Postcards · Soho House x Paper Foundation The art of travel: from bedsheets to postcards
At the crossroads of brand communication, customer relations and social and environmental responsibility, the international hotel chain and private members club Soho House, dedicated to professionals in the creative sector, has created a set of illustrated postcards in collaboration with Angelo Dolojan, the Paper Foundation and Imprimerie du Marais. This rare gift is a real ode to tailor-made, eco-responsible souvenir.
Fully committed to developing more sustainable practices in their business sector, the Soho House teams were intrigued by the possibility of transforming some of their waste into a branding medium when it came to creating postcards to offer to their customers. This opportunity was made all the more concrete by their meeting with the teams at the Paper Foundation in Burnside, a centre of British papermaking in the Lake District.
This meeting resulted in the design of a unique material, made to measure by the talented craftspeople of the Paper Foundation from used linen sheets from Soho Houses in the UK. When textile fibres are transformed into paper pulp this way, the handcrafted, sustainable essence of this profoundly collaborative project comes to the fore.
The remarkable texture and suppleness of this exceptional medium with a natural off-white tone make it the perfect setting for the 28 original illustrations that enliven all the postcards. It took all the expertise of our photo-proofing and litho printing workshops to work on their exact four-colour reproduction, revealing the exquisite beauty of this gallery of new-style portraits by illustrator Angelo Dolojan.
His polychrome, watercolour-like drawings, make up a singular inventory of the Soho Houses that populate the world. From colours to textures, from leisure time to conviviality, they explore the identity of these unique places and the men and women who inhabit them. Through an attentive and joyful study of their daily lives, Angelo Dolojan meticulously depicts the architecture and atmosphere of each Soho House, with its cultural influences and creative specificities, all set against a palette of pastel colours.
With this elegant use of upcycling, Soho House combines the art of travel with craftsmanship and environmental conservation, reminding us that the poetic combination of skills can give rise to virtue, beauty and emotion. Now, Soho House guests are able to treasure these postcards as souvenirs or to send them around the world, embracing in their turn the notions of circularity and creative peregrinations that are so dear to the spirit of the House.
Behind the scene
The Workshops
"When textile fibres are transformed into paper pulp, the handcrafted, sustainable essence of this collaborative project comes to the fore."
"Our photo-proofing and litho printing workshops worked out the exact four-colour reproduction of the gallery of new-style portraits by illustrator Angelo Dolojan."
"With this elegant use of upcycling, Soho House combines the art of travel with craftsmanship and environmental conservation."
