MootjArt: Animalfriendly art, design, deco and
accessories of the reused paper. With the rapid digitalisation, millions of books and magazines are thrown away or at
best recycled. MootjArt's mission is to reuse these books. Well, not all of them ... The company gives new life to
these books and magazine and makes them into art, handbags, bijoux and home decoration. And not only do they save
books, they save animals as well because they do not use leather, silk or wool. Apart from that, MootjArt
thinks that exclusive art and fashion, does not need to cost a monthly salary.
Bio Express - Coming from
Netherlands
Mo, short for Monique, is the founder of MootjArt.
(Mootje means little Monique in Dutch) Born in the Netherlands in the 60s, she now lives in France with her friend
Ernie, trying to make the world a better place. Always on the lookout for a new challenge, Mo was looking for a way to make an
animal-friendly handbag. The strong paper folding technique makes this possible and the reuse of the old paper
matches exactly with her ideas and even better, it means that the bags are vegan! And apart from MootjArt, she loves animals, she is vegan and she plays guitar, yeah
kind of a hippie. Ernie supports Mo with the technical challenges and he created and maintains this
website.
A word from MootjArt - Interview with the founder
1. When and why did you leave the
Netherlands? In 2000 we left because of nature disappeared in the
Netherlands and the country became fuller and busier. In the Corrèze we found that peace and nature again. Since
2015 we have been living in the Hérault in Verreries de Moussans a stone's throw away from Labastide-Rouairoux,
where I started to make animalfriendly art and bags from recycled paper.
2. What did you do for a living in the
Netherlands and did you have a job in France? In the Netherlands I
was a residential consultant at a housing association and in France I have written books for ten
years.
3. And now you put your own books in
art? Oh no, not my own books! I am passionate about reusing and
I've always liked creativity. I don't like throwing away books, in this consumer society we are already throwing
away too much. Apart from books I especially use "glossy" magazines.
4. What is the main activity of your
company? My bags are in great demand and I give workshops to creative
associations.
5. Why don't you just make bags from
leather? As a vegan, I have always been looking for alternatives
to leather. Leather products are environmentally polluting our planet. Both in the production of leather and in the
processing of leather. Consider also the food that animals that produce leather need and the manure they produce. I
also find the abuse in the animal industry horrible. In addition, there are very good alternatives for leather and
one of them is paper.
6. How do you come up with this idea of
recycling? In January 2017 I discovered this ancestral technique that origins probably in
Mexico. I adopted it in my own way and so I create my surprising and exclusive art. But it is not recycling, it is
reuse. I use the paper as I find it in its original form.
7. How does this weaving technical
work? It's not braiding or weaving, it's a folding technique a bit like origami, very
precise and meticulous, it's a real close work. I save all sorts of paper like magazines, sheet music, publicity
flyers, catalogues and chocolate tablet wrappers. I cut hundreds of small squares following a colour or theme to
find the harmony a client asks. Then I'm cutting strips of paper and I glue the squares onto the strips. I
laminate these strips by hand, I fold the strips together and they are then sewn together and a design object is
born.
8. What a donkeys
job! Yes, for a big bag I need 400 squares and that costs me a
week. I also make the handles and the inside myself.
9. Is this technique strong and
waterproof? Yes and yes. When a strip is ready, you can pull on
both sides with two people. It's flexible and at the same time very strong. And if I were you I wouldn't shower
with the earrings, but the technique, due to the lamination, can substain rain and it can also be cleaned with a
damp cloth.
10. What are your expectations? You are
past 50, why do you start a new business? Colours are my passion and I'm a bit addicted to this technique, especially since
it's so innovative and everyone is extremely enthusiastic about my designs. The fact that I personalize the bags
according to the wishes, colour and personal pictures of the customer, strikes people the most. I am creative, my
strengths are my originality and this innovative sustainable technology. My expectation is that within the year in
the Herault my original bags, art, decoration and earrings will be for sale in a lot of
boutiques.
Key dates
The life of our company
2017
January
On
Creativa at Montpellier we found this folding technique
February
First handbag made: the ToMOrrow
March
The
first friends want a handbag like that one too
April
The
name MO-Bags is born
The
MiniMO bag is developed
May
Website is in the air
Started a Facebook page, followed by a dozen
orders
The bag HarMOny is designed
Summer
Improving the technique, bags become much lighter
Autumn
Development of the MOdernized bag of recovered
bags
December
Christmas market in Labastide-Rouairoux
2018
January
Received a lot of orders after the Christmas
market
February
Valentine's Market in Mazamet
Received several requests for workshops and
exhibitions
Founded an Etsy shop
March
Made other items with the technique, like a mirror frame, art and
bijoux
Started with incubator service for registration of the company. Big failure.
April
Got a letter from a lawyer in Germany that the name MO-Bags cannot be
used
Had to remove the Etsy Shop due to lawyer
May
Finding a new name: MootjArt
Changed the name everywhere and developed a complete new
site
Installation of the exhibition May-October Hautpoul
Mazamet
Succeeded in the formation of Chamber of Trades and Crafts in
Beziers
June
Numéro SIRET
The first creative workshop
August
6
CCHVT animation
Osmosis with colours
Our products and services - Osmosis with colours
Manufacturing Process - Sustainability and
Innovation
First of all a work of art of MootjArt is made with
love. Each square starts with a little heart. For a bag or other piece of art, hundreds of recycled paper strips
are laminated by hand and folded with a technique like origami and made into strips. The strips are sewn together
and thus converged into an unique design. No piece of MootjeArt is the same. A square takes about 5.5 minutes to
make, with nearly 400 squares in a big bag, such a bag takes a week. After that the handles and the inner lining
are sewn with and attached with rivets.
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