Stuart Welch studied fine art and design from 1963 to 1969. He worked as an artist, animator and teacher before starting Atlantis Paper Company in 1977 which also ran one of the first contemporary Art Galleries in East London. In 1985 he founded conservation suppliers Atlantis France (now Conservation by Design France). In 1992 he established Conservation By Design Limited. He has a broad knowledge of Western and Eastern papermaking. Enjoying a long collaboration with conservation professionals he has innovated many familiar products, materials and equipment for conservation and storage. In 1997 following his interest in anoxic storage he invented ‘Squelch Drying’ which uses vacuum packing to dry wet books. The technique proved very successful following floods in Cambridge, Prague, Egypt and Japan where it proved especially good at removing sea salt from the paper. It was recommended by Christopher Clarkson for drying The Book in the Bog. Stuart retired from Conservation by Design in 2019 to work as a consultant and give more time to his artwork. Welch, Stuart M. ‘Memories of Work and Travel with Christopher Clarkson’. Journal of Paper Conservation 20, no. 1–4 (2 October 2019): 34–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/18680860.2019.1743543.