I was so excited when I first came across Porridge Papers, a papermill and letterpress studio (yes, both!) located in Lincoln, NE. I think it’s terrific that Christopher James, who started the company, got the idea to make paper professionally by using a little papermaking kit - I get how the feel of that pulp could be addictive.
Now, along with Samantha McCullough (and a slew of interns and other staff help), Porridge Papers makes a full line of their “super natural” papers, offers custom papers and has begun doing their own letterpress printing. I can only imagine that I would feel like a kid in a candy store if I could visit their studio!
Pictured above is just a smattering of their collection of Super Natural papers, including some with flower petals, some that are food-inspired (”guacamole” is top left), a handful that have glitter in the pulp, and a few that are scented.
Above is a collection of 2500 commissioned greeting cards - they made the paper AND did the letterpress printing. The paper had embedded maple seeds and was designed with 4 perforated “re-gift” cards that could be torn off and re-used as notes or gift cards.
I love the fact that they both make the paper and do their own printing. That results in utterly custom work with an eye on every detail - what capabilities! I’m excited to learn more about their new “beefy” papers created just for letterpress printing.
I was just talking about the plantable paper from Botanical Paperworks, but I admit I’d been wondering if it really worked. There didn’t seem to be any pictures on the Botanical Paperworks website showing the stuff actually “in process” or growing. So I was totally pleased to come across this image from Porridge on their flickr site - it sounds like even they are surprised when their fresh paper starts to sprout!
I love their little herb notecard set (pictured above and below) with custom seed paper and letterpress printing (great colors)! The set is available in their etsy store.
They clearly love what they’re doing at Porridge Papers - it’s such a treat to scroll through pictures of their shop renovation and see their enormous piles of scrap paper. AND they have an etsy store so you can easily buy some of their work right here.
Filed under: greeting cards
The graphic fabric squares and a little sewn border attracted me to the work of Anna Ruby King on etsy. I’m still not over my sewn paper / fabric-sewn-to-paper interest; I think it adds a nice finishing and decorative detail.
I’m impressed by anyone who can decide to give something a shot without a whole lot of experience; according to her profile, Anna’s background is in jewelry design and printmaking, but shes been drawn to fabrics and their color and pattern. Although she says she doesn’t really sew, I think she’s done a great job on all the details of her work. She also features some lovely pencil & gouached art cards in her store (below). I also adore her little fabric birds situated on a beautiful green paint chip (I’ve always wanted to figure out some good projects using paint chips!) - you can see all on Anna’s etsy store right here.
