Pulp Papier

🪐Pulp Papier is 10!

By any metric, it remains a tiny, but sustainable operation. Our goal isn't to build an empire, but there is a mission. You could read more about it in the latest newsletter - link is in the first comment!

❄️ As appreciation to you for support over these years, all paper in the webshop is 10% off until the clock strikes midnight on this year...

Thank you, and from our little studio in Berlin, I wish you all a gentle slide into a kinder, more peaceful 2026.

◽Japanese Papers, Tools, + Treatments
◽Sint Niklaas, 13.04.25

▫️Pictured: Moriki Kozo, Kizuki Somegami Kozo, Matsuo Kozo
▫️Photo by: .opina

〰️Never not moving...

I had a bit of an accident and have been down to one working hand for a couple weeks! But, with the help of some good friends, we've tried to keep up with orders and preparing for this weekend's Bookbinding Fair in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium!

Action shots taken by the best studio helper, Ina⚡

〰️ Some continued experiments 〰️

Last November, in residency at I treated a few sheets of kozo and gampi papers - produced by - with some freshly fermented (summer 2024) kakishibu (fermented persimmon dye) - produced by

As it usually ferments for a year to get the distinctive dark red-brown colour, this kakishibu was still a very light yellow. I knew that unlike most natural dyes, kakishibu darkens in sunlight so I continued the experiment in Berlin.

I have some very good sun exposure in my studio so I taped a few of my treated sheets to the window for a couple *months* - it is winter, in dark Berlin.... Thankfully, for my own mental health and for the experiment, we had a couple very sunny weeks and the change in colour has been stark!!

From left to right on the second slide, all papers were treated with 2 layers of freshly fermented Kakishibu:

Kozo paper, little sun exposure
Kozo paper, sun exposure
Kozo paper, konnyaku treatment before kakishibu, sun exposure
Gampi paper, konnyaku treatment before kakishibu,
sun exposure

Bicchu Torinoko Gampi - morning posting makes for uneditable spelling mistakes. Here is some information about this beautiful paper featured in our Instagram stories today.

100% Japanese Gampi, 55,5 x 42 cm, handmade

Made in Okayama Prefecture.
This beautiful and light paper is characteristically crisp from the Japanese Gampi fibres contained within it. The warm, grey colouring is attained with a natural dye process of Japanese chestnut husk and ferrous sulphate. It is then dried on wooden boards - the impressions of the boards remains on the paper.

This paper is no longer being made and is limited in our inventory.

In 2018, we visited the Wazome katazome-shi production studio in Kyoto (JP). Mr. Kawakatsu, the owner, showed us around the entire studio, including every part of the production process. He was incredibly open with his time and knowledge and it remains one of my fondest memories in Japan. I have kept his business card tacked to the shelf in my studio since that visit as a reminder of his generosity - it was the first time that I exchanged business cards with someone in the paper business, and I was embarassed to hand him my sort of wonky, handmade one in exchange for his very professional one.

So we were incredibly shocked and saddened to hear of his sudden, and untimely passing. Saddened further to learn that without a successor, the Wazome studio has closed and ended production of some of our very favourite papers. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and studio colleagues. And, to all our friends and colleagues in the washi world who knew him - we remain forever grateful to for facilitating our visit.

I keep searching for the original pictures from our visit and worry that they are lost. A permanent “highlight” in our profile depicts our visit through the steps of katazome-shi production.

Unfortunately, all of this means that we have very little katazome-shi available in our webshop.