Leather & lokta · handmade in Nepal
Nepali Collector Journal
A vintage hardcover notebook with a hand-stitched leather spine, a vegetable-dyed lokta cover and 96 deckle-edged pages of tree-free handmade paper. For journaling, sketching, travel and gratitude.
A bee print on natural lokta, dark leather spine
6 × 9 in · 96 unlined pages
- Pages
- 96 unlined pages (192 front/back), deckle-edged, bleach- and acid-free
- Sizes
- 5 × 8 in or 6 × 9 in, in every cover
- Cover
- Hardcover: a water buffalo leather spine beside vegetable-dyed lokta
- Binding
- Hand-stitched: the thread runs through the leather spine and into the pages
- Covers
- Busy Bee, Terra Cotta or Dark Walnut
- Pens
- Gel pens work best; ballpoint, pencil and fine-nib fountain pens too
- Made in
- Nepal, following a 1,000-year-old tradition
New · An homage to Nepal’s honey hunters
The Busy Bee Collector
On the sheer cliffs of Nepal’s hills, wild honey bees build giant colonies, their combs hanging from the rock high above the valleys. For more than 200 years, honey hunters have climbed down those cliffs to bring in the harvest, a tradition handed from one generation to the next.
The Busy Bee Collector carries their story on its cover: a bee print on natural lokta paper, bound beside a dark leather spine. A journal for gathering your own harvest of thoughts, sketches and days worth remembering.
Also in the 5 × 8 size. The same bees are on our Busy Bee Nepali Keeper.
A honey hunter on the cliffs of Nepal
The Harvest on the Cliffs
A rope ladder, a sheer rock face and combs of wild honey the size of a man: the tradition the Busy Bee Collector honors.
Three covers, two sizes
Choose your cover
Every Collector has the same 96 pages of handmade lokta inside. Pick the cover, then 5 × 8 or 6 × 9.
On the trail in the Himalayas
Collect Your Adventures
Collect your thoughts, trips, adventures, and musings in the Nepali Collector Notebook by Kathmandu Valley Co.
Writing in it
Which pens work best?
Gel pens first, then ballpoint, pencil and fountain pens with fine nibs. Very wet inks can feather and ghost on lokta.
Is one side rougher?
A little. Each sheet has a smoother side, where it formed against the screen, and a “sun-kissed” side with more texture.
How is it bound?
By hand. The pages are stitched with thread right through the leather spine, and you can see the stitches on the outside.
Why does every cover differ?
The leather and the lokta are colored with vegetable dyes mixed by hand, so the shades vary from batch to batch. No two journals match.
More about this journal
Start Your Adventure with the
Nepali Collector Leather & Lokta Journal
The Nepali Collector Journal, one of the most unique journals in the world, features a combination cover of water buffalo leather and lokta paper following a 1,000-year-old tradition in paper making.
The pages are made with tree-free Lokta Paper, handmade in the Himalayas of Nepal.
A unique journal to collect your thoughts, adventures or sketches, the journal provides a one-of-a-kind experience when writing.
Available in two sizes 5x8 and 6x9 inches, and three different color combinations (Terra Cotta, Busy Bee, and Dark Walnut).
Vegetable-Dyed, Leather & Lokta Combination Cover
The Colors of Nature
Using the time-honored tradition of coloring with natural vegetable-dyes, the journal comes in three color combinations.
The Nepali Collector Journal - Terra Cotta
Vegetable-tanning with black walnut husks creates a rich dark brown in the water buffalo leather spine. The second half of the hard-back Terra Cotta cover is made from lokta paper vegetable dyed with natural cutch wood resin.
The Nepali Collector Journal - Dark Walnut
Mimosa bark is used to create the beautiful caramel color in the buffalo leather spine. The lokta paper portion of the cover is dyed with natural black walnut husks, creating a rich dark brown color.
The Nepali Collector Journal - Busy Bee
A bee print on natural lokta paper, beside a dark leather spine, honoring the wild bees and honey hunters of Nepal.
Tree-Free & Renewable
Paper from the Lokta Bush
The paper is made from lokta bushes which grow on the southern slopes of the Nepali Himalayas between 5,250 and 13,000 feet.
When properly cut, the bushes can produce three to eight new, fast-growing shoots making Lokta paper one of the most sought after non-tree papers.
Lokta paper is left unbleached, keeping the natural color of the lokta fibers.
Once cut, the inner bark of the Lokta bush is cooked into a mash to soften the fibers.
The mash is then hand applied to boxed screens and sun-dried in the rural, high altitude villages of Nepal.
The paper is then carried down the mountain by pack animals and is then assembled into the journal in Kathmandu, Nepal.
- Tree-Free Paper
- Lokta bushes grow on the southern slopes of the Himalayas of Nepal.
- Vegetable-Dyed
- Each journal made with the ancient tradition of natural vegetable dyes.
- Renewable
- Lokta bushes regrow quickly after being cut, regaining full height in 5-7 years.
Tree-Free & Handmade
Beautiful & Unique Texture
Lokta paper has a beautiful texture containing natural flecks from the outer lokta bark and can vary slightly in thickness from page to page due to the unique handcrafting process.
The paper is acid-free and is widely regarded as one of the world’s finest hand-made papers.
The paper’s deckled edges (rough cut), and leather closure makes this journal an international favorite.
- 96 Pages (192 Front/Back)
- Traditional Deckle-edge pages (similar to rough cut) add to the vintage feel of every page.
- Bleach and Acid Free
- Modern papers are bleached to gain brightness, our paper is bleach free and acid-free and retains its natural color.
Handmade Lokta Paper
Nepali Collector Journal
The Terra Cotta, Dark Walnut and Busy Bee journals are all available in 5x8 and 6x9 inches. Include the Nepali Collector Leather & Lokta Journal in your next adventure!
Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, Nepal
Thank You for Supporting Talented Nepalese Artisans
Thank you for helping to preserve a 1,000-year-old tradition in Nepali paper making.