Five times awarded 5 Gold Stars at RHS Chelsea
“To English folk the mighty oak
Is England’s noblest tree;
Its hard-grained wood is strong and good
As English hearts can be.”
Cicely Mary Barker
How we stay true to beloved illustrations
The inspiration and starting point of any Robert James Workshop sculpture can be found in the original illustrations of some of Britain’s most iconic storytellers. From Beatrix Potter and Lewis Carroll to A.A. Milne and Kenneth Grahame – and many more besides – we study every line, every quirk of expression, every tiny detail that made these characters so loved in the first place.
Our aim is simple: to take what exists on the page and make it feel as though it has stepped – quite naturally – into the real world.
The art of staying true to the originals
There’s a very particular charm to those original illustrations. Beatrix Potter’s delicate watercolours gave her creatures a soft sense of movement — the twitch of Peter Rabbit’s whiskers; Jemima Puddle-Duck waddling with quiet determination.
Elsewhere, E.H. Shepard’s drawings of Winnie the Pooh were loose and light, yet perfectly captured the weight of Pooh’s thoughtful moments of deliberation. And John Tenniel’s engravings for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland brought a sharp wit and vitality to every character, from the mischievous grin of the Cheshire Cat to the teetering bombastic energy of the Mad Hatter.
We treat these details with enormous respect. Every pose, the fold of clothing, every tilt of a head is studied before we begin sculpting. We’re not looking to reinterpet these characters – rather, we try and let them speak for themselves, to let people feel as if they are seeing Peter Rabbit exactly as Beatrix Potter painted him, only now in three dimensions.
When sculpture becomes storytelling
One of the joys about this work is in how the story comes alive as the bronze takes shape. A sketch might show only a hint of movement, but as a sculpture, you get the sense that the character has been caught mid-action, as if they might move again when you’re not looking!
It’s those little sparks of life, carried over from those original drawings, that give each piece its magic.
Why these stories matter...
These stories are important threads in Britain’s cultural tapestry. Beatrix Potter’s warmly familiar cast of countryside animals, Lewis Carroll’s kaleidoscopic Wonderland with all its equally colourful characters, Milne’s heartelft, universal tales of friendship and morality — they are stories that have shaped generations. And for many, the illustrations are just as iconic as the words.
By working so closely from the originals, we’re toasting the illustrators themselves, to their artistry, and to the worlds they built with such care and attention to detail. Every finished bronze, a thank-you to Potter, to Tenniel, to Shepard, and to all the others whose drawings continue to inspire us.
A celebration in bronze
What we love most is seeing people react to these sculptures with the same affection they have for the books themselves. When someone sees Peter Rabbit, they see their Peter Rabbit, the one they’ve known since childhood.
That’s why we do what we do, and why staying faithful to the illustrations will always be at the heart of our work – stories, iconic characters, memories: captured forever in bronze.
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