- #HGWORLD
- #HGCREATORS
- #HGEXPLORE
- #HGVOICES
- #HGSHOP
- CAREERS
- ABOUT US
- CONTACT US
I liked journaling when it wasn't a self-development tool. One of my first journals were a pink diary with a lock that I'd fill in with anecdotes about my school crushes and cutouts of actresses that I found pretty.
With my glitter pens, a separate colour for each section, my Barbie stickers and damp pages soaked in perfume; even while having to act like a Tom boy in a mostly male friend group, I had created a space for myself to be a girl. In hindsight, I was more grateful then, in the naive bliss that comes from lacking a reproving self-perception, than my depressed early 20s that I tried to fix with gratitude journals.
In present times, the antidote to leaning towards monetizing and capitalizing your hobbies is good old play. Play here has no other purpose than to be enjoyed. Operating somewhere in a similar realm of philosophy, a Vadodara-based studio is creating artisanal paper out of fruits and vegetables. Founded by Foram Shah, who otherwise trains kids in phonics, Sukaavani Studio is a result of Foram's experimentation with paper during the lockdown; using it as a way to calm herself during distressing times. The first paper she made was from strawberries.
Now, unlike the usual method of making handcrafted papers out of screened pulp, Foram's papers are created out of a conjoined collage of thinly sliced fruits and vegetables that give birth to fascinating shapes and patterns while also preserving the texture of the original material. So far she has turned vegetables like zucchini, beetroot, carrot, bottle gourd, cabbage, and fruits like apple, pineapple, orange, tomato and kiwi into skillfully crafted papers that look like dried and archived versions of their juicy former selves.
Her practice is fairly new but Foram's papers have been used in art installations, journals, decorative pieces, and even as lampshades. The function of the paper is completely dependent on the person that's using it and that opens up all-new avenues for craft and creativity
Made sustainably and without any artificial products and dyes, Sukaavani Studio's unique handmade papers don't just level up your stationery for art and crafts but also inspire a fascination with our food through a new medium that didn't exist before. It creates a visual and tactile experience that we overlook in our overconsumption of packaged goods and focuses us towards how wondrous the earth's bounty really is.
What you do with the papers is up to you, but the colours, textures and patterns spark the same intention of play we had as kids; something that we've lost somewhere along the way to adulthood. This is perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of Sukaavani's fruit and vegetable papers.
Follow Sukaavani here.
