The world is filled with replicas, as machines do most of the work for us now. That is probably why there is a novelty about hand-made things. Showing her love for paper, Bengaluru-based designer Jenny Pinto makes everything from scratch. At her studio, Paper Matters, she makes handmade paper and everything is an extension of that. The unique range of beautiful, translucent and textured paper is made from agricultural and craft waste fibres like banana, sisal, mulberry, various river grass, pineapple and more. Her designs range from lights, home accessories and stationery made from these papers.
The journey of Paper Matters started quite accidentally. She had her own production company producing ad films. Jenny shares, “I was a director and producer. After about 20 years in Mumbai making ad films, I moved to Bengaluru with my family and decided to explore a craft. I discovered handmade paper and connected with it as material.” She saw the possibilities of paper beyond stationery and thus began her explorations with paper and light.
She chose paper as a medium of her expression because she feels it is mostly unexplored as an architectural material in India. She saw potential in the huge amounts of plant fibres that were going waste in several cottage industries and at self-help groups. “Also, I think it is a very versatile material and has a low environmental impact,” she adds.
Her studio focuses a lot on recycling and has an eco-friendly approach. “Much of my raw material is banana fibre, from the trunk of the banana plant, which is basically agricultural waste. My process is also a low impact one because it’s largely handmade and my studio is a green building as well,” she explains. Apart from that, she is now experimenting with paper and cement.
“After many years of trying various natural fibres, I zeroed in on banana fibre as it’s a very strong fibre and makes very strong and translucent paper. The preparation of the pulp and the paper is a demanding process, which requires cleaning, cooking, beating, lifting and drying. But, I do not call it tedious because the paper is so beautiful,” she smiles.
One of the biggest challenges in her journey was the material itself. “Procuring the raw material is still a challenge and not many people believe paper is a strong material,” she says.
Talking about handicraft in India, she says, “While the western market gives great value to handmade products, most Indian consumers do not. For us, a handcrafted item should be cheap. We are not willing to pay the price unless it has a designer tag. I find that to be a very distorted view of handicraft. I am not sure what could change consumer mindset in this regard.” Jenny believes that every material has its strengths and weaknesses. “Manuscripts and books last hundreds of years, so the paper is a durable material if you protect it from moisture,” she says.
The studio works for about eight to ten hours each day. “Longer if needed, and we have a team of designers who work quite independently, so my work hours depend on what’s happening at the studio,” she concludes. Jenny also helps several NGOs with design and technical inputs to set up small rural women entrepreneur groups.
