Red List Comment Submission

Commenting on: Paper making (commercial handmade)

Section one - About you

Section two - Description of the craft

If you are commenting on an existing craft, please select it here and skip the next two questions

Please enter the name of the craft you would like us to add here.

If this is a new craft type please select the most suitable category

Please identify country, region, county or town

Please identify country, region, county or town

Please identify an era/century/approximate historic period.

Heritage Crafts uses a system of four categories of risk to assess the viability of heritage crafts. A heritage craft is considered to be viable if there are sufficient craftspeople to transmit the craft skills to the next generation. For more information on definitions see http://heritagecrafts.org.uk/redlist/categories-of-risk/

Section three - Current numbers of those practising the craft in the UK

People earning their main craft income from this craft (selling, commissions, conservation/ restoration and/or teaching).

People practicing this craft commercially (selling, commissions, conservation/restoration and/or teaching) but as less than half of their income.

People acquiring skills in order to become a professional in this craft, they probably have to work under supervision even if they are earning money while training.

People whose knowledge and ability is at a level of the most skilled practitioners of this craft.

People who do not intend to practice this craft professionally or at the highest level.

Section four - Issues affecting the viability of the craft

Existing content:
  • Loss of skills: Hand made papermaking is an inherently variable process, but the measure of craftsmanship is how little variation there is between each making. In a commercial setting/batch-production setting there is very little variation, which takes an enormous level of skill that comes from practice and repeat-making on a larger scale. Furthermore, the treatment of the fibres is all-important in papermaking, but this is a skill that a lot of studio makers do not have because they haven’t been trained in it.
  • Contraction of the mainstream industry: Smaller enterprises rely on the mainstream industry for raw materials such as acid free sizes and cotton linter for pulp – the manufacturers only sell in extreme bulk so smaller enterprises cannot buy materials directly from the manufacturers and instead buy from the mainstream industry (smaller enterprises may then sell materials to studio paper makers who require even smaller quantities). The contraction of the domestic mainstream industry therefore has a knock-on effect on the smaller enterprises.
  • Contraction of the mainstream industry: In the mainstream papermaking industry, people were promoted through the mill and learned from the poeple they were working under and progressed. They were also offered training, e.g. City and Guilds, HNC, HND, and a degree in paper science. However, that infrastructure was dismantled about 25 years ago because the industry couldn’t support/afford it. As the mainstream industry has matured, fewer people are employed, so the pool of talent in the industry is much smaller and many technicians increasingly come from abroad. This also means there are fewer people with the skills who may wish to set up in a more handmade setting.
  • Market issues: Paper is proverbially cheap (‘not worth the paper it’s printed on’) and you are therefore producing something for a market in which people are used to paying very low prices.
  • Market issues: While in some cases you might be making a product that is not available by mass manufacture (such as specialist grades for paper conservation), in many cases you are not creating a new product or a new market and instead have to convince a client that handmade paper is preferable to mass manufactured paper. The market is there, but the challenge lies in reaching it.
  • Market issues: demand (painters, textile artists and conservators), willingness to pay the price of a handmade sheet, as opposed to machine made product (requires appreciation of the skilled handmade paper process and the impact of quality on users work)
  • Loss of associated crafts: paper mould making is now extinct in the UK, so it is difficult to acquire moulds if you are setting up a new. Lower quality moulds are available, but they don’t compare with the real thing. There are makers in France and Belgium but no one appears to have taken up the craft in the UK yet. Similarly, wool blankets are the best for transferring marks but it is getting harder to find the right type of blanket.
  • Cost of equipment: To make paper on a commercial basis, you need a beater – these are very rare second hand, and very expensive to buy new – which poses a challenge for anyone setting up in the craft.
  • Supply of raw materials: The price of fibre and chemicals have increased.
  • Cost of premises: Anyone wishing to set up as a commercial paper maker will require suitable premises, which would be prohibitively expensive for anyone learning the craft.
  • Lifestyle: Paper making on a commercial scale is hard physical work, which many people aren’t prepared for nowadays, and often involves subsistence living.

e.g. lack of qualifications, funding for training etc.

If yes, please describe the issues below

e.g. lack of demand for products/skills etc.

If yes, please describe the issues below

Tick the box if there are difficulties with the supply of raw materials, allied materials or tools

If yes, please describe the issues below

i.e. issues around running any small business, not just crafts

If yes, please describe the issues below

Is the main workforce made up of people who are approaching retirement age?

If yes, please describe the issues below

e.g. legal restrictions on materials, health and safety etc.

If yes, please describe the issues below

e.g. Brexit, Covid-19, conflict

If yes, please describe the issues below

Please describe any other issues

Section five - Current Initiatives to preserve craft skills

Please describe any UK projects or schemes

Section six - Main players in the craft – please tell us who you know about

Please list any known practitioners of this craft — add a row item for each person or business and complete the fields to the best of your knowledge. To get started click the `Add practitioner` button below.

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Add practitioner

Section seven - Optional additional information

It may include when and where the craft developed, how it has changed over time, etc.

e.g. festivals, religious celebrations, agricultural practices, music, dance etc.

e.g. religious, ethnic, social class. Please give an overview of the techniques involved in the craft.

This may involve different materials, techniques, styles or finished products.

e.g. books, websites etc.