Discover Paper: 2012 Valentine’s Guide featuring some of our paper twine and the one-of-a-kind Heart-shaped Cocoon Ring

We’re lucky that our paper twines and paper yarns are very versatile. Therefore they do not only appeal to paper lovers and enthusiasts but also to crafters and artisans who are using textile techniques – e.g. knitting, crocheting, weaving and of course stitching! Not to mention bookbinders, jewelry makers and everybody who loves to put a special twist on their gift wrappings. The versatility of our paper twines also shows in the publications and blogs that are so kind to mention and feature us.

This week we say THANKS to Donaville from Discover Paper for having us in her fabulous 2012 Valentine’s Guide.

Cross Stitch Collection magazine (published in the UK) – February 2012 issue: PaperPhine in the New Ideas section

And THANKS to the people of Cross Stitch Collection magazine – we really do like that our finest paper yarn is among the 3 of the best special threads this time.

Raw Art Letterpress: Where the Wild Things Are Print and What About Lunch Print (note to boyfriend: “What about lunch” is a Winnie The Pooh Quote – I didn’t commission it!)

At the PaperPhine studio we do have a keen interest in recycling (in case you ever wondered why your paper twines come wrapped in different papers: we have a huge stash of papers that are waiting to be re-used). While we mainly recycle papers and cardboard for wrapping and packing Colette who runs Raw Art Letterpress actually found a way to recycle cardboard to make her printing plates.

A peek into Colette’s studio in Northern California, USA

After making her first alphabet stamps out of erasers in 1998 Colette discovered her interest for making prints with words. She explains herself that “Traditional printmaking techniques are pretty complicated and precision is important. I’m impatient and I don’t follow instructions very well so I experimented and came up with what I call the ‘raw art letterpress’ process. It is essentially the same as traditional letterpress, but I use cardboard for my printing plates and I cut out each letter from playing cards. I have at least 200 different plates and I usually make a new one every day.”

HA HA HA Print and a Binary I Love You/Te Amo Print by Raw Art Letterpress

What I like about Colette’s prints are actually their “rawness” and the look of the handcut letters. There are lots of highly sophisticated (and beautiful) letterpress prints out there but it’s nice to have something bold and colorful from time to time especially if it either transmits a very cheerful message or is wonderfully abstract like the Binary Valentine’s Card – it’s definitely on the wishlist for Valentine’s day!

BEST BEFORE’s Collection 02: A GROS LEGUMES (top), PETALE and CABAS (bottom) handmade of recycled paper cord

It made my day when I discovered BEST BEFORE on Justine’s blog upon a fold. Paris based artisans Corinne Muller and Piotr Oleszkowicz concentrate and revive old techniques in their collections and Collection 02 is all about the Korean tradition of making paper cords and knotting and weaving with them.

I wrote about this Korean tradition once before in my blog article about paper artists Aimee Lee here. Aimee did extensive research on the topic in Korea and you can read about her research and see picture of her own work in paper on her website (make sure to check out the videos, they’re amazing).

BEST BEFORE’s collection 02: A making of… and a big roll of paper cord

The designers who had previously made interior objects out of salt and wool/felt explain about their work that “we chose to work with non-perennial, biodegradable materials. Though they are not fleeting, these objects can melt away and disappear” and paper cord made from recycled paper fits perfectly into this concept. With their Collection 02 BEST BEFORE tried to create soft braidings that adjust to the shapes that are put into the baskets and bags. These flexible, oversized “everything baskets” can also be transformed into footstools as well as light fixtures.

BEST BEFORE’s Collection 02: COCON and FOURRE-TOUT

Once again it’s incredible what can be made out of paper and paper cords and strings. Besides the French shop Caravane there are currently no retailers/”Points de vente” listed on the BEST BEFORE website but due to their success the BEST BEFORE bakets and bags are actually sold worldwide so look out for them when you’re shopping for something handmade and beautiful.

From time to time there are really adorable and great projects over at Kickstarter (a crowd-funding plattform). There were a few really interesting letterpress projects in the past but at the moment the Love on the Run project by porridge papers caught our attention. We know the guys from porridge papers and they’re not only really nice but also very dedicated and Love on the Run has been their way to give back to the community.

Important stuff first: Check out the Love on the Run taken Nationwide on Kickstarter now, donate and be part of it!

Porridge Papers about Love on the Run: “This event is, and always has been, a free event focused on giving love back to the local community. During the event, participants attend an open house where they compose original love notes on antique typewriters. Each note is left with a recipient’s address and hand-delivered by our volunteers free of charge on Valentine’s day.” If this is not sweet (note to all the boyfriends of the PaperPhine-girls: we want hand-typed messages in bottles, too!).

With Kickstarter Porridge Papers is trying to raise money to create a how-to manual including everything from tips on locating and servicing typewriters that are almost 100 years old, to ideas on organizing delivery of each and every note in the community. Also they want to create a trademark that ensures that the Love on the Run event and the ideas and values that it was created from will be upheld no matter how many cities participate.

There are some pretty sweet rewards when you pledge for the project over at Kickstarter so have a look and also check out the Love on the Run website (note to boyfriends: some of the rewards include the typing and sending of personal Valentine’s notes).

PaperPhine in the special feature on paper “Extrablatt” in the German Burda 2/2012

We’ve been lucky and honoured that quite a few magazines have featured us and our products during the last months. Currently we’re to be found in the German Burda Style 2/2012 in their special feature on paper and paper products including work by Nel Linssen, Jeremy May, Peter Clark, Jude Miller and others. The Burda team put together a treasure trove of modern and contemporary paper design and paper art – thanks!

Dankeschön!

Chestnut Lampshade by Studio Snowpuppe (design by Kenneth and Nellianna).

Sometimes I’m wondering what it is that makes the combination of paper and light so fascinating. One guess is that it is the quality of the light once it filters through paper that is so appealing to people – and that’s probably also one of the reason why I have to write about paper and cardboard lamps once in a while on this blog and share my discoveries with you.

Some of my favourite paper lampshades are by the Dutch Studio Snowpuppe (website in Dutch, read more about them and their studio life on their English Tumblr site).

The story behind Studio Snowpuppe’s lampshades reflects my thoughts about the fascination of paper and light. Energy-saving light bulbs have become very popular in Europe (in Austria they’re the only kind of light bulb still sold) but the problem is that the light they give is just not very nice and quite cold so it’s not a light you want in your living environment. Once the light filters through paper it changes and becomes cosy and nice to live with especially in the light-deprived winter months in Middle and Northern Europe. This was the starting point for Nellianna and Kenneth, the two designers behind Studio Snowpuppe who experimented with paper diamond shapes and developped the origami paper lampshades.

Chestnut Lampshade by Studio Snowpuppe (design by Kenneth and Nellianna).

The Chestnut lampshade was really inspired by Chestnuts and has a cornered outside and a curved inside that you would not expect when looking at its outside. Studio Snowpuppe compares it to the first time you open a chestnut and see that it is very round and curved on the inside. The Chestnut and the Moth lampshades are also available on etsy in a lot of colors.

Signature Lampshade by Studio Snowpuppe (design by Kenneth and Nellianna).

The Signature lampshade is folded out of three huge pieces of parchment paper. It arrives folded in a tube-like shape and “falls” into the ball shape by itself. You can see the video and buy this lampshade here (in Dutch but the pictures are self-explanatory and beautiful).

Jewellery on the cover by Janine Eisenhauer: Etikette Necklace, 2004 and by Saloukee (designed by Sarah Kelly): Solitary Bracelet, 2010. (Photography by Friedmann Rink and Gemma Dewson)

We were really excited when we heard about a book project by Sarah Kelly who is the owner and designer of Saloukee last year and we jumped for joy when we heard that one of our paper yarn bracelets was to be included in the book. This autumn we finally received our copy of Paper Jewellery. Design & Make by Sarah Kelly and by now everybody in the studio owns a copy so that the discussion who was allowed to take home the initial copy finally came to an end (thanks Mrs. Accountant for understanding our business expenses).

One of the pieces that are explained in-depth in the book: Paula Tew: Bound Paper Object, re-purposed paper, thread (Photography: Gemma Dewson). Each step of the instructions is accompanied by a clear and detailed picture that is easy to understand and follow.

The really nice thing about this book is that it really inspires you to start making and creating. There are six chapters that cover different techniques with one project covered and explained in detail and a picture gallery with works by international artists:
- sculpt, fold flaunt (Sarah Kelly)
- twist, knit, knot (Sally Collins)
- repurpose, collate, combine (Paula Tew)
- find, encapsulate, keep (Jessica Mason)
- layer, form, finish (Clare Goddard)
- cut, stack, repeat (Sarah Kelly and Soner Ozenc)
As you can see the projects and instructions were designed and explained by specialists in their respective field – e.g. Sarah herself explains how sculptural pleating works in the first chapter and in another chapter how to create a necklace using laser-cutting multiples. The designers/makers themselves are introduced in the last chapter followed by a paper list, extensive glossary and a list of recommended suppliers. So all the information you might need to get started can be found in the book.

The piece of jewellery explained in the “twist, knit, knot” chapter: Sally Collins: Superfrilly Crocheted Necklace, paper yarn (Photography: Gemma Dawson) and some of the tools and supplies that Sally Collins recommends for these techniques.

The techniques used and explained in the chapters include encasing, crocheting, moulding, sculpting, cutting and binding, with paper types ranging from origami papers, to found papers, to paper yarn so you will surely find something you want to try out for yourself, too. On the PaperPhine blog we already introduced some of the paper jewellery artists and makers so if you’ve been following us you might recognize some of the names and we’ll keep introducing more of them – or you can get a copy of Paper Jewellery. Design & Make and start creating yourself.

Thanks again to Sarah for all her enthousiasm and work – and for a wonderful book!

Website of paper artists and jewellery makers mentionned in this blog article:
Sarah Kelly: saloukee.com
Janine Eisenhauer: www.etikette.biz
Paula Tew: www.paulatew.co.uk
Sally Collins: www.sallycollins.co.uk
Jessica Mason:www.jessicaelizabeth.co.uk
Clare Goddard: www.claregoddard.com

We apologize for being so quiet on the blog these last weeks. We had a wonderful yet slightly stressful Christmas time and just when everything seemed under control again a vicious flu virus made its round in the studio… therefore we’re still somewhat in slow mode at the moment but things – and the blog of course – will pick up again next week and there are plenty of things we want to share with you. Thanks for sticking with us until then.

The PaperPhines preparing for the announced snow storm on Christmas eve

PaperPhine at the Selvedge Christmas Fair 2011

We definitely had a blast at the Selvedge Christmas Fair in London on December 10!

PaperPhine’s Linda went there with two huge bags filled to the brim with our paper twines, paper yarns and some paper yarn jewelry and luckily the British airport workers didn’t go on strike when the plane from Vienna arrived (only the days before and the days afterwards…). The ladies from Selvedge were lovely and the organization perfect – not to mention the setting in the Old Church Hall with lots of style and flair. The walls were completly covered in Nantes fabric by Lewis&Wood that you can also see in the background of our pictures. It was wonderful to meet a lot of other sellers and passionate craftspeople with a special fondness for textiles (you can find a full list of sellers here and it’s really nice to have a look at their websites in case you missed them on the fair). And the customers and people who came by to have a chat were incredible – thanks to them we not only sold well and think about going to the fair again next year but we also got a lot of input and new ideas to take back to the studio in Vienna. Thanks again to everybody!

The one thing we did not quite manage was to take along a big camera as well. Sorry for the not quite so good pictures of the PaperPhine stall.