Drawing from Nepal’s different artisan traditions and finding inspiration in ancient cultures, Marina Vaptzarova creates contemporary luxury journals, exclusively made by hand with Nepalese craftsmanship and using only the most natural and sustainable raw materials found in Nepalese traditions.
The designer brand focused on delivering high quality, sustainably, and ethically made luxury lifestyle products. With 27 years in the business of designing, producing and exporting handicrafts from Nepal. With a small team of women and experienced craft artisans, Marina Vaptzavora is able to produce a unique selection of travel diaries, notebooks, guest books, sketchbooks, jewelries, purses, wall art, décor, and other lifestyle products. Handmade designer journals are Marina Vaptzarova’s specialty.
Marina’s avant-garde designs are recognized by their bold and vibrant colors, a palette personally developed by Marina Vaptzarova. All raw materials are handmade according to ancestral traditions of Nepal and are entirely natural and sustainable. They include Daphne paper, hemp weave, nettle weave, felt and Daphley (an innovative vegetal leather). Marina Vaptzarova later added brass to her designs, hand-carved by the Newars, native artisans of Kathmandu valley esteemed for their ancestral expertise in the gold and silversmith trades.
Because of the global rise in conscious consumerism, consumer preferences for ecologically and ethically sourced products brings back the revival of traditional craftsmanship. Products from Marina Vaptzavora are designed to unveils the rich history and culture of Nepal.
Each Marina Vaptzarova product is the expression of dedicated quality and exceptional craftsmanship. All products are made by hand from plant harvest to finish and solely sourcing from plants that regenerate spontaneously and rapidly in order to preserve Nepal’s eco-system.
“By revisiting Nepal’s traditions through luxurious contemporary designs, the brand aims to uphold Nepal’s cultural heritage, its economy and enhance the prestige of Nepalese craft. “
Marina Vaptzavora
Marina Vaptzarova luxury brand is uniquely positioned with ecological awareness built into every step of design and production ensuring the preservation and sustainability of the raw materials themselves. The brand explores diverse products, and currently working toward introducing Nepalese craftsmanship to the international arena, seeking for global investing partners interested in managing and marketing the business.
In 1976, at the age of 19, French architecture student Marina travels from France to Nepal by road, where she discovers the cultures and traditions that will later inspire her designs.
Especially fascinated by the numerous qualities of the highly sought traditional Daphne paper in Nepal, Marina launches in 1993 her first paper designs after converting her garage into a genuine atelier and slowly developed a small production team with whom she would devote her time to seek new ways in which Nepalese traditions can be applied. The company was registered in 1999.
With a continuous increase in demand, Marina decides to open her very first workshop in Kathmandu, under the trade name “Marina Paper”. Over the years her relentless inspiration carries her designs far beyond the paper sphere, and the brand is renamed after its designer, Marina Vaptzarova.
With high quality design aesthetics, refined details and immaculate finishing, Marina’s designs have reached the luxury market requirements and has also been appreciated and recognized by the famous International brand, Hermès.
BEHIND THE WORKSHOP
As the owners of Himalaya Craft House took a tour behind the scene, we got to see the diligence and devotion in each production member. We witness firsthand in traditional handmade process of one of our favorite product, the Hmong Bridal Book, and discovered that every member of the team had been working under Marina Vaptzarova brand for over 20 years, ever since the very beginning of starting her brand. The skills and passion these craft artists have developed over time are proven by their efficiency and the friendly atmosphere of the workshop. The complete process of making a journal includes multiple steps, from casing, stitching the pages, gluing the cover, sewing the ribbon, wrapping, to finishing packaging.
The production team consists of all local Nepali members who live in Kathmandu. After an afternoon visit, we, Chun & Shree (left), get to know four of the artisans in the workshop, including: Gopal Nepal (blue shirt), Durga Bhattarai (green kurta), Sarita Sharma (red kurta), and Santosh Karki the tailor (KTM shirt).
Each workshop member had their own specialties. Durga and Sarita stitched and glued the delicate sheets with refined details. Gopal handled the brass ornament, punched hole with nails, and used pressing machine to combine the cover and sheets into a wholesome book, performing tougher tasks requiring precision and strength. Santosh in the cozy tailoring room, sewed fabric parts in silence except the noise of the sewing machine.
Variety of fabrics and tools laying around the workshop combined with the quiet and patient crafters made the workshop feel especially peaceful. Before we know it, the bridal book was finished and packed in its fancy Daphley case!
This was just a demonstration for us to see how much effort was put into making one journal by hands. The process requires so many details and patience, it is truly admirable to be a team member of this workshop for over 20 years. We felt honored to be able to witness this magic, all the beauties humans learned to create with our own hands since ancient days, that might one day be forgotten with the replacement of technology…
Marina has also innovated a unique and astonishing material that is sustainable luxury par excellence: ‘Daphley’ vegetal leather. Handmade from the very same Lokta plant fibers that are used to make paper, the vegetal leather was baptized Daphley (Daphne vegetal leather) for having a comparable appearance to wrinkled leather boasting a immensely soft and delightful texture.
Through its products, Marina Vaptzavora aims to revive and sustain the Nepal’s crafts and artisanal traditions as well as promote the high quality locally sourced sustainable raw materials from Nepal; these include, Daphne (Lokta) paper, hemp weave and nettle weave.
Learn More and Support “Marina Vaptzavora” at:
www.marinavaptzarova.com / IG: @marinavaptzavora / FB: @marinavaptzavora
