One of the best ways to give something that is one of a kind is to give something handmade. Which is just one reason we love wrapping our holiday gifts with decorative fine papers. These papers come from artisans around the world. Each unique sheet is made by hand using sustainable materials. They come in a myriad of patterns, saturated colors and have rich metallic details.
One of the primary fine papers you will find on the ladders in our stores is lokta paper. This paper is made from the bark of the lokta plant, which is a renewable resource. Requiring trimming every 3-4 years, these shrubs continue to grow and be more productive… and become of the source of beautiful, handmade, 100% natural, sustainable papers.
We like to think of each sheet as a work of art because of all the time and craftsmanship that goes into each one. Once the lokta bark is harvested, the paper makers go through many steps to turn it into individual sheet:
- Clean the bark
- Dry the bark
- Clean it again
- Cut it into small pieces and turn it into pulp
- Add pulp to a water bath
- Dip the paper frame into the bath and pull sheets of paper
- Strain the water and leave the sheets out in the sun to dry
- Once dry, the artwork gets added! Artwork is often added by silkscreen. Here are three other ways patterns are created on lokta papers.
Lokta paper is recyclable… but it is too precious to use just once! Find out how you can repurpose fine paper after you unwrap your gifts with these 8 how-tos,
