George Sfougaras  /  Studio tools GS Imprint Method ↗

Made in Leicester, UK

Shuttle
Baren™

Designed for the hand. Made for the pleasure of printmaking.

An artist-designed tool shaped by practical use, with comfort, grip and freedom of movement at the centre of its form.

The story ↓See the two versions ↗

Illustrative photograph of a hand holding a rounded Shuttle Baren with fingers through its centre.Edited photograph of the maker’s hand gripping the Shuttle Baren with fingers curled into its open centre.
The Shuttle Baren held in the hand.

01 / Design and memory

An object shaped by use.

It began with a question: could a traditional hand-printing tool become more comfortable, responsive and versatile?

The Shuttle Baren grew out of my printmaking practice during the development of GS Imprint Offset. Its open oval form offers several natural ways of holding the tool, without fixing the hand around a conventional handle.

Two forms stayed with me as the design developed: the traditional weaver’s shuttle and the light, chambered structure of cuttlebone, familiar from the Cretan beaches of my childhood.

Across the curve

Long rounded sides distribute pressure over broader areas.

Towards the ends

The narrower form allows more focused pressure.

02 / Two versions

Two different qualities.

Both versions are durable working tools for hand printing. Each offers a different quality of grip and contact.

Two Shuttle Baren profiles: the honeycombed flatter-edged version above and solid rounded torus below
Two profiles. Honeycombed above, Solid Torus below.
Solid Torus Shuttle Baren, showing the continuously rounded profile
Solid Torus: the rounded form during development.

Shuttle Baren / Solid

Solid Torus

Continuously rounded, without hard edges, designed to sit comfortably in the hand. The smooth curvature allows the grip and angle of pressure to change naturally. Solid construction adds a little more weight.

Honeycombed Shuttle Baren, showing the flatter rim profile
Honeycombed: a lighter tool with a flatter contact edge.

Shuttle Baren / Honeycombed

Honeycombed

A lighter version with an internal lattice structure and less rounded edges. It retains the shuttle form while offering a flatter contact edge when needed.

03 / From the studio

Made individually.
Finished by hand.

Each Shuttle Baren is made from PLA, then inspected and hand-finished in my Leicester studio. Particular care is given to the surfaces that meet the hand and paper. The uninterrupted curves of the Solid Torus are especially important to its comfort in use.

Originally developed for GS Imprint Offset, the tool can also be used for lino, woodblock and other forms of hand relief printing.

PLA can be recycled through specialist facilities where accepted.

Made in Leicester, UKIndividually finishedUK Registered Design Nos.
6549989 · 6549990 · 6549991Two production versions

Shuttle Baren™ / George Sfougaras

An artist-designed working tool, made for artists.

Find the two versions in the existing shop, or contact me about availability for printmaking workshops and specialist stockists.

View in the shop ↗ Enquire by email ↗

Your experience.

The Shuttle Baren continues to develop through practical use. If you've tried either version, I would welcome a few observations about how it feels and performs.

Just a few words are enough. Your comments and email address will be sent to me through Yola's form and used to help improve the tool, not for marketing. I won't publish your words without asking you first.

Which version of the Shuttle Baren have you used?






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