Kim and Philippe Villard met at sea 26 years ago and have collaborated as artists ever since. Kim, who was born in Boston, and Philippe, who was born Paris, divide their time between two studios: one in Boothbay Harbor on the coast of Maine and one in the south of France. Until recently, they spent half the year in each location. Now they are spending most of the year in France as they work on and show their amazing handmade books.

The Villards, who are both painters and printmakers, are renowned for their exquisite white-line woodblock prints, a print-making tradition made famous by such early 20th century Provincetown artists as B.J.O. Nordfeldt. The images are all drawn by Philippe, who then transfers the image to the wood and carves away the lines. Then Kim does all the painterly hand printing while varying the colors in each of the prints.

The Villards keep their print editions to under 15, with no two individual pieces ever exactly alike. They have bound a number of their woodblock series into beautifully bound books. They have completed books on wildflowers, shellfish, mushrooms, tide pools, the Outer Cape, and Provence. Each volume is limited to 26 books. The Villards also make one-of-a-kind books, which have won several awards in France, a country with a strong tradition of book making.