About
Meet the people behind Ancre, and discover the why and how behind this side project.
Who is behind Ancre?
Behind Ancre is Raphael with the support of Sylvain—two designers, a strategic designer and an artistic director/typographer/brand designer/graphic designer/motion designer/everything designer/ecalien, respectively—who are friends and former colleagues from a great agency in Lausanne, happy but glued to our screens most of the time.
How is Ancre born?
Our activities for disconnecting did not entirely meet our wishes. Reading fiction or playing sports (martial arts, climbing...) requires total concentration, ideal for taking one's mind off things, clearing one's head... But there is no discussion with oneself. Activities like hiking or running are more conducive to developing thoughts, but they have a vaporous side, a lack of intentionality (obviously this observation is only binding on us, and the experience varies greatly from person to person).
Our mission
To create stationery items that motivate their owner to take more time for themselves, screen-free, to write or draw, in order to achieve better mental balance in everyday life.
Why "Ancre"?
Quite simply because we appreciate the idea of anchoring oneself. Under the overload of digital stimuli, there is sometimes this feeling that our mind is torn, lost, or adrift. The anchor symbolizes the idea of stopping, settling down, taking stock, and offering oneself a pause before setting off again.
The object, and also the word ancre (anchor), have a physicality, a weight, which metaphorically counterbalances the weight taken up by screens and their applications in our daily lives. This "anchored" aspect is reflected in the typography that appears on the cover of our products.
Where are our products are made?
Our notebooks are produced in the heart of Vevey, a beautiful small town on the shores of Lake Geneva. We are partnered with U·COPIE, a versatile workshop whose goal is to welcome and support adults living with a physical or psychological disability, or those with a mild intellectual deficiency. This workshop is part of the Fondation les Eglantines.
Collaborating with this workshop and foundation for the launch of Ancre adds meaning and motivation to our approach. The local aspect is also paramount to us. All of this contributes to creating a meaningful project for us and for you.
References
Here are a few sources on the benefits of writing/journaling and drawing/doodling.
Warning
What works for us won't necessarily work for our neighbor. We do not believe in miracle methods or solutions. Nevertheless, if you wish to write or create sketches more or less regularly, we hope that you will like our products and that they will help bring your mind to safe harbor.
