Nkuku Home and Lifestyle
Lifestyle Store & Café
0

0 items in basket

  • Sale
    • Shop by Type
      • Home Décor
      • Furniture & Lighting
      • Kitchen & Dining
      • Christmas Decorations
      • View All Sale
    • Shop By Discount
      • 25 % Off Sale
      • 50 % Off Sale
      • Clearance
    Shop Now

    Shop Now

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

    Shop Now

    Shop Now

  • Home
    • Home Accessories
      • Photo Frames
      • Wall Art
      • Clocks
      • Lanterns & T-Lights
      • Candlesticks
      • Decorative Accessories
      • Desk Accessories
    • Furnishings
      • Mirrors
      • Cushions & Throws
      • Rugs
      • Baskets
      • Storage
      • Hooks & Knobs
    • Planters & Vases
      • Pots & Planters
      • Vases & Decorative Pots
    • Lifestyle
      • Jewellery
      • Jewellery Boxes
      • Bags & Scarves
      • Board Games
      • E-Gift Card
    WALL ART

    WALL ART

    Lanterns & T-Lights

    Lanterns & T-Lights

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

  • Furniture
    • Living
      • Armchairs & Loungers
      • Footstools
      • Coffee & Side Tables
      • Sofas
      • Cabinets & Shelving
      • Storage Furniture
      • Mirrors
      • Rugs
    • Dining & Kitchen
      • Stools & Bar Stools
      • Dining Chairs
      • Dining Tables
      • Benches
      • Cabinets & Shelving
      • Garden Furniture
      • Hooks & Knobs
    • Inspire Me
      • Contemporary Living
      • Natural Home
      • Home Office
      • Modern Rustic Interior
    BAR STOOLS

    BAR STOOLS

    Mirrors

    Mirrors

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

  • Lighting
    • Lighting
      • Table Lamps
      • Floor Lamps
      • Pendant Lighting
      • Wall & Spot Lights
      • Lampshades
      • Outdoor Lighting
    • Shop by Style
      • Industrial Lighting
      • Natural Lighting
      • Classic Lighting
      • Kitchen Lighting
    TABLE LAMPS

    TABLE LAMPS

    FLOOR LAMPS

    FLOOR LAMPS

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

  • Kitchen & Dining
    • Tableware
      • Mugs
      • Plates
      • Bowls
      • Glassware
      • Cutlery
      • Table Accessories
    • Serveware
      • Chopping Boards
      • Serving Bowls
      • Trays & Platters
      • Cake Stands
      • Cheese Boards & Knives
    • Kitchen
      • Small Storage
      • Kitchen Utility
      • Wine Racks & Storage
      • Kitchen Lighting
      • Kitchen Stools
      • Dining Tables & Benches
    TABLEWARE

    TABLEWARE

    SERVEWARE

    SERVEWARE

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

  • Gifts
    • Gifts
      • Gifts for Her
      • Jewellery Gifts
      • Gifts for Cooks
      • Gifts for Him
      • Home Office Gifts
      • Bestselling Gifts
      • e-Gift Card
    Gifts for Cooks

    Gifts for Cooks

    JEWELLERY GIFTS

    JEWELLERY GIFTS

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

  • Nkuku Life
    • Discover Nkuku
      • Our Story
      • Our Values
      • Our Artisans
      • Our Materials
    • Blog
      • Refresh your Home Office for Spring
      • How to Care for your Nkuku Products
      • 5 Ways to Clear the Clutter
      • All Blog Posts
    • Shop in Store
      • Lifestyle Store & Café
      • Stockists
    READ OUR BLOG

    READ OUR BLOG

    Discover Nkuku

    Discover Nkuku

  • Sale
    • Shop by Type
      • Home Décor
      • Furniture & Lighting
      • Kitchen & Dining
      • Christmas Decorations
      • View All Sale
    • Shop By Discount
      • 25 % Off Sale
      • 50 % Off Sale
      • Clearance
    Shop Now

    Shop Now

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

    Shop Now

    Shop Now

  • Home
    • Home Accessories
      • Photo Frames
      • Wall Art
      • Clocks
      • Lanterns & T-Lights
      • Candlesticks
      • Decorative Accessories
      • Desk Accessories
    • Furnishings
      • Mirrors
      • Cushions & Throws
      • Rugs
      • Baskets
      • Storage
      • Hooks & Knobs
    • Planters & Vases
      • Pots & Planters
      • Vases & Decorative Pots
    • Lifestyle
      • Jewellery
      • Jewellery Boxes
      • Bags & Scarves
      • Board Games
      • E-Gift Card
    WALL ART

    WALL ART

    Lanterns & T-Lights

    Lanterns & T-Lights

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

  • Furniture
    • Living
      • Armchairs & Loungers
      • Footstools
      • Coffee & Side Tables
      • Sofas
      • Cabinets & Shelving
      • Storage Furniture
      • Mirrors
      • Rugs
    • Dining & Kitchen
      • Stools & Bar Stools
      • Dining Chairs
      • Dining Tables
      • Benches
      • Cabinets & Shelving
      • Garden Furniture
      • Hooks & Knobs
    • Inspire Me
      • Contemporary Living
      • Natural Home
      • Home Office
      • Modern Rustic Interior
    BAR STOOLS

    BAR STOOLS

    Mirrors

    Mirrors

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

  • Lighting
    • Lighting
      • Table Lamps
      • Floor Lamps
      • Pendant Lighting
      • Wall & Spot Lights
      • Lampshades
      • Outdoor Lighting
    • Shop by Style
      • Industrial Lighting
      • Natural Lighting
      • Classic Lighting
      • Kitchen Lighting
    TABLE LAMPS

    TABLE LAMPS

    FLOOR LAMPS

    FLOOR LAMPS

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

  • Kitchen & Dining
    • Tableware
      • Mugs
      • Plates
      • Bowls
      • Glassware
      • Cutlery
      • Table Accessories
    • Serveware
      • Chopping Boards
      • Serving Bowls
      • Trays & Platters
      • Cake Stands
      • Cheese Boards & Knives
    • Kitchen
      • Small Storage
      • Kitchen Utility
      • Wine Racks & Storage
      • Kitchen Lighting
      • Kitchen Stools
      • Dining Tables & Benches
    TABLEWARE

    TABLEWARE

    SERVEWARE

    SERVEWARE

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

  • Gifts
    • Gifts
      • Gifts for Her
      • Jewellery Gifts
      • Gifts for Cooks
      • Gifts for Him
      • Home Office Gifts
      • Bestselling Gifts
      • e-Gift Card
    Gifts for Cooks

    Gifts for Cooks

    JEWELLERY GIFTS

    JEWELLERY GIFTS

    SHOP NOW

    SHOP NOW

  • Nkuku Life
    • Discover Nkuku
      • Our Story
      • Our Values
      • Our Artisans
      • Our Materials
    • Blog
      • Refresh your Home Office for Spring
      • How to Care for your Nkuku Products
      • 5 Ways to Clear the Clutter
      • All Blog Posts
    • Shop in Store
      • Lifestyle Store & Café
      • Stockists
    READ OUR BLOG

    READ OUR BLOG

    Discover Nkuku

    Discover Nkuku

  • account icons
Free Delivery over £80*
WINTER SALE | FINAL REDUCTIONS
Home › our journal › the first chapter
Blog Menu
Recent posts
  • January 15, 2021 Refresh your Home Office for Spring
  • January 11, 2021 How to Care for your Nkuku Homeware & Furniture
  • January 05, 2021 5 Ways to Clear the Clutter
RSS feed

The First Chapter

July 22, 2015

The First Chapter

Our very first Nkuku product was a recycled cotton notebook handmade in Rajasthan. We spent five weeks working closely with the artisans to produce a collection of stationary that we hoped would sell well in the UK. The entire process was as fascinating to us then as it is today. Each piece of paper is handmade from recycled cotton fabric waste, which is gathered from the garment industry. The fabric is ground into a pulp using hand turned machinery. The pulp is combined with a binding agent and carefully layered between muslin sheets to set. Once set the muslin is peeled from either side and the sheet is hung on a clothes line to dry in the heat of the Indian sun. Rows and rows of paper are hung out like laundry on a washing line.

Our first journal had beautiful hand torn edges and was hand bound with cotton thread and then wrapped in a soft leather cover. The textures were gorgeous, the soft leather with the cotton paper made the journal such a tactile piece. We then developed additional and complimentary collections, which were handmade from recycled saris, beautiful rich fabrics that are hand embroidered in traditional Indian styles and more simple designs incorporating the famous skeleton Pepal leaf.



The first order was packed into a container and shipped off to Devon, where several weeks later we guided a lorry loaded with journals down the bumpy drive to the hay barn we were using as our warehouse. A group of neighbours had come to help, varying in age from 75 years old through to 4 years. We are still so incredibly grateful for all the amazing support we received from family and friends, even calling on a local farmer to pull the lorry out of the Devon mud so that he could get home! There were some cold months spent in an unheated barn, picking and packing. Woolly hats and thermals were essential. Our first born baby spent a lot of time in a makeshift cot made from cardboard boxes layered up under blankets.

Our office started out as our bedroom, then we upgraded to a garage (thermals also required!), then a bespoke built office/shed situated in our garden and finally a proper office based at the old mill in Dartington with a new lifestyle store and cafe opening soon! The Nkuku team has also grown from the two of us to a vibrant office of over thirty. The journals were soon joined by photo frames and now offer a selection of homewares and furniture incorporating some of the beautiful pieces that first captured our imaginations all those years ago on our travels.

  • Previous Post
  • Next Post
  • Tweet
Recent posts
  • January 15, 2021 Refresh your Home Office for Spring
  • January 11, 2021 How to Care for your Nkuku Homeware & Furniture
  • January 05, 2021 5 Ways to Clear the Clutter
RSS feed

Join Our Newsletter

Sign up for the Nkuku newsletter and be the first to preview our new collections, receive exclusive offers and discover the stories behind our products.

By subscribing you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy & Cookies Policy.

Customers

  • FAQ
  • Orders & Payments
  • Delivery
  • Returns
  • Contact Us
  • Brochure Unsubscribe
  • Competitions

About Nkuku

  • Our Story
  • Sustainability Policy
  • Environmental Policy
  • Careers
  • Press Enquiries

Shopping

  • Nkuku Lifestyle Store
  • Find a Stockist
  • Gift Cards
  • Care Guide

Privacy & Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Security
  • Gift Card T&Cs
  • Promotions

Trade

  • Account Login
  • Apply for a Trade Account

Company name: Nkuku Ltd. Registered office: Lower Tweed Mill, Shinners Bridge, Dartington, Devon, TQ9 6JB.
Company registration number: 04614918. VAT number: GB 807 1210 72. Prices include VAT but exclude delivery costs.
Contact number: +44(0)333 240 0155. Contact us online.

  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • Maestro
  • Mastercard
  • PayPal
  • Shop Pay
  • Visa