Whoever picks up a pen today almost belongs to a quiet minority. Notes go into the smartphone, letters into the cloud, memories onto hard drives. Paper has become ubiquitous and at the same time invisible. It lies under printers, in archives and transport boxes. Almost no one asks anymore where it comes from, how it is made, or who makes it.
In an old rural house in the heart of Auvergne, a young man is asking exactly these questions.
Étienne Gutfarde, in his early thirties, lives and works in Marsac-en-Livradois, a community in the Livradois-Forez Regional Park. There he makes paper by hand. Sheet by sheet. Slowly. Concentrated. Almost as people did it a century ago.
At a time when speed is considered the measure of everything, this almost looks like a quiet act of resistance.
Whoever enters his workshop does not hear the noise of machines. There are no conveyors setting the rhythm. Instead — water, wood, fabric fibers, and hands. Many hands.
The paper here is not an industrial product. It grows.
The path to this was not simple at all. For a long time, there was no indication that Étienne Gutfard would become a papermaker. At first, his education was in a different field. Sports played an important role in his life. As did traveling. Exploring the world, gaining experience, traveling — this seemed to be his purpose for a long time.
And then the year 2022 came.
As often in life, a great story begins by chance.
Gutfarde arrives at the traditional enterprise of Richard de Bas, one of the last historic paper mills in France. The mill territory is one of those places where the past is not just preserved but lived. Paper has been handmade here for centuries, long before industrial processes revolutionized production.
For the young Auvergnat, a door opens to an unknown world.
Suddenly, he finds himself in the midst of a craft that requires patience. Precision. Attention to details that many people hardly notice anymore.
He learns to process fibers. Learns to form sheets. Press. Dry.
Most importantly—he learns to wait.
Because good paper does not tolerate haste.
What initially was professional experience quickly turns into passion. Working with the material captivates him. Every fiber tells its own story. Every surface reacts to light, moisture, or touch to varying degrees.
One could say: he falls in love with paper.
And, as with any great passion, over time the role of observer is no longer enough.
From employee he becomes creator.
From apprentice — master.
From master — entrepreneur.
By founding “Les Papiers de la Grange,” Étienne Guthfarde opens his own workshop. The name sounds modest. Almost rustic. But behind it hides an ambitious project.
He wants to preserve old knowledge without turning it into a museum.
Because in this he sees the danger of many traditional crafts. People admire them, photograph them, award them. But they lose their place in everyday life. They become folklore.
Guthfarde thinks differently.
For it, paper has not only a past but also a future.
That is why he experiments with materials. In addition to classic plant fibers, he uses recycled paper and so-called chiffon paper, which is made from old fabrics. Flower leaves also end up in the pulp. Grasses. Seeds. Sometimes even small mineral elements from the landscape of his native region.
This is how sheets arise that look almost like small landscapes.
None are alike.
Those who touch them feel the unevenness. The textures. The scars.
Traces of the creation process.
While industrial products strive for uniformity, handmade paper lives with its own peculiarities. It is precisely the small irregularities that give it charm.
It somewhat resembles human faces.
Perfection often seems boring.
But character remains in memory.
Clients have long since been not only from the region. Artists order his papers for watercolor and printmaking. Bookbinders appreciate the special quality of the fibers. Designers look for materials with a history. Brides want invitations that no one else has.
In a world of standardized products, the desire for uniqueness is growing.
Perhaps this explains the success of many young folk art masters.
Today people no longer just buy things.
They buy stories.
And who can tell a better story than a sheet of paper made from old fabrics, local plants, and artisanal craftsmanship?
But the workshop itself is not everything for Gutfarde.
He wants to show how his work is created.
That is why he regularly takes up the camera.
Under the playful name “Le Dur de la Feuille,” he publishes videos on social media. There he explains working steps that are almost unknown outside narrow circles of specialists.
Millions of people use paper every day.
And few have seen how it is made.
When Gutfarde dips the mold into the water and slowly lifts it, it seems almost meditative. Fibers collect into a thin layer. Suddenly, a sheet emerges from the murky liquid.
Almost like a magic trick.
But real.
His videos strike a chord.
Not because of spectacular effects.
But because of their slowness.
While many platforms thrive on hustle and bustle, he shows processes that take time. Movements that require concentration. Working steps that cannot be accelerated.
The opposite of constant scrolling.
And perhaps also an answer to the fatigue many people feel from constant digital noise.
Because who doesn’t love watching something being created with attention?
The echo didn’t take long to appear.
A constantly growing community accompanies his work. Artists, craft enthusiasts, the curious, and collectors follow his projects. Collaborations arise. Exhibitions. Meetings.
Suddenly the craft niche becomes a topic of discussion.
It is impressive.
Because for a long time the profession of paper maker was considered almost extinct.
Today the craft is experiencing a small revival.
And not only in France.
All across Europe young people are rediscovering traditional techniques. They are seeking activity that is tangible. A profession whose result you can touch.
The digital economy often produces the invisible.
The paper maker, however, creates something that rustles between the fingers.
The difference couldn’t be greater.
Gutfarde’s work recognition is continuously growing. In 2025, he receives the craftsmanship award of the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region. This award recognizes not only the quality of his products.
It recognizes the attitude.
The belief that traditions do not necessarily have to be a brake.
That innovation does not always arise from technology.
And that the future sometimes begins where people rediscover old ways in new ways.
When you walk through his workshop today, you don’t meet a nostalgist. Gutfarde does not dream of returning to past centuries.
He uses social networks.
He collaborates with contemporary artists.
He thinks like an entrepreneur.
And at the same time preserves what has been lost in many places: respect for time.
Every sheet of paper demands attention.
Every fiber has its place.
Every work step has its time.
It sounds simple.
But it is not.
Because modern societies often consider time a resource that must be used as efficiently as possible. In the workshop in Marsac-en-Livradois, a different logic prevails.
Time is not an obstacle.
Time is part of the product.
Perhaps this is the true fascination with his work.
A handmade sheet of paper has no spectacular value. It does not flicker. It does not send notifications and does not update automatically.
And yet it tells something about the world in which it was created.
About water and plants.
About patience and craftsmanship.
About a young craftsman who decided not to leave his material invisible.
Sometimes a single sheet of paper is enough to remind us that beauty does not arise from speed,
but from attention.
And perhaps this is the true message of Étienne Guittard.
While the world becomes faster and faster, somewhere in the Auvergne mountains a man sits over a vat of fibers and forms sheet after sheet.
Old-fashioned?
Perhaps.
Modern?
More than ever.
Article by M. Legrand