Dutch illustrator Dorien Brouwers brought watercolour and ink to a direct mailer celebrating James Cropper’s Colours from Nature paper range, a project that tied Wainwright’s Lakeland fells to rosemary-dyed paper through illustration, die-cut landscape and considered design.
James Cropper Creates is a platform for artists, makers and designers working with paper, brought to you by James Cropper, one of the UK’s last remaining specialist paper mills, based in the Lake District.
James Cropper’s Colours from Nature range begins with a specific kind of attention: paper made from 100% recycled fibre, dyed with natural ingredients, its palette drawn from the landscape Alfred Wainwright walked. To launch the range, the brief called for a direct mailer that could do more than demonstrate paper quality, it needed to tell the whole story, from the rosemary plant to the finished sheet, and to place that story in the fell country that gave the colours their names.
Plain Design brought the visual structure; Dorien Brouwers brought the illustrations. The result is a die-cut landscape piece that captures the view from Orrest Head, one of Wainwright’s earliest Lake District ascents, populated with delicate ink scenes that follow the natural dyeing process from source to surface.
Rebecca Farish, Product Manager at James Cropper, describes the collaboration in terms of alignment rather than assembly: “We wanted the mailer to demonstrate the paper quality whilst also telling the story of the rosemary’s journey from plant to paper, and illustrate the natural local landscape which inspired the project and shades. It was a joy to work with Plain who brought the vision to life, complemented by Dorien’s beautiful illustrations.”
For Brouwers, that alignment ran deeper than the brief. “The collaboration worked because both sides were ultimately telling the same story: that nature is not simply something to look at, but something to learn from, celebrate and protect,” she says. “My illustrations brought the story of the colours to life, while James Cropper’s innovative paper technology made that story tangible. Together, we created a visual identity that felt as considered, distinctive and naturally beautiful as the material itself. A dream of a project to work on.”
Brouwers draws predominantly with watercolour and ink, developing a style rich in texture and detail that traces its origins to a picture book she made as a gift for her son. Her work has since been published by leading international publishers, and her picture book Sail (Hachette US) has received a World Illustration Award, a Bologna Illustrators Exhibition shortlisting and a Merit Award at the iJungle Illustration Awards.
About James Cropper Creates James Cropper Creates is the creative community platform from James Cropper, one of the UK’s last remaining specialist paper mills. Based in the Lake District and operating for over 175 years, James Cropper invites artists, designers and makers to explore what is possible with paper. jamescropper.com
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Design: Plain Design. Paper: James Cropper Colours from Nature. Illustrations: Dorien Brouwers.
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