2020 Year in review

Our cat Ben inspects a batch of watermark paper made at our home this spring.

This year, it's been well, different. Since we began the studio back in 2012, we've had our share of ups and downs. We find ourselves yet again at a crossroads, adapting the studio around external pressures and internal needs.

We'll take stock of the year that was in a moment, but before that we need to share some timely news about some big changes.

First off, we're moving. While we have loved renting a space inside the Disjecta Contemporary Art Center complex for the past 3 years, we have made the difficult decision that we need to move on. We are currently in the process of moving the studio to our home in Oregon City, and have established ourselves as a home based business for the foreseeable future. 

As we shift to being fully home based by Feb 1, 2021, we are adjusting our operations. We've been thinking hard for the past 10 months about our capacity for running the studio while giving our all to our other jobs that pay our bills (Jenn works at the non-profit c3:initiative, and Gary began working at Cash App this July.)

Pulp + Deckle is a labor of love. Our expenses have consistently outpaced our income, and to be honest sometimes (especially this year) it's been tempting to say we should let the business go. But there's still so much we want to do and share via the studio, so rather than close up entirely, we're adapting.

Recently we applied for a forgivable loan for which we did not receive funding. We were hoping to purchase a mobile trailer to house our primary equipment for hosting future  workshops and retail sales pop-ups at outdoor locations. We still have the dream of buying a mobile trailer, but for now we've put that dream on hold while we work on creating income from retail sales.

Our main goals for 2021 are both philosophical and practical. Philosophically we have found this year that our desire to connect our business to the natural world is stronger than ever. Our connection to place, as we have sheltered in place, has only increased. How can we better share our love of the natural world through our business? We'll be trying to answer that question by offering more online demos and workshops that focus on place. We can't wait to begin sharing this content in early 2021.

On the practical side of things we want to earn enough income via retail sales that we can save up funds and buy a mobile studio trailer. We've talked with 3 local sellers who gave us bids for trailers with water tanks, electricity, a retail window, and built in workspaces. The lowest bid is $25,300. Knowing that this is a significant amount of money, it may take us some time to make this dream a reality without putting ourselves at financial risk.

At this time we are not planning any in person engagements with the studio. It is very strange to plan for a year without in person workshops or our annual artist in residence program. While so much uncertainty remains around the safety of gathering in person we feel it's best to not make these types of plans. We hope that by 2022 we can offer workshops in parks, schools, and maybe even our yard. And who knows what new and exciting format the 2022 residency program might take! 

For now we are grateful that we have a garage and a yard where we can make paper and record educational content to share with you. We hope that in pulling back the curtain and telling you all this that it helps clarify the changes we're making. 

Before we wrap this up here's a look back at 2020.

• In February we partnered with Hand Papermaking Inc to host an Open House event
• We hosted a full spring workshop focusing on using recycled textiles for making paper, before having to close the studio to the public and cancel all our other classes.
• We partnered with c3:initiative to safely host 5 artists in residence for the c3: Papermaking Residency. You can scroll back through the blog to see photo highlights of Jenn working one-on-one with each resident.
• We made several custom paper and pulp orders over the spring/early summer at our home. 
• In October we attended our sixth North American Hand Papermakers conference, this year held virtually for the first time. Jenn presented a Pecha Kucha style talk about her 2017 art project, Fruits of the Sun (for all the unknowns.)

It's been a quieter year overall for the studio. We are grateful to have the capacity to evolve and look forward to being in touch with you more regularly in 2021. 

Thanks for your interest and support! We'll be renting a truck to move out of our studio in January and your financial support will help make that process a lot less stressful. If you would like to make a contribution towards the operations of the studio you can make a donation here. 

Be well and take care friends!

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