Paperblanks Song of the Sea Cotton Tote Bag

Carry your journals, books and everyday essentials in style with this Song of the Sea cotton tote bag from Paperblanks, featuring a handy inner zip pocket.

Celtic mythology and breathtaking animation come to life in a stationery collection created in partnership with Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon. Reproduced here is artwork from Song of the Sea, a tale inspired by the selkies of Irish mythology and the second installment in the studio’s Irish Folklore Trilogy.

The Story Behind the Design

Celtic mythology and breathtaking animation come to life in a first-of-its-kind stationery collection created in partnership with Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon. The studio’s powerful stories and mesmerising visuals have captured the hearts of young and old alike. With their striking original artwork and captivating scenes, the connection we feel with these emotive tales is undeniable.

Cartoon Saloon’s celebrated Irish Folklore Trilogy is a series that particularly resonates with us. Exploring universal themes and emotions, the Academy Award–nominated fairy tales take viewers through visually lush and immersive worlds.

Favouring the traditional craft of hand-drawn animation, the films’ swirling, intricate patterns of ancient Irish art breathe life into the stories they tell. This approach sets the studio’s work apart in the animation world, which has gone almost entirely digital. It’s these shared philosophies that made this collaboration feel like a natural step for us. We are thrilled to have Tomm Moore, who has directed several of the studio’s most successful films, contribute unique illustrated elements exclusively for our collaborative covers.

Reproduced here is artwork from Song of the Sea (2009). For the second installment in the Irish Folklore Trilogy, Moore wished to craft a modern fairy tale that borrowed characters and themes from the ancient tradition of the “seanachai” – traditional storytellers. The film draws on a number of Celtic mythologies and folk tales that are interwoven throughout the narrative.

The only film in the trilogy to be set in modern times, Song of the Sea’s main plot is inspired by mythological selkies of Irish folklore, who live as seals in the sea but become humans on land. It follows the story of a young Irish boy who discovers that his mute sister Saoirse, whom he blames for the apparent death of his mother, is a selkie who must free faerie creatures from the Celtic goddess Macha. Song of the Sea is a beautiful and timeless tribute to the tradition of Irish storytelling and the lessons that endure.

• Original artwork: Original illustration from Cartoon Saloon’s Irish Folklore Trilogy series
• Era: 2008–2020
• Region: Ireland

Product Details

• Dimensions: 380 × 380 × 90 mm
• Design: Song of the Sea
• Series: Irish Folklore Trilogy
• Collection: Cartoon Saloon Collection
• Material: Cotton
• Inner zipper pocket size: 220 × 155 mm
• Strap Colour: Cream
• Holds up to 7 kilograms (approximately 15.5 lbs)
• Durable strap for carrying the bag over one's shoulder
• Branded Paperblanks tag
• Artwork credit printed on inside of the bag
• Weight: 260 g
• Product code: PA9965-9 | ISBN: 9781439799659

About Paperblanks

Paperblanks works with museums, libraries, galleries and artists around the world to faithfully reproduce remarkable artwork, historic bindings and treasured manuscripts, bringing the same care and craftsmanship found in its celebrated journals to every accessory.