What the journal does
We write guides, cover stories and occasional case studies. Each piece follows a material from its origin through the stations that shape it, and shows the record for each station, or the gap where a record should be.
Who it is for
- Makers choosing timber, wool, clay, metal or paper, who want to know what they are actually buying.
- Specifiers and buyers writing briefs, who need questions a supplier can answer.
- Teachers and students building units on materials and the routes they take.
- Curious readers who have held an object and wanted its story to hold up.
How we write
Plain sentences, short claims and no drama. We name the source before the claim, and we say what we cannot verify in the same paragraph where the claim appears.
We prefer a record to a reputation. A well-kept delivery note tells a reader more than a well-written sentence about how careful someone is.
What we will not do
We do not give personal financial, legal or medical advice, and we do not predict prices. We do not hold up a supplier as an example without the record that supports the example. When we get something wrong, we print the correction next to the original.
The name
Tallow is rendered animal fat, once the stuff of candles and soap, a reminder that many materials have ordinary, working origins. A mere is a shallow lake, a place where things settle and can be read. Together the two words describe the work: unglamorous beginnings, looked at carefully.
Get in touch
Write to hello@proofofresources.com with a trail you want read, a question, or a correction. The contact page lists what to include, and what not to send.