The Japanese Paper Place Homepage
About The Japanese Paper Place Section
Who we are
What We Do
What People Say
Warehouse
About Japanese Paper Section
About Washi
Who Uses Washi
Inspiration Gallery
Wholesale Section
Online Catalogue
What's New
Terms & Ordering
Trade Shows
Retail Section
Partner Resellers
Artist Resource Centre
Specialty Papers
Tools
How to Order
Goings On
Workshops
Events
On the Road
In Touch
Facebook
Twitter
Email List

Contact Us Frequently Asked Questions Site Map Legal Stuff

From our humble beginnings in 1982, when owner Nancy Jacobi started showing artists and bookbinders these gorgeous papers from the trunk of her car, The Japanese Paper Place staff remain committed to the company's ideal of encouraging and promoting creativity with quality Japanese papers.

Though we have a warehouse full of machine made and decorative Japanese papers which we ship around the world, our particular passion is for sharing traditional Japanese handmade papers with the world while they are still being made.

Nancy Jacobi

Nancy Jacobi


Meet the staff

Nancy Jacobi

Decades after founding The Japanese Paper Place, Nancy Jacobi continues to find new outlets to express her life’s passion for one of the world’s most precious artistic resources: washi.  Her 2008 endeavour, "The World Washi Summit", brought together Japanese papermakers, artists, gallery owners and distributors of our paper from around the world for a life-altering week of creative discovery.  This event was the perfect expression of Nancy’s essence: the ability to mix art with business, tradition with innovation, and passion with purpose. Each subsequent year in June she has organized a smaller event along similar themes; you can always find the latest at www.washisummit.com.

Lest you think our "CEO of Inspiration" is all work and no play, we assure you that she makes time to enjoy baroque music, theatre, Tai Chi, swimming at her summer cottage and traveling the world with her husband, Peter Jones.  (We’re just not sure when she finds time to sleep!)


A cast of creative, skillful and knowledgeable paper-loving staff keep things humming at the warehouse: 

Greg Bérubé

Greg Bérubé

Greg fills the position of General Manager with gentle charm and sartorial splendour. He brings a wealth of experience in the world of advertising and branding, having built and sold 2 companies in that field. As an accessible and hands-on leader, he has repeatedly demonstrated his comfort in partnering with clients and suppliers to achieve great results. Going way back, his education as a Graphic Designer equips him well to fully appreciate the design and quality of the Japanese papers and products we sell. In the outside world, his skills range from skiing to model building. But his pride and joy, beyond his 2 talented sons, is his classic car, a ’53 MGTD!


Sigrid Blohm Sigrid Blohm

Sigrid Blohm is a lover of things natural, including canoeing in Ontario's north country. She acts as our washi consultant and helps to organize workshops (her own "stitching washi" included) and exhibitions. When not at the warehouse giving advice on just which types of washi we have for your particular needs she can be found at home drawing on, stitching or dyeing them herself.


Shirley Imaizumi Shirley Imaizumi

If you are a Canadian wholesale customer, you know Shirley Imaizumi: her love of people, Japanese paper and almost twenty years of experience at The Japanese Paper Place combine to give you the excellent customer service you've come to expect. In addition to her longstanding passion for Ninjutsu, she loves to travel and enjoys the opportunity to meet distant customers when in the area.


Peter Jones Peter Jones

When you ship paper to all four corners of the globe you need someone who knows how to get it there quickly, economically and in one piece… and our "go to" person is Peter Jones. A true renaissance man, Peter’s wide-ranging talents are called upon for everything from fixing leaky faucets to hanging washi sculptures. A whiz with Japanese paper and a soldering iron, he also teaches our popular "Lampshade Making" workshop. And as we all learned at a staff party, he can salsa with the best of them!


Genevieve Joudoin

Geneviève Jodouin

Our Production Manager comes to us with a background of organizing and making, the 2 skills most necessary to produce the vast quantities of packaged papers that we sell. A practicing printmaker and screenprinting teacher, Gen hails from the Ontario north where her interest in depicting the world around her began. Gen’s sense of colour and design guide her in developing truly wonderful paper combinations to the delight of all. Her production department provides a strong and steady direction for both current and new products. We always welcome her contributions - and her ready glowing smile! You can see her work on her website at www.genevievejodouin.ca.


Jessica Mann Jessica Mann

Jessica Mann discovered The Japanese Paper Place as a child and decided back then that one day she would work there. Now, decades later, she is thrilled to be bringing her computer and customer service skills to help share the wonders of washi with the world as our intrepid webmistress, database wrangler and sales account rep. She still enjoys origami, the art that first lead her to The JPP, and adores travel, treehouses and dark chocolate products.


Andrew Ooi

The same creative care that Andrew Ooi brings to the elegant folded art he makes and sells serve him well in his position at The JPP. A collaborator by nature, Andrew is a valued addition to the gang. You can see more of his work on his website at www.andrewpjooi.com.


Julia Prime Julia Prime

Julia Prime performs a variety of tasks at the JPP including maintaining our library of swatch sheets and 8 1/2 x 11" samples, updating the inventory database, helping look after customers visiting our artist resource room, and supporting our sales team. Having graduated with a major in printmaking from the Ontario College of Art & Design, Julia's art practice combines various printmaking techniques with hand embroidery on washi. Her work can be seen on her website at www.juliaprime.ca.


Alison Reid Alison Reid

Alison Reid, our office manager, not only handles the details of our busy office and designs much of our print media but also directs phone and email inquiries with her usual blend of courtesy and professionalism. Alison loves making lanterns and, even more, loves seeing other people make them, for parades, processions, events or just for the joy of it. Her website, www.madgleam.com, a free resource for lantern makers and fans, contains a wealth of info about making beautiful lanterns using Japanese paper and other materials.


Duke Tran

Duke Tran is our highly skilled packer who makes sure that even the most delicate tissues arrive in perfect condition. His willingness to assist fellow employees with a smile makes him indispensable in every department. "No" just isn’t in his vocabulary! A self-described "classic Pisces," Duke enjoys venturing off the beaten path in his travels through life and finds it difficult to resist a good pastry or a slice of cheesecake.