Laurel Parker and Paul Chamard: Villa Kujoyama, washi Paper, and their current projects
Since 2011, Laurel Parker and Paul Chamard have been working together under the name Laurel Parker Book in a design studio specializing in creating artist books and luxury objects. Residents at Villa Kujoyama in 2019, their research focused on washi paper, traditionally used in Japan and recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage material. Returning to Villa Kujoyama in 2024, they discuss their work, their connection to Japan, and their current projects.
Updated on 05/12/2024
5 min

For the past eleven years, you’ve been collaborating to create luxury objects using artisanal publishing techniques. What is the specificity of this work?
Laurel Parker: We run a design and fabrication workshop for books, as well as objects like boxes and cases, where everything is handmade. We respond to commissions from artists, galleries, luxury brands, institutions, and libraries. These clients require something that is both beautiful and extremely well-crafted while meeting the specific design needs of their projects.
Paul Chamard: We've been working together since 2011, and our projects tend to come in waves. They are often related to the art sector, particularly artist book editions, but we also take on luxury projects, which sustain the workshop. Especially in Paris, we have access to many companies that demand truly exceptional work. Handmade production allows for a lot of flexibility in creating small series, which is what people seek us out for.
You were residents at Villa Kujoyama in Japan in 2019 and again in 2024. What do you take away from these experiences?
Laurel Parker: We’ve completed two residencies: first in 2019 and then this year, in June 2024. We’ve both been passionate about washi for a long time—it’s handmade Japanese paper made from endemic Japanese fibers. It fascinates us because it’s completely different from Western paper. It’s a material that resembles textile more than paper and can be crumpled, folded, or dyed in unique ways. Through our visits, we learned that washi has been used for centuries not just as a writing material but also as a textile to decorate interiors and create objects. Many of these techniques are disappearing due to a lack of demand, but they still survive in the decorative sector.
Paul Chamard: The techniques have persisted over time, but their uses today are entirely different. Many washi products are now geared toward popular or folkloric purposes, often used for festivals or tourism. Through our research project, we were able to meet washi specialists and deeply investigate this material. During our first residency, we explored traditional treatments of paper—the gestures and techniques that give it its unique properties. This experience enriched our workshop practice, enabling us to incorporate washi into our projects in France.
What has Villa Kujoyama brought you? Was it pivotal in developing your connections with Japan?
Laurel Parker: This year, we started a new documentary project on the uses and repurposing of paper scraps. We were able to continue this work thanks to the people we met there. We visited about thirty washi artisans for our documentary film and for our interior design projects.
Paul Chamard: The language barrier is very present. Even though we are warmly welcomed and Japanese artisans are very open in their workshops, there is always that barrier. In 2019, Villa Kujoyama helped us overcome this obstacle and delve deeper into discussions. This year, we were fortunate to work with a French woman living in Kyoto who specializes in distributing exceptional papers.
Your edition Regarder les oiseaux, created with Françoise Pétrovitch, was recently acquired by the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature. How did this collaboration come about?
Laurel Parker: Regarder les oiseaux reflects our work as publishers: inviting artists to collaborate with us to create art. While washi wasn’t used in this project, we drew inspiration from the aesthetics of ikebana, the Japanese art of floral arrangement.
Paul Chamard: In the meantime, we exhibited our Inside Outside installation (made of washi paper) at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature during Design Week in 2022, through a collaboration between Villa Kujoyama, the Institut français, and the museum. This allowed us to meet the museum’s leadership and staff, who took an interest in our editions, leading to the acquisition of Regarder les oiseaux.
Your Inside Outside installation examines the contemporary use of washi. Why did you decide to work with this material?
Laurel Parker: I studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and after graduating, I worked as a buyer for an art supply store. That’s where I discovered washi. Later, I became an artist’s assistant in a workshop that used washi, and I realized how incredible this material was—it felt more like fabric. Gradually, I learned about the various treatments used in decorative papers and became fascinated. In the coming years, these traditional techniques will disappear; the old artisans in Japan won’t be around anymore, and there will be no one to carry on their work. I hope that this kind of exchange between countries will generate more interest in keeping these techniques alive.
Paul Chamard: Historically, washi has many natural qualities: it’s thin, strong, and durable. Meeting the specialists of this material directly transformed our working habits and led us to new projects for the studio.
What are your upcoming projects? Will you continue your research on washi?
Paul Chamard: Our exhibition at Galerie Sinople ended on October 5. It featured works developed using techniques we discovered during our residency, which we reinterpreted. These included objects related to interior architecture that could be installed as both artworks and materials.
Laurel Parker: The collection is called Folded By Hand. Everything is made from washi that is hand-folded, crumpled, transformed, and sewn in our studio. We’re also working on our film Mitsumata Square, shot in June 2024, which we hope to complete in 2025. However, we need financial support for translations since the film will be in French, Japanese, and English to reach a broader audience. The film focuses on specific types of washi used as tools in the production of gold leaf.
We’ve also created lanterns that have been installed at Terminal in Kyoto since October 16, as part of an exhibition celebrating ten years of crafts at Villa Kujoyama. These lanterns will also be displayed at the Institut français in Kyoto. We printed a QR code on the lanterns, which, when scanned, will link to a trailer for our film.

Villa Kujoyama is an artistic institution within the cultural cooperation network of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. It operates under the Institut français of Japan, in coordination with the Institut français, and benefits from the support of the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, its main patron.
2024 marks the first 10 years of craft residencies at Villa Kujoyama, initiated thanks to the support of the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation.