Behind the newspaper headlines

“Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” - Mark Twain

Sonja Rivett-Carnac (née Chambers) AKA The Newspaper Lady is a specialist printer, having printed newspapers and other paper props for the film and advertising industries for 20 years.

Sonja’s a wizard at managing those ‘tricky little jobs’ that require special attention. She has an instinct for handling different materials, tools and mediums. Practical and reliable, she diligently produces beautifully finished products. 

Well-resourced with an array of speciality papers at her fingertips, she operates from her well-equipped home studio in Observatory, trading as cea STUDIOS.

For more than a decade, Sonja has focused on “paper props” – the printing, packaging, bookbinding and finishing processes. Everyday props include passports (with gold foil covers), newspapers and cigarette boxes. Also popular are manila folders, headline posters, maps, envelopes, postage stamps, and many more. Please see the "Services pages" to view a range of projects.

Sonja began working in the industry in 2001 as an apprentice to Colin Elliott. As a team, they manufactured trophies, props and signage. She maintained the same work ethic after Colin died in 2007, and continued as the hands and breath of the business.

Dedicated to detailed finishes, clients value her quality workmanship. She remains thorough, despite the knowledge that her hero props may burn in a fire (like the leather-bound Tyndale bibles for National Geographic’s “Origins: The Journey of Humankind”)  screenshot here.

With a sharp eye for accuracy, she saves the client time and money by being quick to query and correct before printing hero props.

In 2011 she met prop master Boris Rivett-Carnac of Props to the Stars when he arrived to collect a newspaper and promptly bought a painting from her – the Sangoma painting. They recognised each other’s creative individuality and married in 2012. With much help, Sonja relocated from her Camps Bay workshops to their renovated home in Observatory, where she set up a streamlined version of the operation.

Juggling precision and creativity

Between film printing deadlines, Sonja retreats to her loft studio to recharge. Paints, brush and canvas provide a stillness that help her to balance concentration and creativity.

Fascinated by portraits, Sonja has completed many commissions since 2001, when she had her first lesson in oil painting. She achieved a place in the Top 100 Finalist gallery in South Africa’s biennial Sanlam Portrait Award in 2017. In 2019 she was awarded a Top 40 Finalist place for her painting “Spoonful of Comfort”.

To view her art, visit her website: www.portraits.co.za

Other intriguing interests include mantises, miniature books, traditional folk toys and the art of balancing mobiles. She has a weakness for puzzles.
“Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven’t the time, and to see takes time
– like to have a friend takes time.” – Georgia O’Keeffe

A love for lettering, paper and words – my journey before cea STUDIOS:


Early days of SIGNWRITING:

A brush with signwriting at 18 primed my career. On a short course I learnt the basics of hand-painted and vinyl letters. We studied Letraset typefaces and had practical assignments cutting out stencils and vinyl by hand. Then the instructor vanished halfway through with everyone’s fees. I had enough basic skills to land a shopfront job for a small appliance shop on Main Road, Wynberg. It was a stressful undertaking, but I managed with expert guidance from a retired signwriter.

After getting qualifications (Private Secretary and Freelance Journalism), and working a few years in the corporate world, I kicked off my heels in Spring 1999 to seek out a more creative path.


"CARDS OF EXPRESSION"
I’d upgraded my dot matrix printer at home for the high-quality colour Hewlett Packard DeskJet 710C. Using coated papers, I printed colourful greeting cards with humorous captions. They were fun and uplifting – embodied with the joys of Spring.

A mission to make PAPER:

I started making handmade paper. Using a mould and deckle, and with the bathtub as a vat, I churned out pages of deckle-edged sheets. I experimented with recycled paper pulp and embedded materials for colour and texture. The paper surface, primed with gelatine size to make it less porous and reduce bleeding, responded well to inks and watercolours. I also made a few genuine plant-based papyrus sheets after studying ancient Egyptian methods. 

The important thing I learned, was that making paper was very labour intensive, and very messy!

BOOKBINDING and Library book repairs:

In 1999, I attended bookbinding workshops at Central Library, run by Book and Paper Conservator Alexio Motsi. Skilled and generous with his knowledge, Alexio imparted valuable lessons and trade secrets. We learnt about paper grain, specialised tools, equipment, materials and binding methods.

A fellow student and I voluntarily continued to fix the library’s books. Our confidence grew with hands-on experience, and the quality of our work improved. During this time, Alexio also guided me in my own bookbinding projects. I enjoyed a visit to his workshop in the basement of The Centre for the Book, and remain grateful for his teachings.

"The Geoff Fowler Collection ... Rock ... Paper ... Feathers!"

Journals, quill pens, reed pens, inks, bookmarks and gift vouchers

Over time I have developed a range of stationery illustrated with my trademark guinea fowl character, Geoff Fowler. I imagined him pattering through a puddle of black ink, leaving footprints on the page. Geoff first sprang to life on greeting cards incorporating a real guinea fowl feather. I used micro-tip black pen and watercolours. Some cards included speech bubbles or captions. Others did not need words.

And so the adventure began. Geoff went bungee jumping and fell in love with Genie. Craft market customers giggled at his comical antics. Stories unfolded as he ran across the African landscape. He met ancient earth-painted San figures on desert plains in “Rock Art Encounters”. These hand-painted greeting card collages included paperbark, seeds and quills.

And then – Geoff jumped into print! From scanned images, he landed on pages of hand-bound “Self-Discovery Journals”. Amidst musings and quotes, and surrounded by plenty of blank space, he pondered his existence. Each hardcover journal had an original cover, with a small mirror imbedded in front. Covers were either marbled paper or handmade paper with flower petals.

The wording and illustrations, scanning, layout, printing, hand stitching and case binding were all my own work – these little journals were a labour of love!

The Geoff Fowler Collection also included:

  • Authentic hand-cut goose quill pens and reed pens 
  • Bottled writing inks (a secret recipe, though not Lizard’s blood, something that intrigued Harry Potter fans)
  • Pen & ink holder sets
  • Laminated feather bookmarks with a “Thoughts” poem
  • Genie “Wish Vouchers” – imaginative gift vouchers. Once filled in and signed by both parties, it guaranteed an experience. It included a ‘magical’ Genie Fowler printed on clear acetate and bottled with ‘smoke’ in a tiny corked bottle.
  • “You Flip - I Fly”: Geoff finally took flight in animated mini notepads. Thumbing through the printed pages progressively allowed him to walk, run and fly.

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