Love for papier-mâché

Most of us have probably dipped pieces of newspaper in wallpaper paste and covered a balloon, made a tower out of milk cartons or built a cardboard house in kindergarten. I have never lost my basic admiration for what can be created with humble materials, and now – after working with several different materials for many years – I have returned to papier-mâché.

I have never lost a fundamental admiration for what can be created with humble materials.

Papier-mâché is one of the first things we as children learn to make with our hands.

Most of us have probably dipped pieces of newspaper in wallpaper paste and covered a balloon, made a tower out of milk cartons or built a cardboard house in kindergarten. I have never lost my basic admiration for what can be created with humble materials, and now - after working for many years with several different materials - have returned to papier-mâché.

Inspiration came quite unexpectedly, but it felt like coming home.

I was in the East visiting good Indian friends, whom I had gotten to know around the turn of the millennium in Nepal, where they live. We went on an inspiration trip to India in my search for a new love of craft to throw myself into. We looked at lots of different, creative and beautiful handicrafts, and I soaked up all the impressions.

Suddenly I felt that by traveling out, I had come home.

I became one to that extent. Suddenly and quite unexpectedly, and a bit of a revelation in the midst of all the colorful crafts. I was enormously captivated by the wonderful world of papier-mâché, and deeply fascinated by all the wonderful shapes, decorations, animals and creatures that can be created from something as simple as paper, cotton and water. It awakened my great love for the old craft virtues and everything that is handmade.

I was back to the roots, and the handmade, soulful, made with care and concern, and where each creation was its own, unique, and was perfectly imperfect in my eyes. There were no yardages, copies and assembly lines. I was deeply inspired. I could see myself designing all sorts of shapes and figures, and see them come to life in the hands of the skilled craftsmen, whom I was dying to meet and talk to.

I met one of the artisans and just a few days later I visited the workshop outside Jaipur, where I was greeted by a dozen smiling women with light in their eyes who had made a flower garland for me and blessed me.

Since then, I have felt quite blessed to have met such a wonderful group of loving, talented women!

XO Handcraft Articles

We must respect and take care of each other and our little planet.

Papier-mâché made from recycled paper and surplus cotton In my company, we use recycled paper and cotton fabric from the textile and fashion industries that would otherwise have been burned or thrown away. Around 40 million tons of textile waste, offcuts and other surplus materials, are burned or end up in landfills, and it's almost unbearable to think about. All the cotton fabric we use for papier-mâché is recycled. The same is the paper the Indian women use. Cardboard boxes, newspapers and the like are collected or picked up from landfills, torn into a thousand pieces, mixed into pulp, shaped into decorations according to my design and painted. Everything is done with the hands, with body and soul. I have a hard time with waste, so I really like the recycling of waste products. Basically, I am deeply fascinated by the fact that you can create new life and make the finest things out of materials that would have been burned or thrown away somewhere on our earth. Then we get what we used and avoid depleting the planet of more resources.
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The craft is passed down through generations

My own little creative corner.
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Love for papier-mâché

Most of us have probably dipped pieces of newspaper in wallpaper paste and covered a balloon, made a tower out of milk cartons or built a cardboard house in kindergarten. I have never lost my basic admiration for what can be created with humble materials, and now – after working with several different materials for many years – I have returned to papier-mâché.
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Papier-mâché – from paper to decoration

All papier-mâché crafts are handmade from recycled paper, surplus cotton and biodegradable materials. The paper is waste paper, cardboard boxes and newspapers that are collected from landfills,
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We prefer reusable packaging and recycle everything we can get away with, whether it's cardboard boxes, paper, and filling.

We use our common sense all the way from the first lines drawn in the design phase until you hold the artwork in your hands.

All products are 100% handmade. The products are first designed in Denmark and then handmade by skilled women in India.

We are very concerned about the well-being of the Indian women who make our products – and that we can help ensure that the women have the opportunity to support themselves and their families.

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