Peter Bellerby: "You can look at a globe a thousand times and always find something new"

The oldest existing globe was built in 1492 by German navigator and explorer Martin Behaim with the help of painter Georg Glockendon. At that time, globes were made by gluing wedges of a printed paper map onto a sphere, often made of wood.

More than five centuries later, in an age of technology, speed, and digital, Bellerby&Co Globemakers is a company of London artisans that still makes handcrafted globes. Peter Bellerby, its founder, tells us about it.

How did the adventure of creating a company that manufactures handmade globes begin?
I wanted to find a globe to give to my father for his 80th birthday. The choices were low-quality replicas or overpriced antiques. It seemed that the art of making traditional globes had disappeared so I decided to do it myself, thinking I would make one for my father and one for me. Two years and hundreds of balloons went by that I didn't think were good enough and, after nearly going broke... the company was born!

Where does one learn how to make a globe?
There is no manual or one place to learn. I was totally self-taught and learned through trial and error. Ten years later, I am still learning new things.

What are the main technical challenges a globe artisan faces?
First of all, you work on a sphere, which is already a challenge. Then, the paper is very fragile and you have to keep wetting it and stretching it, making sure not to overlap it, tear it, rip it, ripple it, or make any dreaded bubbles. And, in the end, all your pieces should match perfectly. A mistake of as little as 1mm in the last step, can be fatal in the end.

What is the process you follow in the manufacture of a globe?
Since these are custom globes, we first talk to the customer to see what kind of globe they want and then create simulations to confirm the idea they have of the map they want. This can sometimes be a process that takes weeks or even months.

And then comes the artisanal manufacturing...
The artisanal process begins by creating a perfect sphere from two half-molds.

We then edit our map, as each globe is made to order. We have two cartographers on staff who update our maps regularly and customize them according to each client's preferences.

Once the map is ready, it is printed and cut by hand in the form of "gores". These are hand-painted with watercolors, which gives a unique result to each globe. When the segments are dry, they are carefully glued to the sphere. Then more layers and details of watercolor are added and the balloon is sealed with a matte or gloss finish and placed on its base.

Each balloon takes anywhere from a few weeks to 6 months or more to complete, depending on the size, detailing, and base.

What skills and personal characteristics do you need to be a good balloon artisan?
Have a lot of patience, attention to detail, good eye, be able to work with delicate paper and slow movements. You need to train your hands, which can only be done by trial and error and doing the same movements hundreds of times.

How many people work at Bellerby&Co?
We are a team of 22 people, including painters, wood and metal craftsmen, cartographers, our engraver, our illustrator, etc. I love having local artists from London as part of our team and learning an art that is in danger of disappearing.

What has learning how to create globes taught you?
Working and creating something with your hands is a wonderful feeling. I learn something new every day. The most important thing is patience and knowing that anything handmade takes time. It is also essential to do something you love and create something that you are proud of.

Also, we are always discovering and researching new places after spotting names of coasts or mountains in the world. You can look at one of these globes a thousand times and you will always see something new.

What have been some of your most original requests?
It's always interesting to see the ideas that customers come up with It's always interesting to see the ideas that customers come up with souvenirs from their travels or their family history of travels around the world...

We had one client who wanted to get engaged with a balloon instead of a ring. We have had some globes with over 100 illustrations. A band that has been touring for 40 years commissioned us to have a globe showing the routes of every trip they have taken from their hometown and around the world. A client commissioned a globe with only the Seychelles on it.

We have had orders from heads of state, secret organizations, Hollywood actors... we don't have a specific customer profile. We send the globes all over the world. The last three big ones have gone to the Philippines, Zimbabwe, and Cambodia.

In the age of Google Earth and satellites, how do you explain the eternal fascination with globes?
Google Earth is for getting from A to B or for consulting a map from your mobile. It will never inspire you or be a beautiful object of desire. A globe is something handmade and hand-painted, with patience and love. It is something timeless, that you can leave as a legacy to future generations.

I think that, nowadays, we want to have fewer things but the things we have that have meaning and a story behind them: the story of who makes it, how they make it, and why they make it.