The paper weight in it’s simplicity of function makes it the perfect vessel for a designer to express the essence of her aesthetic. For Roula Nassar, her impulse was to go against the grain of classic paperweight materials: “My first thought was to think of a material that would be the complete opposite to lucite which is the most common medium associated with the traditional paperweight.” Ultimately this meant settling on coffee grounds bound with paraffin wax, which plays nicely on the inevitability of spilling coffee on one’s papers.  

The weights from a distance look like desktop-sized versions of the 2001 monolith, a first impression that is immediately second guessed when you consider their round edges and decidedly non-space based textures.

These paperweights were also a fantastic opportunity for us to revisit the polytalented Nassar. When last we checked in, she had just published her “Outside Gets in Zine” and it was noted that the irons in her fire were many, various, and always expertly conceived. Moving from a zine centered around “breath play” to a paperweights to paperweights, nicely demonstrates Nassar’s wide scope.