Our Papers
At Haath Paper, our artisan friends are an extension of our family, and the collective creativity that lies between our palms is the bridge that connects our cultures. We trace the origins of our handmade papers to the western region of India, home to tight-knit families that celebrate the thriving art of papermaking, passing the tradition from one generation to the next. Our name is derived from the Hindi word “haath” which translates to “hand”, and we aim to honor the work and the wisdom nurtured by artisans by making their work accessible to Filipino artists, crafters, ethical retailers, and fellow lovers of paper.
Our handmade stationery go through a painstaking yet beautiful papermaking process to yield premium quality deckle edge paper while keeping the environment’s safety in mind. We begin with shredding, a step that requires fraying of cotton rag into fibers which are then mixed with water. It is followed by the beating stage, where the mixture is beaten into a pulp and strengthened with a vegan sizing agent, an ingredient that reinforces the paper against absorbency and bleeding. The pulp will be poured evenly onto a wooden deckle, dipped into a vat of water, and drained.
At the pressing stage, the deckle is to release freshly formed sheets of paper which are then set onto felts to make thicker sheets. Drying is the fourth and final stage of the papermaking process and it entails hanging the sheets of paper on clotheslines and racks for air-drying.
Our artisans guarantee that the papermaking process is tree-free, which means there is no tree pulp used when manufacturing our handmade papers. By repurposing cotton rags, we are able to uphold a sustainable supply chain of raw materials while creating beautiful byproducts.