Domus is an architecture and design magazine founded in 1928 by architect Gio Ponti and Barnabite father Giovanni Semeria. Published by Editoriale Domus in Rozzano, Milan.
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The world in their hands. Inside the London atelier of Bellerby and Co, where exclusive globes are created
The world in their hands. In the London atelier of Bellerby and Co, where exclusive globes are created text by | text by Andrea Bertuzzi
> At Bellerby and Co Globemakers up to 30 people work every day, including painters, woodworkers, metalworkers, engravers and illustrators.
> Every day, up to 30 people work at Bellerby and Co Globemakers, including painters, woodworkers, metal workers, engravers and illustrators.
^ Customers can choose every detail of color and base, with a high level of customization, to create something they want just for them.
^ Customers can choose every detail, from the color to the base, with
a high level of customization, to create something they want just for them.
^ Photo by Guido Bollino / Bellerby and Co Globemakers
“It’s a hobby that got out of control.” Peter Bellerby, a former child who would take apart every object he could get his hands on to figure out how it was made, tells how he started making handmade terrestrial and celestial globes. “I was looking for a globe to give my father for his 80th birthday, but all I could find were antique globes, which were too expensive, or the industrial ones used by students. So I decided to make one.”
Since then, in 2008, Bellerby and Co Globemakers have been creating exclusive globes, with a very high level of customisation. Globes of different sizes and in various stages of production are scattered throughout the charming London atelier, under the watchful eye of the freshly painted maps, hung out to dry. “There are so many skills to learn to become a globemaker (cartography, sphere-making, gilding, watercolouring, woodworking, metalworking, engineering). There is no manual and
“A hobby that got out of control”. Peter Bellerby, who as a child would take apart every object he could get his hands on to figure out how it was made, talks about how he started creating handmade terrestrial and celestial globes. “I was looking for a globe to give my father for his 80th birthday, but I could only find antique globes, which were too expensive, or the industrial ones used by students. So, I decided to make one.”
Since then, in 2008, Bellerby and Co Globemakers have been creating one-of-a-kind, highly personalized globes. Globes of different sizes and in various stages of comple- tion dot the enchanting London atelier, under the watchful eye of freshly painted maps hanging out to dry. “There are so many skills to learn to become a globemaker (cartog- raphy, sphere-making, gilding, watercoloring, woodworking,
^ Peter Bellerby fondò l’azienda nel 2008 dopo inutili ricerche per acquistare un mappamondo come regalo per l’80° compleanno del padre. Avendo cercato invano un globo scelse di costruirlo con le proprie mani.
non c’è un posto dove im-
parare; io l’ho fatto da solo,
attraverso tentativi ed errori.
Dopo oltre 15 anni sto an-
cora imparando cose nuo-
ve», spiega Peter Bellerby.
Per i giovani apprendisti
che arrivano da ogni parte
del mondo, ci vuole almeno un anno per iniziare a padro- neggiare quest’arte sugli esemplari più piccoli. «Si lavora su una sfera, che presenta sempre sfide enormi. E si lavora con una carta incredibilmente fragile che va bagnata e stesa sulla sfera stessa, facendo attenzione a non sovrapporla, strappar- la, incresparla o formare bolle. Alla fine tutti i pezzi devono combaciare perfettamente». È indispensabile creare una sfera perfetta, utilizzando due semistampi. Poi, si modifica la mappa, poiché ogni oggetto è realizzato su ordinazione, aggiornando regolarmente la cartografia e personalizzandola in base alle preferenze del committente. «Lavoriamo a fianco del clien- te per aiutarlo a progettare il suo mappamondo esattamente come lo desidera, un processo che a volte può durare mesi o addirittura anni», rivela Peter. «Grazie ai mappamondi che ci hanno commissionato, siamo venuti a conoscenza di storie degne di romanzi, racconti di migrazione familiare, viaggi di scoperte ed esplorazione sulla Terra, in mare e nello spazio. Il tutto raccontato attraverso la mappa. Ci sono clienti che ci hanno fatto piangere per le informazioni che hanno voluto condividere. C’è persino chi ha affidato una proposta di ma- trimonio a uno dei nostri globi!».
Il processo di lavorazione artigianale è tanto laborioso quanto affascinante. Innanzitutto vengono tagliate le strisce (“gore”) ‒ la prima passata di colore avviene in piano ‒ poi vengono bagnate e stese sulla sfera. Una volta asciutti, i globi tornano ai pittori, che eseguono le ombreggiature e dipingono –
– metalworking, engineering). There is no manual and no place to learn; I did it myself, through trial and error. After more than 15 years I am still learning new things,” explains Peter Bellerby. For young apprentices from all over the world, it takes at least a year to begin to master the art of making even the smallest size. “You are working on a sphere, which always presents huge challenges. And you work with incredibly fragile paper that has to be wet and stretched over the sphere itself, taking care not to overlap, tear, crease or bubble it. In the end, all the pieces have to fit together perfectly.”
You have to create a perfect sphere, using two half-molds. Then, the map is modified, because every object is made to order, regularly updating the cartography and customizing it according to the client’s preferences. “We work alongside the client to help them design their globe exactly how they want it, a process that can sometimes take months or even years,” Peter reveals. “Through the globes they have com- missioned, we have heard stories worthy of novels, tales of family migration, journeys of discovery and exploration on Earth, at sea and in space. All told through maps. We have had customers who have brought us to tears with the information they have shared. We have even had someone propose using one of our globes!”.
The process of hand-crafting a globe is as laborious as it is fascinating. Firstly the gores are cut: the first coat of color is painted when the strips are still flat, then they are wet and stretched over the sphere. Once dry, the globes return to the painters, who perform the shading and paint each illustration in de-
^^ Only after the strips (“gores”) are dry, can they be wet and attached. Photos by Euan Myles.
to the globe; during this delicate manual process (“goring the globe”)
an error of even a fraction of a millimeter is enough to cause big problems, once the last strip has been laid down (https://bellerbyandco.com).
– in dettaglio ogni illustrazione. Infine, il mappamondo viene si- gillato con una finitura lucida o opaca e collocato nella sua base. Le creazioni di Bellerby and Co raggiungono tutto il mon- do, recentemente persino Perù, Groenlandia, Cambogia, Vie- tnam, Kirghizistan, Uruguay e Nepal. In Italia sono state anche tra i protagonisti di Homo Faber, esposizione biennale dei migliorimaestrid’arteeuropei,curatadaMichelangeloFoun- dation, in partnership con Fondazione Cologni e Fondazione Giorgio Cini, presso l’isola di San Giorgio a Venezia: «Siamo stati entusiasti di prendervi parte, è stata la vetrina perfetta per l’alto livello di manualità degli artigiani che vi partecipano». Un’occasione prestigiosa per mettere in mostra l’unicità dei globi Bellerby and Co anche perché, come ricorda Peter, «la maggior parte delle persone ci trova attraverso il passaparola.
Noi non facciamo pubblicità, il che è sorprendente». ■
-tail. Finally, the globe is sealed with a gloss or matte finish and placed in its base. Bellerby and Co’s creations can be found all over the world, recently even in Peru, Greenland, Cambodia, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, Uruguay and Nepal. In Italy they were also among the protagonists of Homo Faber, a biennial exhibition of the best European master craftsmen, curated by the Michelangelo Foundation, in partnership with the Fondazione Cologni and the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, on the island of San Giorgio in Venice. “We were thrilled to take part, it was the perfect showcase for the high level of craftsmanship of the artisans who participated”. A prestigious opportunity to showcase the uniqueness of Bellerby and Co’s globes because, as Peter reminds us, “most people find us through word of mouth. We do not advertise, which is surprising”. ■
