The Process
How it's Made
All my dice are made from epoxy resin which is expertly mixed until crystal clear. The next step depends on the design of the set, if any additions are needed to be added to the resin, such as colours, glitter etc.
The resin is then poured carefully into the moulds. If there are any inserts or complex colours needed sometimes only half the mould needs to be filled, cured, and then the second half filled. Curing is the process in which the chemical reactions take place to harden the resin. It takes 24 hours for the dice to be hard enough to remove from the mould, and a full cure may take up to 5 days. Once they are hardened, they need to be sanded and polished to a mirror shine.
The final step is painting the numbers and then a final clean to remove any resin dust particles or smeared paint.
Designs
As you may glean from the design of my website and brand aesthetic I adore early 20th century art styles. From Victorian style graphic design to art deco, I find black and gold to be stylish, filled with drama and romance.
I aim to create the same for my dice, taking inspiration from wherever it comes, to the dramatic landscape I live, to every day things.
I began my dice journey with the cheapest moulds I could find, selling these rough sets until I could earn enough money to make my own moulds. With my masters designed and polished to a perfect glass shine, I created my first moulds with my Bacchus logo in January 2021. Every die cast after this are made with my own handmade custom moulds.
Foraging
I live in a beautiful area of Scotland, next to a river backing onto an ancient woodland. Enormous, gnarled oaks cast shade onto sparkling waterfalls in scenic glens. It is also the perfect hunting ground for natural inclusions: Mushrooms, flora, insects and more. I never noticed just how many mushrooms were constantly all around me; inkcaps blooming in cut grassland, sulphur tufts sprouting from rotting wood to the iconic fly agaric, said to be the homes of fairies. Especially during late spring the woodlands are festooned in many different species of fungi.
When foraging, it is important to not take more than you need, therefore I stringently stick to the rule of only taking 10% of what you find, so the mushrooms can flourish again next year.
All insects and moths were harvested cruelty free, following their natural life cycles and seasons. This means that I harvest them only when they are already dead. On the rare occasion I come across bees on the ground I carefully bring them home to try and revive them with sugar first, just in case. Foraging is a fun and rewarding activity and the treasures from the forest help me create unique and beautiful dice so that you can take a little bit of the forest with you.
