About
Independent Fine Art Atelier, Publisher & Educator
Dekkle was founded in 2008 by artists David and Louisa Borrington as an independent fine art print atelier dedicated to traditional print craft, digital-to-analogue translation, and unhurried workshop practice. Grounded in the Atelier system, we offer a dedicated creative environment where artists—from emerging practitioners to master printmakers—can explore and execute work thought impossible in standard commercial studios.
Origins & Atelier Philosophy
Grounded in the Royal College of Art printmaking lineage, Dekkle operates on individualised, focused collaboration.
- Founding Heritage: Established in 2008 following David’s graduation from the Royal College of Art, London (MA Fine Art Printmaking), learning under Professor Chris Orr RA and lead technician Alan Smith.
- The Atelier System: Working on the principle of creative immersion, the workshop fosters an environment where technical plate-making and artistic intent develop side by side.
- Bridging Centuries: Our digital-to-analogue ethos allows artists working in modern media to translate digital marks, photographs, and drawings into the rich physical language of 19th-century copper, stone, and relief printing.
- Two Perspectives: The studio unites David’s technical precision in traditional plate-making and editioning with Louisa’s background as Head of Art and Design, working across anachronistic imagery, ephemera, and collage printmaking.
Facilities & Traditional Presswork
Built around rare, heavy-cast machinery from the 19th and early 20th centuries, the workshop provides an uncompromised production environment.
- Historic Press Suite: Houses an 1890 Albion relief platen press, an E. Clair French rolling press for intaglio, and an imperial-scale lithography press.
- Intaglio & Stone Lithography: Dedicated stations for hand-bitten copper and zinc etching, heated rosin-box aquatinting, and hand-grained Bavarian limestone matrices.
- Relief, Letterpress & Polymer: Precision relief matrices and continuous-tone photopolymer plates engineered for crisp bite and deep tonal range.
- Archival Editioning: Contract printing pulled exclusively on heavy mould-made cotton rag papers using bespoke oil-based inks.