Make your own sheet of paper from pure cotton. Cotton is the most durable paper due to the high amount of cellulose in the fibre and is used by many artists.

Everyone goes home with one sheet of handmade paper, decorated or not with a few flower petals. Although the sheet is still wet, it is given along in a cover.

Paper scooping was done until about 1720, from then on a rotary sieve was used. All steps, from making pulp, shovelling, carriage of paper, pressing, drying to satinising the paper can be found in a huge paper machine. Because all these steps reflect characteristics in the paper, the knowledge and craft is very important.

De Papierschepperij in Bruges has more than 23 years of experience in giving demonstrations and workshops for adults and children, both in the Papierschepperij itself and on location.

Recently, we have noticed an increased interest in handmade paper. Is it a bit of a countercurrent to the many and swift streams of communication we experience today?

Piet Moerman was born and educated in graphic arts. During his graduate studies, he was already given a lab about paper and a lab about ink. During a weekend, with the family, to the book village of Redu, he saw a paper cutter (Colpin) at work. That got stuck in his head and one thing led to another. In the “museum für papier und drück” in Basel he ordered the first professional scooping frames. In 1999, a building in the centre of Bruges was purchased to be used exclusively as a paper-making shop. Currently, the papierscheppery has an exclusive collection of handmade greeting cards printed with designs by renowned Bruges calligraphers.

By Booktopia (the current book fair in Flanders), the papermaking shop is asked for continuous demonstrations.