Judge these notebooks by their covers

Book binder Kavya Agrawal would like you to imagine a notebook made out of a milk carton and even help you hang one from your shoulder like a satchel

Judge these notebooks by their covers

Book binder Kavya Agrawal would like you to imagine a notebook made out of a milk carton and even help you hang one from your shoulder like a satchel
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Kavya Agrawal, a final year graphic design student of the National Institute of Design, loves to judge a book by its cover. Kavya is more interested in the art and the effort that goes into binding of books rather than turning its pages. "Binding a book or notebook is not just about a bundle of pages tied together neatly. It is an art. Handmade notebooks are one-of-a-kind and can't be mass produced," says Kavya in a telephone interview from Ahmedabad.

Taaza Taaza Notebook madeu00a0 of recycled milk cartons

Her handmade books label Kaagazi was launched in May this year. Though still a student at NID (she is finishing her final year diploma project on book binding), the 21-year-old came up with the idea of making hand bound notebooks fashionable through this project that got extended into a creative business venture. "I started dabbling in book binding while in design school and honestly speaking, I sucked at it.

Then I researched on the internet and realised how far you could take this art form," says Kavya. A relatively new kind of pursuit in India, book binding as art is popular in the United States. Artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse first created their versions of Artists Books during the 40s and more recently Anish Kapoor and Anselm Keifer have also dabbled in this art form.

Making notebooks out of nothing
Under Kaagazi, Kavya makes notebooks out of recycled milk cartons, books specially made for artists with paper on which water colours can be used or acrylics, papers that you can tear out and directly frame on the wall, faux leather, rexine and brown paper notebooks, doodle sketch books with tea and coffee stained paper. Her faux leather collection is for those who like the look of leather but not the idea behind it. She also takes the help of local women artisans from Ahmedabad who do rough stitching on sturdy paper to create patterns on notebook covers.

On the trail of paper
Kavya sources paper like parchment, which has a delicate, antique feel to it, uncoated brown paper (the paper we use to cover school notebooks minus the sheen), ruled paper and recycled and handmade paper for her creations. Almost 50 styles of binding find space in Kaagazi notebooks includingu00a0 Accordion, Case Bound and Coptic Binding. Her speciality lies in the latter, which involves a form of binding that creates notebooks without a spine. The notebook has a front and back but the sheets in between are exposed and you can see the stitches that bind the book together.u00a0u00a0

Hang this book from your shoulder
The Bag Book created by Kavya is easily one of those utilitarian inventions that ought to delight artists, travellers and photographers. A notebook that also masquerades as a satchel and even comes with an extended strap can only mean happiness for those who spend a lot of time in the field. "There are a lot of people out on the job, who have to lug around a bag because they have to carry a notebook in it. The Bag Book resolves this problem Created out of water resistant rexine; this notebook is hardy enough for the outdoors." says Kavya.u00a0u00a0

While doing R&D for Kaagazi, Kavya realised that most of the indie labels today sell overpriced accessories and wanted to offer something novel without making a dent in your pockets. Since each notebook is hand bound by Kavya, she charges according to the amount of effort and time that goes into putting together a
notebook.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

Find Kaagazi-Handbound Books
On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=615835261#!/kaagazi
Email info@kaagazi.com
For Rs 130 up to Rs 1,000 (Individual prices on request)