Make Well

‘“Modern life moves too fast.” People keep telling us that. But at Hole & Corner we’re dedicated to proving it doesn’t have to be that way. Not if you take the time to appreciate life.’

So began the editor’s letter in issue one of Hole & Corner in May 2013. The philosophy of taking the time to appreciate what’s important remains the same 10 years on. 

To celebrate our 10th anniversary, Hole & Corner has produced a 316-page book featuring some of the makers, entrepreneurs, artisans, crafters and grafters whose stories we have told since we launched in 2013. We are taking a moment to step back, reflect and revisit some of our favourite images to bring together a compendium of the past 23 issues of the magazine. 

The Hole & Corner story began when founder and creative director Sam Walton moved from London to Dorset in 2010. It marked a move away from the fast and furious world of fashion and celebrity-fuelled communications to a slower, gentler pace of life. Along with founding editor Mark Hooper – who had also recently moved out of the city – Sam set out to make a beautiful magazine, using the same A-list writers and photographers, but replacing the models and celebrities with cheese makers, gardeners, glass makers, potters, and a different landscape altogether: one filled with campfires, willow trees, brooms, hedges and remote coastlines.

It’s been a challenge keeping Hole & Corner afloat at times over the past decade but, as an independent publisher, we think it’s more important than ever to tell the stories of dedication from our rich and diverse community. Make Well  – the title of the book and the name we’ve given our maker events and festivals – is a call to arms as much a celebration of what we, and everyone we’ve featured over the years, have achieved. It’s about connecting mind and matter, being present, finding the flow and providing a moment to take stock. This we do with the series of three prescient conversations focusing on the fundamental aspects of landscape, materials and community, specially commissioned for the book. The images and quotes from the stories we have selected still pique our curiosity and resonate. And we introduce 32 more makers sharing their own particular hole-and-corners.

Now more than ever we need the time to appreciate the good things. We hope you find this book – filled as it is with people, ideas, craftsmanship and visual treats – will inspire you, and make you stop and linger, for a moment at least.