Our values
Passion
Passion is one of the things that drives creative people to create. Passion allows us to enjoy life and what we do. It is what stands out in all the artists, craftspeople, and enthusiasts we work with. It enables that digital painter to spend an extra forty minutes perfecting her artwork; it drives that spoon carver to pass on his skills to others on YouTube; it allows that environmentalist to find new ways to improve our respect for the earth. We want to help instil that eagerness and motivation in other people and empower them achieve their goals.
Growth
By sharing knowledge and ideas we want to encourage continuous learning and self-development. Learning from other people’s experiences and seeing the world from new perspectives broadens our minds and allows us to improve ourselves as individuals. You can learn from small things each day or life-changing events; either way you can step forward and grow as a person to give something more than you did the day before. We want to help people see that life is an adventure and that we will constantly be discovering new things along the way.
Ambition
To grow we need ambition. Doing your best and pushing yourself to achieve your full potential enables you to grow faster, become bigger and stronger, and try new things. Ambition can be wanting to learn a new skill or reach a certain goal. Without ambition we would stagnate. We want to aim high, be proud of what we achieve, and strive to improve where we are challenged.
Community
As with the artistic community we are part of as 3dtotal, and the craft community we support as Canopy Press, we want to celebrate the wider community of passionate and creative people out there. We can admire and learn from those in a community and also give something back by offering a platform from which people can spread the word further. Working together to share knowledge, enthusiasm, joy, and inspiration is what makes a community great. The more people we can share this with the better.
Responsibility
Respect and care for our community should make us aware of our responsibility for the people and world around us. Whether it’s making an effort to smile at someone as you walk down the street, introducing someone to a new hobby, turning off your computer screen at night, or donating to charity, we can each as individuals make a difference in the world. Our responsibility as a company has driven us to use FSC paper for all our books, consider the way we package products, offset our carbon footprint, and donate to good causes. We will continue to think of new ways we can help the world and encourage others to do the same.
Sustainability
We need to be sustainable as a company to survive and thrive. We also want to do our part to bring about sustainability in the context of the environment. Canopy Press’s first book, Forge & Carve, reflects recent interest in the return to heritage crafts and an innate survival instinct within us. Other titles focus on sustainable living and issues in the environment. It is an appreciation of our earth that drives us to increase people’s awareness of these things and enjoy the simple things in life at a sustainable level.