I have recently produced an A4 calendar for 2011 called Wildlife of Swale. As mentioned on the website, under Calendar, my reasoning for producing one of this area is a direct result of not coming across anything like it in local shops. Shelves are full of the usual generic "Castles of Kent" and "British Birds" for example but absolutely nothing relating to the area in which I live.
Swale is a pretty big area encompassing many towns and villages home to an incredibly diverse range of wildlife. Since Swale is in north Kent which include such habitats as marshes, chalk downlands and woodlands it was important, I felt, for the calendar to include a range of subjects depicting this. The calendar was produced by a small printing firm in the west country as opposed to using a template design which can be found on many websites. This allowed me to have contact with the printers throughout the process and gave me the freedom to include a title under each image along with the picture location and even a biography of myself on the back cover. This has all helped in making it very personal. Printed on 160gm paper, wire bound and enclosed in a clear re-sealable sleeve, it has the look and feel of a very high quality product which was imperative.
I have to say I am extremely happy with it. The response has been very positive with quite a few sales over the last week. It is being distributed throughout the Swale area at a number of outlets including the Faversham Tourist Information Visitor Centre. To see all the images in the calendar, including the opportunity to purchase one, please visit the calendar page on my website here.
