YOU CRAFTY THING: NAVIGATING THE GLOBE WITH JONATHAN WRIGHT
Penhaligon’s asked globemaker extraordinaire Jonathan Wright to create a bespoke globe in celebration of the fragrant world of Penhaligon’s perfumery.
As perhaps Britain’s most esteemed fragrance house, Penhaligon’s can’t help but champion the artistry of Britain’s bright young things, especially those with unusual or eccentric crafts. Indeed, our latest foray into the world of British craftsmanship has seen us dip our toes into nautical navigation and botanical illustration. We commissioned Jonathan Wright, globemaker extraordinaire, to create a bespoke globe inspired by the wondrous world of Penhaligon's perfumery.
The Globemaker
Jonathan Wright is a master globemaker who specialises in the conservation and creation of bespoke globes. Working under the tutelage of Bellerby & Co. Globemakers for eight years, Wright mastered the art of restoration of historic globes, as well as developing his cartography skills to create new ones. Now, Wright has now opened his own business and continues to hone his craft, while training a new generation of makers and cartographers. He also studied at the Queen Elizabeth Scholar Trust (QEST),a charity dedicated to supporting excellence in British craftsmanship, where he is also an Alumni Trustee.
The Globe
Penhaligon’s approached Wright to create a globe inspired the fragrant offerings of botanical ingredients from far-flung destinations that have wound up in many of Penhaligon's decadent scents. The globe mimics a celestial globe, a map of the stars that sailors would use in centuries gone to navigate the seas, using the constellations in the sky to determine their position. The initial illustrations depicted botanical elements found fragrances such as Halfeti and Penhaligon’s AlUla, but Wright expanded this to include ingredients used in our Trade Routes collection and the wider world of perfumery. There are also some spectacular nods to Penhaligon’s heritage, including a constellation of our very own William Penhaligon – and can one spot the hot-air balloon, too?
The Process
Wright started the globe by mapping out sixty-six major constellations that can be seen from Earth, then hand-drew botanic illustrations that followed their shape to create a bespoke astrological map. These were scanned into a cartography program and digitally altered to mimic the shape of a globe. Once printed, the sections are carefully sliced and glued onto a blank sphere, made from two domed moulds.
Wright then added layers and layers of watercolour paint to the illustrations to create a vintage effect, before varnishing the globe with a matte finish and presenting it in a customer globe stand.
The finished product is rather, ahem, out of this world, if we do say so ourselves. One can take a peek at the very first in Penhaligon's You Crafty Thing series with our globemaker extraordinaire here:
Further Reading
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