Handbound Mixed Media Sketchbook with Hahnemühle Bamboo Paper & Lokta Covers

Every sheet of Lokta carries the artistry of the people who make and print it by hand in Nepal. I wanted its soft surface and the texture of the fibres beneath the pattern to come through in the cover—something for you to enjoy every time you touch it. That was the starting point for this journal.

I brought two colourways of the paper together in one book: black and white at the front, red and black at the back. The pattern and soft texture stay the same, but the colour gives each side its own energy and character.

Then I added the closure: black, with a small red loop on the front. I kept the same two colours in the stitching, red at the front and black at the back. This is one of the things I love about bookbinding: working on the little details until everything comes together into a book with a character all its own!

I used Coptic binding to keep the stitching visible and allow the pages to lie flat in front of you. Inside is Hahnemühle Bamboo 265 gsm, a natural-white mixed media paper made from 90% bamboo fibre and 10% cotton, so you can work with wet and dry media in the same book.

🌍 Books of the World

In my Books of the World collection, I work with handmade papers from different places, drawn as much to the people and traditions behind them as to the papers themselves. Many are made using traditional methods. Each paper is the starting point for choosing a binding, threads and other materials. Here, handmade Lokta from Nepal meets the long tradition of Coptic sewing.

📐 Size

• 13.2 × 18.5 cm / 5.20 × 7.28 inches.

👉 Features

• Hardcover sketchbook, made and bound by hand.
• Handmade Nepalese Lokta covers, screen-printed by hand.
• The same curved black pattern on a pale front cover and a red back cover.
• Coptic binding with red and black stitching through metal eyelets.
• Closure made from KraftTex, a tough, leather-like paper.
• Hahnemühle Bamboo Mixed Media paper, 265 gsm.
• 62 pages, counting both sides.
• Natural-white, acid-free paper.
• Opens flat for working across a spread.
• Blank pages for portrait or landscape compositions.

👍 Ideal for

• Watercolour, gouache, acrylic and mixed media.
• Drawing with graphite, charcoal, pastel and sanguine.
• Travel sketching, visual notes and keeping a personal artist journal.

✨ Inspiration Tip

A transparent watercolour wash, a deep charcoal line and the soft texture of pastel can all share a page on Bamboo. The same surface supports wet and dry media, so you can change medium without changing paper.

🎁 Included with your book

• A linen bag for storing and carrying the journal.
• A certificate of authenticity.

Photo note: Any art materials or styling props shown are for the photographs only.