For Gravesend printer and Artisan Print Services owner Deke Demarco, sponsoring a sculpture for ellenor’s Bear Hunt trail was never just about business. It was about supporting a local charity he describes as “ours”.

There is something almost comforting about walking into a traditional print room.

A printing press ticking away in the background. The smell of ink. Rollers turning. Sheets feeding through the machine as colour builds layer by layer.

For Deke, that fascination has never disappeared.

More than 35 years after first walking into a print room at Pinewood Studios as a teenager looking for ‘just a job’, Deke still describes himself proudly as “a printer”.

“I had no idea what I wanted to do,” he laughs. “I just wanted a job.”

What started in a print room producing scripts and set drawings for film productions quickly became something much deeper.

“There was this printing press in the background ticking away,” he recalls. “I could smell the ink, and I wanted to know how it worked. The photocopiers were just boxes. Paper went in and paper came out. But the printing press had moving parts, rollers, noise, engineering behind it. That’s what got me.”

His love for print has never really left him.

“I could talk about print all day long,” he laughs. “I’m a qualified, skilled printer. Every job that goes on our machines has to look right.”

Today, Artisan Print Services is a family-run business based in Gravesend, run by Deke and his wife Sarah, with their youngest son recently joining the company too.

The business has become a familiar supporter of ellenor over the years, helping produce printed materials for campaigns, fundraising and events.

But for Deke, this was never just about business.

“ellenor is ours,” he says simply. “It’s local. It’s part of our community.”

As sponsors of the “Healing Bear” sculpture in ellenor’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt art trail, Deke says the project immediately resonated with him emotionally.

“When I saw the name Healing Bear, that was the first thing that connected with me,” he explains. “Then when I saw the design itself, it just felt right.”

Created by artist Victoria Geary, Healing Bear explores themes of connection, family, nature and healing, and will become one of more than 80 sculptures featured across Dartford during this summer as part of ellenor’s public art trail in partnership with Dartford Borough Council and Wild in Art.

For Deke, the trail represents something bigger than art alone.

“I think people need something like this,” he says. “The last few years have been hard for everybody. This brings colour, creativity and conversation into communities.”

The project has also deepened his understanding of hospice care.

“Like a lot of people, I thought hospice care was just about end of life,” he admits. “I didn’t realise how much else ellenor does.”

During the interview, Deke reflects on learning more about ellenor’s support for children and families, including care delivered alongside specialist hospitals such as Great Ormond Street and The Royal Marsden.

“If we don’t know, we can’t be educated,” he says. “That’s why this trail matters. It gets people talking.”

As someone who has supported ellenor both professionally and personally, including running the London Marathon for the charity shortly after turning 50, Deke says local charities deserve stronger support from local communities and businesses.

“People naturally think of the big national charities first,” he says. “But local charities are the ones beside you. They’re supporting local families, local people. That matters.”

Despite living in an increasingly digital world, Deke believes people still stop when something genuinely catches their attention.

“People still want to stop and look at something properly,” he says. “Notice the colour. Hold it in their hands.”

Maybe that is why the Bear Hunt trail means so much to him.

People slowing down for a moment. Families talking. Children asking questions. A local charity becoming visible in the middle of everyday life.

In some ways, it is not so different from print.

“If print is done correctly,” Deke says, “it just becomes part of people’s lives.”