Right at the very end of the last editorial piece of issue one of Slingshot World magazine, in tiny print right underneath the last words, it says, “I fucking LOVE catapults!” John Jeffries, Boxing Day 2017” It was called the quote of the season. I had spotted the talent and figured it was a simple declaration we could all agree with. That issue is still very much available right here: https://slingshot-world.ecwid.com/
Already showing up as a talented maker, with the finest antler frame ever made, amongst other things, John was also becoming an awesome shot. That he also shoots 12 bores and goes deerstalking (the Scottish estate people liked him so much they tried to poach him away to work for them!) does inform this but he has a passion, matched by talent.
John recently had the ultimate back handed compliment. His distinctive Mustang design and shape slingshot was copied by a Chinese maker. There was a collective uproar online and that maker/supplier suddenly found himself back pedalling. So as well as being copied, he has even managed a bit of backlash for it – only the Range Rover people have been able to do this in China before! This was a smaller but community-led reaction as he is so well liked.
John’s current output is up there with the finest collectibles and his methods, materials and approach all add up to what you can call an ethos of quality. Just like Rolls and Bentley and Maybach. He met up with Emberleaf Workshops first as a fan before they invited him to come and work with them.
The resulting products are amazing and were especially made for the recent Great British Shooting Show. Let the video tell you most of the story:
It was lovely to see the magazine on sale on Johns bit! I was very grateful for the publicity! All those three issues are available here: https://slingshot-world.ecwid.com/
