Judge these books by their covers

First impressions are everything. Bookbinder and designer Kavya Agrawal will agree. After all, her handmade books thatu00a0 feature exposed stitching, satchel-like straps, even tea and coffee stains, are good-looking enough for you to want to preserve them long after the pages are dog-earedu00a0

For Kavya Agrawal, a final year graphic design student from the National Institute of Design (NID), face value is everything. Take those startled eyebrows down a notchu00a0-- she is talking about the art and the effort that goes into binding the books whose pages you turn. "Binding a book or notebook is not just about tying up a bundle of pages neatly. It is an art," she says passionately, over the phone from Ahmedabad.


It's not milk, it's a book made out of the carton, for Rs 13. Pics/ Kavya
Agrawal

Agrawal's hand-made books label, Kaagazi, was launched in May this year. Still a student at NID (she is wrapping up her final year diploma project on book binding), the 21-year old started dabbling in book binding early. "Honestly, I wasn't very good at it. But when I began researching online, I realised it had potential to be an art form," she explains. That's apparent, as acclaimed British artist of Indian origin Anish Kapoor will tell you (he just dabbled in the art), as will the likes of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, who first created artists' books during the '40s.

Spineless tomes
"When I started, I wanted to do everything from tees to bags to notebooks. It took me sometime to narrow my focus down to books alone," she recalls. Today, under Kaagazi, Agrawal makes a variety of notebooks ufffd books made from recycled milk cartons, those meant specially for artists, a lot that contains paper for water colours, brown paper notebooks and doodle sketch books made from tea and coffee stained paper.

For those who like the look of leather but not the idea of using it, Agrawal has a faux leather collection. Often, she takes the help of local women artisans from Ahmedabad to add a touch of rough stitching on sturdy paper to create patterns on notebook covers.

Her speciality lies in Coptic Binding, a form that leaves books with no spine. These notebooks have a front and back, but the sheets that stand in between are exposed, and the stitches that bind the book together, are visible.

Books you can use
One look at her creations, and you sense that functionality is as important, if not more, than form. The Bag Book is one such delight that artists, travellers and photographers will dig. It's a notebook that masquerades as a satchel and comes with an extended strap. It's an untold joy for those who spend a lot of time in the field and are saved the bother of digging into a voluminous bag every time they need to take notes.

"People complain of having to lug a bag around because they have to carry a notebook. The Bag Book solves this problem. Made from water-resistant rexine, the notebook is hardy enough to sling on your shoulder, outdoors."

Sourcing the right kind of paper has a lot to with the way Kaagazi's products finally look. From parchment-like paper that has a delicate, aged feel to it, and uncoated brown paper that's popular to cover school notebooks, to ruled paper, Agrawal's raw material makes more than 50 styles of bound books.

That's probably why her rates aren't standard. "At the moment, each notebook is hand-bound and put together by me, personally. So each piece is priced according to the effort and time taken to make it."

Find Kaagazi handbound books on Facebook.
Email: info@kaagazi.com
Priced at Rs 130 to Rs 1,000
Delivery within India takes 2 or 3 days and payment can be by cheque or bank transfers. For delivery outside India, payment is accepted through Pay Pal