Zó Project- traditional techniques and a contemporary twist
By Sadie Christie ● Images by Joseph Gobin
What Tran Hồng Nhung knows about paper, one year after of starting her company Zó Project, could fill a beautiful and resilient book. The unique paper with which she has begun working is handcrafted for Zó in Bắc Ninh and Hòa Bình province using ancient techniques that encourage us to slow down and appreciate the process. The paper’s subtle textures created by the pressed pulp of local Dó bark are distinctly rustic-looking, in long, loose sheets, or transformed by Zó, into cards, paper lamp shade designs, matchboxes and notebooks bound between beautiful hand-painted designs, stencils, bold solid colors, and old, printed photographs.
Nhung is passionate about the history and culture contained within Dó paper and its traditional process of creation, from history being drawn and written on its pages by poets, artists and kings since the 13th Century. Today, the traditional art of paper-making is known by only a few ethnic minority families in Bắc Ninh and Hòa Bình province, as cheaper, mass-produced options become more prominent in our industrialized society. For Nhung, it is not only about preserving the trees and the paper itself, but also a reminder “to the young generation not to forget about our roots. If we don’t understand the past, we cannot live in the now to make a future.”
Zó works with ecologists, the families and local artists, in order to find socially conscious, creative, and beautiful solutions to preserve the traditional art of papermaking. They believe that by creating a small, passionate demand for Dó paper, it will show the last masters of the craft that their profession can still be valued, appreciated and utilised in modern society. Of course there are utilitarian reasons the product has lasted so long, the paper can range in thickness depending on your needs, gripping ink, bleeding paint slightly through the veins—a watercolor’s dream. Zó also offers workshops at their office and studio and organizes larger events, to teach the papermaking process, silk-screen printing, bookbinding, and calligraphy, reminding us of the beauty in patient and mindful creation.
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Join the Zó team to celebrate their one-year anniversary on June 28th at Chez Xuan, as they showcase their products and celebrate the art, soul and creation of Dó paper through creative workshops, exhibitions and live music. Tickets are 100K/adult, 50K/student and free for children at Chez Xuan, 41/76 An Dương, Hanoi.
