MW & Lorenz Boegli's Christmas Box 

In December, the MW's Christmas gift - a unique photo box dedicated to the homeless charity Jimmy’s, was sent out to our friends and collaborators. In addition to each and every box we donated a hot meal to a homeless person. Our Christmas campaign now complete, we’ve been looking back at the hard work that went into its creation, and taking the time to thank everybody involved.

When planning the design of our Christmas box, we decided to present the reality of homelessness via a poem and a collection of photographs. The poem was penned by one of our own, Kelly Sipthorp, but for the images we reached out to the innovative screen printer Lorenz Boegli. Upon hearing of the campaign, Boegli offered to donate the prints free of charge. To thank him for his efforts in person – and to learn a little more about his craft – Bernardo Bobone, MW's artworker, paid him a visit at his studio in Switzerland this September.

Arriving at Boegli’s studio, which is based on the outskirts of Bern, Bernardo was greeted by a man with a wide smile, bright blue eyes, and an unshakeable air of confidence in his craft. Boegli has perfected his technique for over 25 years and is, by every account, a master at what he does. When creating his prints he often uses high-end black craft paper, custom-made mesh screens, and colour combinations weighed and mixed with the precision of a chemist.

Printing Finshes 

Inside his studio Bernardo watched as Boegli began creating the special prints for our Christmas box. First he combined Iriodin pigments and varnish to form a colour paste, which he spread over the print plate for the first layer. The second stage involved a white ink plate, which picked out the brighter

spots of each photo. In the last stage, Boegli added a silver pearl pigment, which lent a shiny coating to the print and achieved a unique luxury finish.

The end product – as can be seen in our finished gift boxes – is nothing short of exquisite; moving the prints around you can see the colours shifting from shades of bright turquoise to deep purple under the light.

As Bernardo discovered, Boegli is not often away from his home city of Berne; in fact, one of his annual marketing ventures is to attend Luxe Pack in Monaco, where he enjoys speaking to people and letting them interact with his work first-hand. Despite living in an era of fast paced social media adverts and flashy websites, he’s a man who values human contact above anything.

When the last prints came off the press, still warm, Boegli trimmed a couple in half so Bernardo could easily carry them back, and strolled with him to the train station. Shaking hands to say goodbye, and pocketing some Swiss chocolate that Boegli insisted Bernardo take, he headed off to catch his train.

Bernardo found himeslf intensely grateful for the experience – not simply because of Boegli’s kind donation of his time and expertise, but because it’s not every day that a master invites you into his unique world.

Visit Lorenz's website