CHENNAI: There’s no determination greater than those who pick a journal, or several, in January. And this year, allow me to direct your quest for the perfect notebook to Niranjana Krishnakumar’s Citta Handmade. A Young India Fellow, she stumbled onto notebook-making and binding, and the passion project that began early in 2019, has now transformed into a full-blown entrepreneurial pursuit. “I didn’t think that it would come so far. When I began, it was just using recycled material I found around my university campus but now, I source quality paper from different sellers across the country,” she says.
A line of hand-made notebooks that features over 125 cover designs and available in multiple sizes, they’ve been a runaway success at Chennai’s pop-up scene. Over the year, Niranjana has put up over 10 stalls at various venues in the city, and even she’s taken aback by the response. “It’s been phenomenal. I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve almost always sold out very quickly at these pop-ups,” she says. But these journals also hide a story, much deeper than just pretty paper.
“Through Citta Handmades, I’ve also been collaborating with Vidya Sagar (formerly, the Spastics Society of India) and working with their Community Rehabilitation Programme. When I receive bulk orders, I visit one of their centres and work with a group of 15-20 differently-abled people. Although they might not be able to handle making an entire notebook, they work on little components of it, and it’s great involving other people in the process,” she explains.
Citta in Sanskrit means ‘mindfulness’, and for Niranjana, working on her books has become almost meditative. “I make my notebooks while I’m reading or watching television, and it’s a very calming process. For someone who never really dabbled in art or DIY’s until last year, I’ve taken a lot of constructive feedback on board and I can see the progress these books have made,” she says with a content smile. And as much as these books are her baby, she ensures that none of the books has the actual logo or name of the company on them. “I want them to be as much the buyer’s, as they are mine,” she adds.
Already bursting at the seams with new ideas to expand Citta Handmade, her primary aim this year is to make all the books fully sustainable. Apart from that, being a big fan of saving and piggy-banks, it’s no surprise that Niranjana hopes to include a few hand-painted piggy-banks under her brand, soon. Having looked at her notebooks and listened to her story, it only emboldens us in our opinion that, of course, there’s no such thing in life as owning too many notebooks. After all, they’re for a good cause!For details, visit: Instagram page @cittahandmade.