Gaelle Jolly sitting at a table with a notebook and pens in front of her

Inky Square

Oxford

I combine traditional bookbinding techniques with paper making, calligraphy and letterpress printing to create handcrafted paper goods for dreamers and storytellers.

I am inspired by the layers of stories and memories that make up our world, in books, maps, buildings and landscapes, and the crafts behind treasured objects.

My work seeks to reconnect with a childhood magic of tales and make-believe, and to bring more imagination and escapism into daily life.

The story behind the business
Meet Inky Square

I have always been drawn to paper, ink, books and stories, but only came slowly to creativity, experimenting first with printing, then calligraphy, and finally bookbinding and paper making.

Playing with calligraphy and photography to tell stories became my escape when my husband was ill. After he died, I plunged even deeper into creativity, as a way of processing and sharing grief and as a source of meaning and joy.

With a background in historic conservation, my work is rooted in a fascination with the layers of history around me: the buildings of my adopted hometown of Oxford, the traditional crafts I practise, and the memories that feed my imagination.

Making is how I escape and how I dream, through the real-life alchemy of turning pulp into paper, paper into books, and ink into words – all to create beautiful objects that tell and inspire stories.

founder Credentials

  • Female Founded Business

Returns

PO Box 934

Oxford

OX4 9PX

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