Oak Gall Natural Ink Writing Set

These beautiful little Oak Gall Natural Ink Writing Sets are a very special gift. Crafted with love and packaged so beautifully. I’ve known Kathryn of Natural Ink Project for a while and ran an ink making workshop with her this summer. For autumn, I wanted to tie in with my oak leaf theme and offer oak gall inks too. Oak Galls grow on branches, leaves and acorns of oak trees. As a reaction to a small wasp laying their egg, the tree generates this small gall, that can come in many different shapes. The Knopper gall that Kathryn uses to make these inks is a more sticky, knobbly variety.

Each of these lovely Kraft gift boxes contains:

• 2 x 15ml bottles of Oak Gall ink – Sepia Gold + Iron Black.

This is handmade small batch Natural Ink, made in Somerset with Knopper Oak Galls gathered in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK.

• A small 12 page zine booklet of in(K)spiration and Oak celebration.
• A piece of quality writing paper
• A hand carved Ash Stick pen, and instructions on how best to use Ash Stick pen.
• A tiny real oak leaf
• A handwritten label on Khadi cotton rag paper, attached with handmade cordage in Flax leaf, gathered in Glastonbury, Somerset.

Ingredients: Knopper Oak Galls, water, salt, white vinegar, iron rust from found objects, gum arabic, cloves.

These inks are suitable for painting, drawing, dip pen calligraphy, refillable brush pens and wood stain for small greencraft projects. They are made without synthetic chemical colours or binders, following traditional methods. A slow hedgerow craft.

Oak Galls have been used to make ink for well over one thousand years. The high levels of gallotannic acid in these Oak Gall inks give the colour a lightfastness and longevity on the page, yet the living nature of the ink means the colour will mute over years. Many historical documents, including the Magna Carta and the Dead Sea Scrolls were written with Oak Gall ink. The renowned artist Rembrandt also used oak gall and walnut inks in his work.