Jude and the Book Factory under our Love Umbrella after visit to Living Paintings HQ

After their son, Jude, passed away from a rare type of cancer in September 2023, parents Lucy and Arron sought to develop one of his wonderful ideas: a ‘book factory’ for children with cancer. Now, thousands of book donations later, Jude and the Book Factory are supporting Living Paintings to bring Jude’s favourite book, Under the Love Umbrella, to life for blind children.

The arrival of Lucy and Arron at Living Paintings HQ was exciting for all of us – and it wasn’t just because everyone wanted to meet their adorable 8-month-old son Barnaby! It was because we were so inspired by the story of Jude and the Book Factory, and the incredible perseverance of Lucy and Arron, who have worked tirelessly to honour Jude and see his vision through on an incredible scale.

Firstly, how did we get here?

Lucy found out about Living Paintings during one of Jude’s stays in hospital. A fellow mother, whose daughter was being treated for bilateral cataracts, told Lucy about the Living Paintings books her daughter used.

After finding us on social media, Lucy fell in love, and she knew Jude would have loved it, too – making reading accessible for all. She was inspired, then, to launch a fundraising campaign to bring Jude’s favourite book to life for blind and visually impaired children – Under the Love Umbrella.

Their tour began in our production studios, where they were shown how each finished tactile image is made. Every image begins as a line drawing. These drawings are then carved into wood by our incredible carvers, who work to ensure every intricate detail is captured in the image.

Finally, the finished carving goes under the thermoform machine, where a plastic sheet is pressed over top, forming the tactile image.

See the video below for your very own thermoform demonstration.

Next, Lucy and Arron went upstairs to the painting room, where they saw our incredible volunteers hard at work, painting the tactile images that go into making our Touch to See version of Under the Love Umbrella.

Lucy and Arron learned all that goes into bringing the colourful illustrations of the Love Umbrella to life, and they also got to speak with the painters about Jude and the Book Factory, which our volunteers certainly loved to hear.

Meanwhile, Nick (Head of Comms) and Lisa (Fundraising Lead) had a great time with baby Barnaby while Mum and Dad explored Living Paintings!

We ended the day by gifting Lucy and Arron with four tactile illustrations from Under the Love Umbrella to take home with them.

Thank you so much to Lucy and Arron (and, of course, little Barnaby!) for visiting us, and for telling us Jude’s story. You are truly inspiring people, and we are so excited to bring Under the Love Umbrella to life for a whole new audience.

Under the Love Umbrella is coming soon, but, in the meanwhile, you can explore our full range of Touch to See books here.

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