more sustainably, to take note of nature and to share what they’ve created with friends and family.
If you had to buy yourself a gift from the Kettle’s Yard shop, what would you choose?
I drink a lot of coffee so it would be very difficult to resist a David Stonehouse Breakfast Mug. I love what David Stonehouse says about his own work, that he’s “looking to create objects that draw the user in to savour the moment while performing daily rituals…”
In keeping with Jim and Helen Ede’s ethos of “living with art” and David’s statement, I would have to use it as my “every day mug” with all of my other mugs pushed to the back of the cupboard!
Shop Little Enn
Little Enn
Designed exclusively for Kettle’s Yard, browse Little Enn’s Kettle’s Yard range of jar labels, recipe book, hanging lemon decoration and greetings cards.
