Behold:
This delectable morsel of stationeryhood is a silk sari journal made by Love Calcutta Arts, a business which exists to provide women with the option of employment that isn’t the sex trade. A lot of LCA’s products involve what is popularly known as upcycling: turning old saris into kitchen trivets, quilted coverlets, or book upholstery.
The sari-covered journals come in two sizes (small: 11cm x 13.5cm x 40 leaves; large: 15cm x 18.5cm x 60 leaves) and a range of colour groups: red, green, purple, orange, black, and pink. And because they aren’t mass-produced in a factory, but instead made by carefully trained craftswomen in a workshop, they are all different.
My one (let’s be honest: my first one) is Small and Red.
OR IS IT??
The sari of which this book cover once formed a part was clearly made of red/green shot silk – which must have made life that bit harder for the person deciding how the notebook and its sari-mates, if I may so term them, were going to be classified for sale. However you hold it, however, the cover is definitely delectable.
But one ought not to judge a book solely by its cover! Although to be frank, this book considered merely as an objet d’art is more decorative than many allegedly artistic objets I’ve come across lately, including the knotted pool noodle covered in gold spray paint (rolls eyes).
I am happy to assure you, however, that this little book’s insides stand up well to scrutiny. Reading that the paper was handmade from cotton rags, I was expecting something rather rough and absorbent, rather like an upmarket paper towel. What I got was a pleasant surprise: lightly textured but even, firm paper, which (huzzah!) is fountain-pen friendly. The paper isn’t hugely thick, so you may get a morsel of bleedthrough here and there, but the feathering I feared was nowhere to be seen.
If your personal aesthetic is much more subdued than that of a silk sari, don’t worry, you have options! LCA also make the refills for the journal cover made by their fellow freedom business The Loyal Workshop – made from vegetable tanned leather and available in vintage brown or cognac (12.5cm x 17.8cm x 65 leaves).
To sum up, then, we have lovely paper inside a whole range of delectable cover options, and all available at extremely reasonable prices with a side of helping people to a future of freedom. The only question left to ask is How Do I Get My Hands On These??
If you live in NZ, you can buy the sari notebooks (along with a lot of other products from LCA and other freedom businesses) from Freedom Co-op in Hamilton – and yes, they do post around the country. The leather journal cover and its refills can be bought directly from The Loyal Workshop – they have warehouses in NZ, Australia, and the US, so you don’t have to wait for ages. If you want to have a look in person, check out TLW’s list of stockists for somewhere near you.
If, on the other hand, there’s nowhere stocking Love Calcutta Arts’ or The Loyal Workshop’s products near you, why not ask an ethically minded retailer in your area to consider becoming a stockist? Freedom businesses are always in need of more custom to invest in more freedom, and times are hard (cough, tariffs, cough).
Personally, I’m finding mine a joy, and, as I hinted earlier, it’s only a matter of time before I buy some more. I find myself going back to what I wrote on the purchase of my wallet from The Loyal Workshop (which, eight and a half years on, is more beautiful than ever):
“It is seldom that one gets a chance to make a purchase without a single scrap of buyer’s remorse. Is it useful? Yes. Is it beautiful? Yes. (William Morris sits back with a contented sigh.) Is it well-made, from quality materials? Yes. Is it environmentally friendly? Yes. Is it ethical? Yes.
…So not only do you get a high-quality product, you also get to support women leaving a hellish life for a life of dignity and independence. Win, win, win.”
Disclaimer: This post is my own unadulterated opinion, and I paid full price for all the items I received from the businesses named. I have no financial interest in these businesses; I’m just a happy customer sharing the stationery joy.