Grassroots Culturally Inspired Papers

designs that bring history to life™

Products that celebrate cultural diversity are long overdue in the scrapbooking industry. A new company called Grassroots has taken the first step and embraced diversity and cultures from around the world in their new paper line. Their patterned-paper designs echo colors, textures and patterns that can be found in countries from all ends of the earth.

This first collection of papers was designed after researching the history and traditions of twelve unique cultures from six different continents. Each paper design distinctly represents a piece of history or tradition from that culture.

Mola Abstract – inspired by the native craft of the Cuna Indians who occupy the islands off the Atlantic coast near the Isthmus of Panama. (South America)

Rhythmic Stripe – inspired by a strip-woven woman’s cloth by the Anio-Ewe people of Ghana. (Africa)

Ridged Landscape – inspired by the exotic rock formations covered with indigenous art and ancient spirituality of the Australian Outback where Uluru, once known as Ayer’s Rock, rises mysteriously out of the cracked red earth. (Australia)

Graham Tartan – inspired by an 1815 Scottish tartan sample labeled “Graham of Montrose” from the Cockburn Collection. (Europe)

Circle Connection – inspired by the symbolism of the Aboriginal people of Australia. (Australia)

Middle Horizon – inspired by textile design of the Pre-Columbian Huari Indians of Peru. (South America)

Paisley Border – inspired by seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Indian cashmere shawls. (India)

Volta Check – inspired by Adinkra cloth made by the Asante people of Ghana. (Africa)

Native Weave – inspired by a textile design woven by the Ho-Chunk Indians of Wisconsin. (North America)

Square Spiral – inspired by textile designs created by the Mazatec Indians of Oaxaca. (Mexico)

Nordic Knit – inspired by authentic Norwegian knitting patterns and techniques that have been traced in the archaeological record as far back as the 9th century, when Vikings roamed the world over. (Europe)

Double Happiness – inspired by the calligraphy and patterns of China. (China)

If you’d like to learn more about the inspiration of these papers and the cultures from which they are derived, the Grassroots web site includes a more detailed description with samples of each sheet of paper.

While each sheet of paper carries a strong sense of history and representation of culture, they’re certainly not limited to use in layouts about the countries and people from which they are inspired. The unique geometric designs and interesting color combinations make them versatile and fun to use in pages about any theme. They can easily be used in your everyday layouts and will add a beautiful burst of color and design.

Whether you’re scrapbooking an exotic vacation, a meaningful mission trip, your ancestors’ traditions, or last week’s Mexican Fiesta dinner, these papers can bring diversity and culture into your scrapbooks. Not only do they provide interesting designs and color palettes to your pages, but they can also speak volumes of the cultures they represent.

View a gallery of layouts using Grassroots products.

About Grassroots
Grassroots is a company that has made it their mission to give back to the world that inspires them. A portion of all of their proceeds is donated to charity. Their charity of choice for 2004-2005 is Save the Children, which serves people from all over the world and is one of the primary charities helping those devastated by the tsunamis is Asia.

Look for new papers from Grassroots featuring additional cultures and countries in upcoming months.