• About

This Handcrafted Life

~ decorative painting, low-tech photography and paper craft

This Handcrafted Life

Tag Archives: paper shops in florence

On the hunt for marbled papers in Florence

19 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by ThisHandcraftedLife in decorative papers, Paper Craft

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

florence, florence italy, handmade marbled paper, handmade paper, history of hand marbling, marbled papers, marbling, paper shops, paper shops in florence, travel

When I travelled to Florence, one of the things I was on the hunt for, other than the perfect gelato, was handmade Florentine marbled paper. Marbled papers are amazing, a perfect balance between control and chance. Italian marbled papers have been made in Florence since the 17th century. Lots of secret techniques involved, no surprise.

Alberto Cozzi, on Via del Parione, was my favorite shop, selling marbled papers, paper products and stationery. The sheets are made right there, in the back. Buying full-sized sheets would have been too expensive; luckily they sold 5 x 7 packets of different designs and I got a couple of those.

Next up was a beautiful little art store called Zecchi on Via Dello Studio. It took three visits to arrive when it was actually open, but it was worth the tease. Inside, a small stash of full-sized sheets at good prices, not to mention all kinds of cool art supplies. Here’s one of the beauties I found:

One of the best-known Florentine paper shops is Giulio Giannini e Figlio, across from the Pitti Palace. They had all sorts of beautifully wrapped journals, boxes, pencils and other items. Here’s their website. Gorgeous stuff.

The big question for me when i look at marbled papers is, how did they make that pattern? Here’s a handy post that shows marbling being done in Florence. This post has photos of all sorts of patterns while talking about the history and techniques of marbling around the world.

If you’ve been to Florence and found some beautiful shops selling papers or other handmade goodies, I’d love to hear about it.

If you’d like to buy marbled papers here in the States, there are many sources.
One favorite is Paper Mojo.
Just today, I found this shop on Etsy selling handmade marbled papers.
And to finish off, a few of the things I’ve made using marbled sheets (some from Florence), papers I always come back to because they’re just so gorgeous.

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 330 other followers

Come Join the Gang!

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Recent Posts

  • Designing with Light: Gilding a Wall
  • Finding an Old Growth Forest in Manhattan
  • Color Matching Madness
  • Meandering Around Munich
  • Sketchbook: Why Cats Seem Indifferent

Top Posts & Pages

  • How Do They Do That? Chinoiserie Wallpaper
  • How Do They Do That? Painted Woodgrain
  • Painting a Martin guitar
  • Meeting the Murals of Alphabet City
  • Paper Crafting with Italian Florentine Papers

My Decorative Painting Website

Handmade Paper Craft in my Etsy shop

Tags

aluminum leaf architecture art Australia beach birds black and white black and white photography cat central park cityscape color matching craft crafting decorative painting decorative paper decorative papers diana camera drawing embroidery family history faux finish faux finishes faux finishing faux marble faux oak faux painting faux wood faux wood grain fine art florence food gardens gilding glazing handmade book handmade paper illustration interior design italy landscape long island manhattan marble marbling murals nature needlework new york new york city oak painted finishes painted marble painted oak painted wood painting paper craft photography pinhole pinhole camera pinhole photography plastic camera portrait portraiture sculpture sewing silkscreen sketch sketchbook strie sydney toy camera travel trompe l'oeil woodgraining

Categories

Archives

  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
Online Marketing
Add blog to our blog directory.

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy