Frédéric Gironde

Originally from Compiègne, Frédéric trained at a school of art and design in Amiens, and went on to work in textiles and then in printing in Paris. Alongside this, he produced several travel sketchbooks (Asia, Oceania, Train de Banlieue, Renault 6), some of which were shown at the Rendez-vous du Carnet de Voyage in Clermont-Ferrand (2000, 2001 and 2003) and at the Asnières-sur-Seine book fair (2010).

In 2010 he left Paris to join Christopher Bingham as a vatman. After three years of apprenticeship, he took over the paper mill. He kept its production method and its range, but began researching ways to use old linen sheets instead of cotton and linen linters (dry pulp).

That research led him to reintroduce hemp into his pulps from 2014, and to work more consistently with native fibres, flax and hemp. The only cotton he uses now comes from “grandmother’s” sheets.

Under the aegis of the Moulin du Verger, he took part in the application to add “the knowledge, skills and practices of handmade paper in France” to France’s national inventory of intangible cultural heritage, where it has been listed since 19 November 2024.