The Craft and Material Security team is developing flax-based paper prototypes in collaboration with a local hand papermaker and an industry partner. The paper slurry uses linen rag derived from post-manufacturing waste, as well as raw flax fibres sourced from regional farmers. Flax paper is a unique product, traditionally desired for its durability and crispness. Applications may include stationery, garments, product design, and furniture.
Linen offcuts from post-manufacturing waste need to be processed before being made into paper. Through cutting or shredding, knitted and woven cloth will be broken down into fine pieces. The resulting material will be light, airy, and fibrous, an ideal input for papermaking pulp. Linen was used historically and is a desirable substitute for cotton rag or wood pulp, the most common materials in commercial papermaking today.
Raw flax fibre requires processing before being made into paper, either through mechanical beating or fermentation. To avoid excessive beating, flax fibres are soaked and fermented over a period of days or boiled with an alkali such as wood ash or caustic soda. This stage softens the tough flax fibres, making them more pliant and acceptable for papermaking.
The processed materials are mixed with water using a mechanical Hollander beater at the papermaking studio in Montreal. The pulp made from the linen fibre and water is poured into a papermaking deckle and molded into the desired shape before it is pressed, dried, and cut into sheets. As experimenting continues, effective methods of incorporating raw flax fibres into the pulp will be explored.
Atelier Retailles was founded in 2018 by Concordia graduate Sophie P-Voyer, in collaboration with fellow graduate, Sophia Cirignano. Located in Montreal’s Mile End, Atelier Retailles is a small paper-making studio with a deep interest in sustainability and circularity—retailles being the French word for scraps and trimmings. The studio is an active member of its community, offering workshops, artistic collaborations, and support for paper-related endeavors. As papermaking enthusiasts and innovators, Atelier Retailles is working with an openness to material exploration and working with linen, and the project is grateful for their collaborative approach.
