Decorative paper is a year round obsession for me, but with Christmas not far away and present wrapping about to get into full swing it was a particular treat to discover the colourful, beautiful work of IMPRINT on Saturday at the Selvedge Winter Fair.
Cambridge-based IMPRINT is a collaboration between painter Claerwen James, textile artist Jane Powell and ceramicist Ali Murphy, who all “share an interest in pattern and texture and the beauty of household objects in everyday use”.
They create their designs using traditional methods such as block printing and hand stencilled screen-printing and then use modern digital and litho processes to transfer those designs to their products via small-scale manufacture which is all carried out in the United Kingdom. The creative trio behind IMPRINT describe their inspiration as:
“… eclectic, ranging from hand-blocked Indian fabrics to Uzbek suzani, Florentine papers and red and white American quilts. The partners all enjoy the joyful yet slightly earnest aesthetic of the Arts and Crafts movement in the 19th century, or Laura Ashley and Clothkits in the late sixties and early seventies, but also the pared down simplicity of Jim Ede’s house at Kettle’s Yard, a strong local influence on all three artists. They celebrate the endless variety produced by repetition of pattern and variation of colour”.
The colourful decorative papers are printed in the UK onto FSC archival quality paper using custom-mixed 100% vegetable oil-based inks. This lovely matte paper has a hand printed feel and is perfect to use as wrapping paper, as it’s lightweight enough to fold easily and crisply, but is also completely opaque making it suitable for many other uses too. I’m thinking it would be ideal for bookbinding, and maybe also making lampshades.
As well as their gorgeous selection of papers, IMPRINT also apply some of their designs onto cards, notebooks and mugs, for which they use traditional English Creamware manufactured in Stoke on Trent.
So if you’re looking for something a little different for wrapping your Christmas presents this year, searching for cards or gifts for colour and pattern lovers, or just needing a dose of colour therapy then do take a peak at www.cambridgeimprint.com – it’s a lovely website chock full of beautiful, inspirational things.
Images: IMPRINT
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