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DECORATED PAPERS

Producing my own decorated papers gives my customers the exclusivity when it comes to coulours and patterns. Paper decorating techniques are ancient forms of art. For instance, Suminagashi, from Japan, or paste paper, from Italy, are both centuries old. Sometimes, depending on the bookbinding project, I choose a contemporary approach for the traditional technique.

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A few examples of paste paper


Block printed fishes with gold highlights on a blue paste paper



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The utterly Japanese delicate patterns of Suminagashi papers



Marbled paper



More marbled papers, including a blue stone paper





Here is the legend of the Spanish ripple. Long ago, in Spain, so the story goes, a bindery master told one of his workers to produce some stone pattern marbled paper. The worker, who, the night before, had enjoyed quite a few bottles, was unable to control his still shaky hands to do the job properly. Stubbornly, he went on lifting sheet after sheet, the result being far from the round and precise pattern of stone. Intrigued by his silent effort, the master came to investigate and discovered a pile of marbled papers with a completely different pattern, the result of his worker’s alcoholic tremors. And thus was the Spanish ripple pattern born













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