Artist Bio
Cameron Short & Janet Tristram, known as Bonfield Block-Printers, are based in West Dorset. Their workshop is a place where rural history finds form in printed cloth, and time slows to the rhythm of the hand. Each piece they make — from upholstered heirloom chairs to theatrical coats stitched with symbolism — holds the quiet power of enchantment.
Their practice is as much ritual as it is craft — drawing from rural history, ancient satire and the half-light of English myth. Their imagery is pastoral, yes, but never sentimental. Shadows fall across their fields; there is mischief in the hedgerows. Bonfield’s prints echo the energy of old woodcuts, where satire, protest and poetry once lived side by side. Block-printing, in their hands, becomes a kind of spellcraft. A political act. A love letter to the land and all its layered stories.
Statement
Our work — be it a block-printed coat, bag, chair or framed remnant — is rooted in the life of the countryside; a place facing a host of new challenges in the C21st: nature depletion and biodiversity loss, surging homelessness and digital exclusion to name but a few.
Country people have always faced hardships, and although much has changed, symmetry between past and present does exist. Our ‘Poacher’s Coat’, for instance, celebrates the rural antihero who once haunted the fields and woods. Although not as common as he was 100 years ago, he is making an unsurprising comeback due to the cost of living crisis.
Our ‘Lost’ prints, ‘Thimble’ and ‘Talisman’, speak of a time when because people owned less, their belongings meant more. There is, intentionally, a subtext to the work, gently nudging the conscience in our throwaway age. You may hear it whispering: “You’re lucky to have what you have today. The least you could do is look after it.”
Our practice is rooted in storytelling, slowness and sustainability.
In the Workshop
‘Block-printing, in their hands, becomes a kind of spellcraft. A political act. A love letter to the land and all its layered stories.’
Works Available
For enquiries email [email protected]
01
‘Thimble’
Block-printed antique textile — framed
The tale of Beulah Dye’s lost thimble, block-printed on a laundered, early C20th postal sack. Features include recessed patches and rustic stitchery. The work floats within a simple, handmade, glazed frame, accompanied by a backstory concocted by us.
£2,000
85cm × 104cm
02
‘Talisman’
Block-printed antique textile — framed
The tale of Digory Isbell’s lost talisman, block-printed on a laundered, early C20th postal sack. Features include patches and rustic stitchery. The work floats within a simple, handmade, glazed frame, accompanied by a backstory concocted by us.
£2,000
85cm × 104cm
03
‘After Albert’ Wingback
Antique chair — plant-dyed, block-printed textile
Georgian wingback in plant-dyed, block-printed 1800s hemp, dyed with madder and alkanet. Lovingly restored from the frame up using only traditional methods and materials.
£9,415
70cm × 53cm × 106cm
04
‘Poacher’s Coat’
Block-printed coat — wool & linen, one-size
Naturally-dyed wool & linen (90% wool, 10% linen) in black. Irish linen lining in tobacco with block-printed hare, pheasant and eel. Entirely handmade in rural England.
£2,350
One-size (8–16)
05
‘Lost Bag’ — VI of XIV, Series III
Artisanal bag — naturally-dyed, block-printed antique textile
Constructed from robust 1800s hemp naturally-dyed with walnut husks, cut in an unusual ogee shape. Block-printed with the story of Silas Bone’s lost clay pipe. Lined in Irish linen with antique leather shoulder strap repurposed from equestrian tack.
£1,665
42cm × 49cm × 8cm
06
‘Lost Bag’ — V of V, Series III
Artisanal bag — block-printed antique textile
Made from C19th hemp, natural in colour and gently patinated. Block-printed with the story of Digory Isbell’s lost talisman. Enhanced by original stencilling with a striking rebus talisman inscribed: ‘Fear Not, My Son’.
£1,665
41cm × 51cm × 8cm
