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Nupin Manotham

"My name is Nupin Manotham, but everybody calls me Nong. I was born on November 14, 1966 in a beautiful, mystical area in the Inthanon Valley. My town was famous for its cotton cloths handmade with the chok motif, the unique style of cloth in my village, but I just saw them because I had moved to the city when I was 17. I went there because my family didn't have any money after I graduated. When I arrived, I started my life as a seller. I received hand-crafted goods sold them. Umbrellas, lacquer ware, and bronze are the things I used to sell. But nothing impresses me like saa paper. It can be used for gifts, books and decorative items if we want.

"I started working with saa paper five or six years after moving to the city. I became interested in this handmade mulberry bark paper when I started seeing it in handicraft shops. I began to buy it and learn how to make it myself by talking with the artisans and reading about it in books. I believed in myself and that I could create items different from those of the general market. I also thought about materials like pewter and aluminum, because the motif can be engraved on them and looks unique when placed on the books. I used natural materials as well, and I found many things near my home that could be used in my work.

"I really love my work because it is my own business. After I got married, my husband joined me and together our family works to create better designs and quality. He helps me to create the covers and throughout the process. Eventually I want to have my own little shop to sell my handicrafts. I hope it is in the very near future."

Saa paper has been hand-made in Thailand for over 700 years from the bark of the mulberry tree, often used in the creation of Buddhist scripts, temple decorations, umbrellas, fans, and kites. The smallest branches produce the highest quality bark, and because the mulberry is a fast-growing species, the branches, once cut, are quickly replenished and can be cut again the following year, while the tree itself lives its natural course.

The bark is saturated in clear water and boiled along with several kinds of ashes in large cauldrons over a naked flame, thus softening the fibers. Manotham adds dyes if necessary and the fibers are beaten to a pulp with mallets until tender. Once hand-sifted with a screen, the fibers are spread out and allowed to dry in the sun for about 20 minutes, after which the paper can easily be peeled off the screen.