Three corners of our packing room on another fine spring morning. We don’t just make and ship handmade paper, we also have a beautiful range of artist sketchbooks and pads, each in four colours: white, ivory, denim blue and khaki (the last two recycling textile offcuts from @community_clothing ). And more - all viewable in our online shop and at the finest retailers, more details on which to follow soon.
A beautiful intaglio print of High Island in Connemara by the late Norman Ackroyd CBE RA on our Akbar Natural 60gsm.
Ackroyd, who died in 2024, was recognised as the outstanding etcher of his generation. He was also a generous man, sending us this print with a letter of thanks, encouraging us to continue producing quality handmade papers for printmakers and artists.
Seconds Sale! As we did this time last year, we will be selling off the sheets of ‘second’ quality that we have made over the last 12 months to make space for new stock. The sale will take place through our email newsletter, so please sign up if you wish to take part, which can be done on the homepage of our website – link in bio.
Seconds are sheets that have some small defect (wavy edge, speck of dirt, flipped corner) but the majority of the sheet is good and usable. Traditionally such sheets were sold at a 10% discount to the ‘perfects’ and a ream of seconds could be identified by the double XX mark on the ream wrapper.
We will be selling our seconds at a 40% discount and papers from all our ranges will be available: Book and Conservation Papers, Coloured Papers and Fine Art Papers.
A list of the available will be sent out via email on the 1st of February.
Papercut by Anna Maria Garthwaite dated 1707, made when was just 17. It is made from brown paper painted black, cut out and mounted on white vellum. Anna Maria went on to become one of the most talented silk designers of her generation working in London. Some of the trees in this cut-paper work resemble her watercolour textile designs of the 1720s.
It is a work of exquisite beauty and sublime virtuosity, all the more appealing for its naive aesthetic and the purity of its making.
Our Handbound Art Pads each contain 15 leaves of handmade cold pressed paper, available until Christmas with free UK P&P for all orders over £50. The 190 gsm papers are suitable for drawing in a wide variety of media and painting in watercolour. There are three sizes and four colours (white, ivory, blue rag and cotton khaki) to choose from.
Each sheet is made by hand from linen and cotton rags by our small team of skilled artisans (Tom, Sam and Jony!) at our workshop in the Lake District. This ensures paper of exceptional quality and character, and perpetuates a craft of the greatest rarity.
Each pad is wrapped in glassine for protection and all products sent out in our bespoke brass stapled packaging. Combine a pad with our limited edition vine charcoal sticks (cut in the light of the waning moon no less!) for further savings.
A paper-making team at work making paper by hand at Barcham Green, Hayle Mill, c.1900. In such a mill, paper was always made by teams of people using pairs of moulds to form the sheet. In this picture the coucher (on the left) is about to couch the freshly formed sheets off his mould onto the stack of felts in front of him. The vatman (on the right, and noticeably older befitting the experience attached to this job) holds the other mould, complete with deckle affixed which he is about to dip into the vat to form the sheet.
Here at the Paper Foundation we are not only fortunate to be custodians of evocative images like these, but also to hold and use much of the original equipment and furniture from this very mill. We haven’t quite got to the point of making and wearing similar clothes to those worn here, but we are tempted!
Paper houses made by @hermes for @fuorisalone 2022 - an unforgettable paper project we’ve admired for years. If only we had enough room for something like this! The frames are made from ash
#paperart #paperarchitecture
Some further sheets of mid 18th century brocade papers from our collection, the first two being the same Johann Michael Munck pattern printed in two different ways. We are very keen to find a full sheet of this pattern if it still exists - let us know if you know of one! We would also like to confirm the maker of the third sheet. Hopefully the signature at the bottom will be a tell-tale sign.
#brokatpapier #decorativepaper #blockprint #paperarts #dutchgiltpaper
Another peak into one of our decorative paper plan chests. This one contains German brocade papers, also known as Brokatpapier or (misleadingly) as Dutch Gilt paper. Originally inspired by similarly gilded leather wallpapers, the ability to create something similar on paper was initiated in Germany around 1700, particularly in the cities of Augsburg and Nuremberg. It reached its zenith in the mid 18th century. Production continued into the 19th century, often using the same blocks. Sometimes, as is the case with the sheet in the bottom centre of this image, the maker’s name was updated to reflect a change of generation.
We are currently investigating exactly how these papers were made with a view to launching our own collection, and using the sheets we make in bookbinding, stationery and other products as they were in the past.
Ever wondered how we turned jeans into notebooks?
The best paper was once made from textile rags, a tradition we are proud to revive. Off-cuts from our blue and indigo jeans are sent from Cookson & Clegg in Blackburn to the @paper.foundation in Cumbria, where they are shredded, pulped and transformed by hand into beautiful sheets of denim paper.
Each page is then pressed, felt-textured and sewn by @markandfold ‘s Suffolk bindery, with threads matching the jeans they came from.
Zero waste, made to last and made to scribble on.
#zerowaste #notebooks #communityclothing
Our largest sheet of hand made paper yet - 3m by 2m, specially commissioned by an artist. This required Tom and Jony to build a special mould and basically invent how they were going to couch and dry the sheet. And it worked!
We are currently awaiting feedback and looking forward to making more. Let us know if this is something you might be interested in!
#handmadepaper #papersheet
