§ Folio — About
A small shop in Udaipur.
We bind leather diaries by hand in Rajasthan — through the fold, one at a time — using full-grain hides and fountain-pen-friendly paper. Visit us on Lal Ghat, or order online from anywhere in India and abroad.
It began on Lal Ghat with one needle, a stack of cotton paper, and a hide from a Rajasthan tannery we still trust today — the same kind of full-grain leather we bind in the shop now.
We didn't set out to build a brand. We wanted one honest diary we could carry every day for years without replacing. The first we kept. A friend asked for the second. By the hundredth, we had a small workshop and a storefront in the old city of Udaipur.
Today we're still a small shop — a bench by the window, a few pairs of hands, the same slow way of working: sewn through the fold, waxed linen in the spine, no shortcuts. Names pressed into the cover by hand when you ask for them.
“We are not making the last leather journal anyone will ever own. We are making the first one worth keeping.”
Materials we choose
Every diary starts with full-grain buffalo or goat leather from tanneries we have worked with for years in Rajasthan. We use vegetable-tanned hides — no corrected grain, no bonded leather — so natural scars and grain stay visible and the cover develops a patina with daily use.
Inside, we sew folded signatures onto acid-free cotton paper around 100 gsm in a warm ivory tone. The sheets are sized for fountain pens, gel ink, and ballpoints with low bleed-through. Waxed linen thread holds the spine; ribbon markers and reinforced endpapers finish each book at the bench.
How we bind
We work in small batches at a single bench by the window on Lal Ghat. Each diary is sewn through the fold — kettle or Coptic-style — so the book opens flat on any spread. The spine is stitched, not merely glued, which is how handmade journals are built to last for years of daily writing.
Optional name embossing is pressed by hand after you approve a proof. We emboss up to ten characters in our shop typeface, on the corner or spine of the cover. Custom work for ten pieces or more — different hides, page counts, or foil — is arranged by email or in person at the shop.
Visit or order online
The storefront is open seven days a week, Mon — Sun · 10:00 — 23:00. Walk in to feel the leather, compare sizes, and watch embossing samples on the bench. Many visitors pick up a diary the same day; we can also hold online orders for local pickup.
If you are ordering from elsewhere in India or abroad, we ship from Udaipur within two business days for in-stock items. Embossed orders take five to seven days while we prepare your proof and press the cover. Duties and taxes are calculated at checkout where applicable.