A Trip to the Paper Maker

In one of our guidebooks we read there is a paper maker living in Fianarantsoa and it recommended making a trip out to his studio. We’ve tried to incorporate into our weekends a jaunt in or around the city thought this sounded like a good way to spend a Saturday. However, the directions in the book weren’t entirely clear; about the only place we could locate with any accuracy on the map was where Kristen and I would start arguing over how best to find the route. We consulted our hotel’s receptionist for more detailed directions. With the aid of a thirty year old map, he gave us enough confidence to strike off to find the paper maker.

The walk was pleasantly uneventful—our directions steered us correctly along the right paths. Along the way we ran into the paper maker himself, Mr. Maurice, who was returning home from doing errands in town. Maurice runs his studio out of his house and is a real family affair. In fact, he learned his trade from his parents, and now he’s teaching the art to the third generation.

Maurice’s home is completely dedicated to the paper making process. In one corner of his concession a cauldron sat balanced on three large rocks. The first step in the lengthy process is to cook down the plant material in the cauldron. In another corner stood racks of finished paper laid out to dry in the afternoon sun. Throughout the concession flecks of paper waste covered the ground like snowflakes. A little further in was a small out-building that serves as his gift shop. On display were cards with flowers pressed into the paper, photo albums, wall hangings, cute little paper boxes, and much more. The craftsmanship was really fine and we marveled at his inventiveness. However, what struck us more than the products was the array of flowers planted throughout the concession. Flowers of all sizes and colors could be found, along with greenery, like small ferns, and are used to decorate the various paper products. What a great fringe-benefit.

Making designs

Maurice gave us the full tour, starting from scratch and going all the way to the finished product. Kristen really got into the decorating phase of the tour and even tried her hand at it. Like a good salesman, Maurice left the gift shop until the end, and once he had us safely inside, he strategically stood in the doorway. We decided to buy a dozen note cards decorated with flowers. While we were picking out our cards we talked about what we were doing here in Fianar and that we were friends (and neighbors) with Karen and Mark Freudenberger. When Maurice learned we weren’t just some tourists blowing through town, he gave us the local discount. We thanked him for our tour and promised to return with any guests that might visit us during our time in Fianar.

Kristen designed the top two panels