Meet: Plein Papier

Coming across Plein Papier via the world wide web was somehow one of the coolest clicks that I ever made ;) I was so happy to be introduced to this amazing studio and the two creatives behind it. From the first email response I was smitten and drawn to their cool vibe and creative energy. Plein Papier is a Lausanne based book binding and design studio run by Raphaël Rehm and Hélène Montero.

Read on for a look in to their inspiration and especially their new 2019 planner that just arrived at Hey That's Nice

What was the inspiration behind starting Plein Papier?

We met in Brussels when we were students, one in graphic design, the other in bookbinding. We immediately loved our respective work. It was complementary.

We needed each other and we started to work together for our school works. It gave us inspiration to continue. We wanted to make book structures and we started making notebooks for people and think about everything we can do with paper and graphic design. It just starts!

Where are you based and what are some of your favorite places there for shopping, coffee or eating/meeting with friends?

We are based in Lausanne since 2 years. 

We really work a lot, almost every day but we don't miss to go to the market to buy some good local vegetables (we need a lot of energy!), and take time to have a coffee at Café des Artisans, anyway we love what they cook! We eat often at Le Milan. It's a really habit. We taste all the suggestions.

Your 2019 planners are here! Can you talk a little about the design behind them?

All the planner's structure is based from typography. The horizontal lines are stretched.

We work on the concept of frequency. That's what time is. Different frequencies.

So the grid is an evolution. The column of weeks, the column of days and the page of seasons, that is more airy. Time can go by like lightning. You're free inside. 

There is an implanted structure and some things can move inside. The numbers of weeks down and the months move according to the season. 

We worked closely with the photographer: Léonore Baud, to develop the concept of her images in the planner. There are 52: one a week. They are classified by density, like time's structure. They are becoming clearer. And this is their history. They are 19th century negatives. It's glass. The images fade. We only see the time's marks that as passed. It's dizzying. That was the whole aspect of Leonore Baud's work we loved. This images talk about time and time become something graphic. 

And the transparent paper talks about this glass and this time always imbued with the past and the future. 

We hope you'll like it!