Handmade Journals and Sketchbooks with a special story
I was lucky to lead a textile tour to India in early 2020. Sadly the holiday company went bust early in the first lockdown. I had made friends with Isha, one of the ladies who had worked for the company and lived in Delhi. She wanted to help some of the artisans she knew from setting up the textile holidays.
“My handmade journal/sketch books have been crafted in two senses, the handmade paper from India with my bespoke textile covers.”
To begin with she taught a group of ladies to sew and I made them a video to show how to make a pouch. In order to help more people she set up a website Aahilya, selling the artisans’ items providing a source of income for these rural craftspeople. I like to buy from this site as much as possible as they have some very good quality handmade products.
I wanted to make some journals and sketchbooks so the first place I looked to find some special paper was Aahilya. Their cotton rag paper is sourced from a factory in Jaipur, which I have visited. The factory was amazingly clean and even had safety instructions on the walls. Unusual for work places in India! Every one working seemed happy and was pleased to be able to explain their part of the process. The first step to making the paper is for all the rags to be checked to ensure only cotton is included. These rags are often made up of old saris and nothing is ever wasted. They are then shredded and water added to make a pulp. A deckle, which is a wooden frame, is used to shape the pulp. This produces a rough and slightly uneven off-white paper with a luxury feel. Colour can also be added and sometimes flower petals.
It is a lovely surface for painting, drawing or writing, and cotton rag paper is also known to last many years without deterioration.
So my handmade journal/sketch books have been crafted in two senses, the handmade paper from India with my bespoke textile covers. I never make two covers the same so these journals and sketchbooks are unique with eco-friendly paper making a perfect present for anyone creative.
