Sometimes we travel overseas to visit a renowned museum. Other times we find a local gem perfectly aligned to our next artistic exploration. This month I was amazed by the contents of a renovated carriage house in Brookline, MA which houses the International Paper Museum. It’s at the original location of the Carriage House Paper Company, now based in Brooklyn, NY. Donna, our tour guide and co-owner, grew up in the house next door. Her mother started the company after learning papermaking from library books. The couple who owns the company comes back to Massachusetts once a month to give tours of the carriage house – half studio, half museum.
Our tour started in the studio on the ground floor learning about the process and material sourcing. There was a giant mortar and pestle, stacks of screens, hydraulic presses, and so many sinks. The Hollander beater in a back room was built by her husband. They are paper’s power couple.
There were Brookline-grown cotton bolls for tactile exploration. They still had some seeds inside, and I got permission to take one home. I hope it’s viable. I can’t wait to try to grow it once it warms up. My combined garden-art goal this summer is to see if I can make all the paper I need next year from our garden plants. It would be wonderful to include some home-grown cotton pulp from such a special seed. Crossing fingers…
After about an hour in the studio, we went to the second floor of the carriage house to the museum section. There were beautiful artifacts, most from halfway across the globe. I posted a handful of images on IG from my visit. Here’s the museum's website. If you find yourself around Boston, I recommend checking to see if there is a tour going on while you’re there.
Before I start my foray into turning weeds into paper and paper into art, I’m wrapping up final preparations for my solo show next week on Friday, May 8th. I’m very excited. Come say hi if you can. Soon after that though, I’ll be getting my dye plant seeds into the ground. I'll also be researching to see how many more local hidden museums I'm missing out on.
Have you visited all the specialist or obscure museums in your area?
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Here is info on my current and upcoming shows:
- Solo Exhibition, The Gallery at Central, Providence, RI; May 6, 2026 – June 2, 2026; *Opening Friday, May 8, 2026 from 5-7pm
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Until next time,
Joç
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