Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joshua Hester. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joshua, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Design is something I honed through both practice and formal training—I studied it at university, which gave me a strong foundation in visual thinking and creative problem-solving. Poetry, on the other hand, arrived more instinctively. It began emerging a few years ago as a natural response to experience, and over time, it’s been shaped and refined through life itself, as well as through stepping into the world of spoken word.

The craft of book arts and binding came later, and it’s something I’ve mostly taught myself—through YouTube tutorials, trial and error, and the occasional workshop. What started as curiosity quickly became a daily practice. I immersed myself in the process so I could begin experimenting with form—learning how to design, bind, and print books that could hold the poetry I was writing.

If I could have sped up my learning, it would’ve been by giving myself permission to start sooner—without waiting for it to be perfect. The most essential skill has been staying open: to both new and old methods, to mistakes, to letting the materials guide me. The main obstacles were internal—self-doubt, hesitation, and the fear of not doing it ‘right.’ But the deeper I went, the more I realised that craft isn’t about perfection—it’s about attention, presence, and care.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Joshua Hester, the artist and founder behind Well Books, a publishing imprint and creative studio rooted in Kingston upon Thames. Well Books began as a deeply personal practice—an attempt to make sense of my experiences through poetry, design, and craft. What started as writing in notebooks evolved into designing and hand-binding books to house those words, and eventually into creating a space for others to do the same.

My background is in graphic design, which I studied at university. That foundation gave me the tools to think visually and work with structure, but it was poetry that called me into deeper creative work. I began writing a few years ago almost instinctively—responding to life’s transitions—and eventually found a home for my voice through spoken word. Book arts and binding were the missing link, the tactile craft that allowed me to bring together word and form. I taught myself through online resources, experimentation, and persistent daily practice. It became a way to unify my disciplines—writing, design, and making—into one offering.

Well Books now operates as both a publishing practice and a research project exploring the power of poetry through written, spoken, and book arts. I offer services that include poetic book design, bespoke bookbinding, and workshops for creatives who want to self-publish with intention. From one-of-one handmade books to small-run printed editions, I work closely with writers, poets, and artists to help bring their words into physical form. I, along with a supportive group of friends, host and curate events like Well Books Fair, and Poets Society Nights, which are all about creating spaces for deep creative exchange and community.

What sets Well Books apart is the rhythm and attention behind everything—it’s not about producing for the sake of output, but about honouring the depth of someone’s creative process. Every book, every project is rooted in care, meaning, and connection. This isn’t just publishing—it’s about surfacing the unseen, giving form to feeling, and offering it to the world in a way that others can hold.

What I’m most proud of is how Well Books has become both a mirror and a meeting place. A mirror for those looking to reconnect with themselves through their work, and a gathering point for a community that values craft, stillness, and substance.

If someone is drawn to Well Books, they’re likely someone who feels deeply, thinks symbolically, and wants to share something honest. My role is to help shape that into a form that speaks—through books, through language, and through the spaces we create together.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes—at the heart of everything I do is a desire to create spaces where the depth of human experience can be expressed, shared, and felt. Whether through books, poetry, or gatherings, my work is about offering forms and forums for people to connect—to themselves, to each other, and to something deeper.

For me, creativity is a way of reaching beneath the surface. I’m driven by the belief that when we give space to our inner worlds—when we shape our thoughts, feelings, and questions into something tangible—we invite others to do the same. That’s where real connection begins.

Well Books exists to honour that process: to turn quiet discoveries into offerings, and to hold space for the kind of expression that doesn’t always find a home in the noise of everyday life.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the biggest lessons I’ve had to unlearn—very recently—is the idea that I could sustain a creative life purely on freedom and passion alone. I believed, for a long time, that if I just followed my creative fire, everything else would somehow fall into place. And for a while, it did.

I had a playful, flexible job coaching parkour to kids that gave me space and energy to write, design, and make books. I freelanced in web design too, which allowed me to stay independent and pour my earnings into paper, ink, and time spent creating. But eventually, that model became unsustainable. Freelance work is inconsistent, and when I lost most of my hours at my coaching job, I was forced to confront a truth I had been avoiding: art needs time, but it also needs structure.

The deeper lesson I’m learning is that true creative freedom isn’t about escaping structure—it’s about building one that supports what you love over the long term. Art in its purest form often holds no immediate value in a capital-driven world; it’s an expression of being, not a product. And while that truth is what makes it beautiful, it also makes the artist’s path challenging.

For me, that meant making a shift—accepting that I need to give some of my time back to the working world in a more stable way, so that Well Books can grow more slowly, more intentionally, and more sustainably. It’s about choosing to refine rather than rush, and letting go of the illusion (often shaped by the online world) that everything must happen now, quickly, and all at once.

I’m learning that slowness is not a failure—it’s a form of care. And that creating from a place of balance, even if it takes longer, will lead to something far more meaningful in the end.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.well-books.com
• Instagram: 48.wellbooks
• Other: my personal instagram: joshuatheuniverse

Image Credits

Main photo by Michael Martin

First photo by Erin Major

Other Photos by Michael Martin