Indian Handcrafted Paper Industry
Indian Handicrafts operates a small factory employing 122 men & women. In addition to statutory wages the employees benefit from the Provident Fund, Employment State Insurance and bonuses. They have an aids awareness programme, a sexual harassment committee, a works committee and a health and safety committee.
The company is 100% export orientated and are the winners of the EPCH (Government & India Body) export awards for 3 years in a row, for the largest exports of handmade paper.
They use traditional techniques including hand embroidery work & handmade paper. The beauty of the hand made paper is that it still largely utilizes age-old basic techniques. The paper is made entirely from 100% cotton hosiery, tailor cutting waste that is interestingly fresh fabric made from the virgin cotton and yet recycled, as it is useless tailor cutting. The cuttings are beaten into fine pulp and natural additives like topica starch & Alum are added to make the paper fountain pen compatible and strong for various applications. Azo free dyes are added for colouring and various natural and man-made products are added as mottling or inclusion for beautification. The additions may be anything from flower, dried leaves, silk, jute or wool. Metals, polyester yarn and various other innovative mediums are also used. The papers are given textures with techniques like lifting paper on hand woven, mats etc.
The paper can then either be calendared or cut to give a modern fundamental look or it can retain the natural deckle edge, which adds authenticity and age-old beauty.
Each sheet is lifted by hands of skilled artisans from tubs filled with water and pulp with the flick of a hand and the straining, heaving shoulders. The precise movements decide the thickness and fineness of quality. Each sheet is then sun dried where the paper is disinfected by ultra violate rays of the sun. The paper is totally acid free and writings on it or the photo preserved in it have a life of more than 200 - 300 years.
The MDF & board inside the jewellery boxes are made from recycled materials & all fabrics used have AZO-free dyes.
