Kagaz ke Phool

11/01/2022

New Blog Post

https://www.kagazkephool.com/post/samvaad-cards-25-memories-for-your-loved-one

Samvaad Cards - Gifting Priceless Memories "Connecting people through preserving stories". The mission statement of Kagaz ke Phool was written on a wall behind me when I took this call. Her inquiry was interesting. She wanted to give a personalized gift to her sibling. Since she did not have enough....

11/11/2021

From journals to stamps to biographies to family memoirs, we are amazed at how far we have come.

We started with a simple idea of writing biographies, to preserve the story of a family, that can be passed on from one generation to another.

To our surprise, our biographies acted as a bridge between people, connecting them through common memories. We were able to reduce the generation gap, bring people together.

That got us thinking, are we really in the business of writing biographies or there is much more to it? What are we actually doing?

Finally, we landed on a set of 5 words, when spoken one after the other, encapsulates our vision and action perfectly -

"Connecting people through preserving stories"

Anything that comes under this umbrella, Kagaz will pursue it.

Happy 11/11

30/08/2021

Just to remind you that you can create art with just words

28/08/2021

Should we celebrate death anniversaries?

"Hi, is this Namit from Kagaz ke Phool?"
"Yes."
"Hey, it's my nanaji's 1st death anniversary. I just wanted to check if you have something for that occasion?"

"hmmm, give me a while to think about what we can do for you. I'll get back to you."

I leaned back onto my chair and thought to myself- Who would call a death anniversary an occasion? It was weird that these two words were used together in a single sentence. 
And why would someone want to celebrate a death anniversary? 

It is a silly thought. Or is it?

The loss of a loved one stays with us forever. No matter what you do, it is a spot on your body that you can't wash away. Over time, that spot becomes a part of your body, you notice it like you notice your eyes or ears. Momentarily passing over it, just to see if it is still there or not. 
Though every year, one day takes us back to the moment we lost them. That day will come each year, it will scratch your spot, make it more painful than usual. 

So, what can be done about that day? Bear the pain? Feel what we are supposed to feel?

I found the answer like this -

This client of mine tells me - celebrate it, celebrate the ones who are not with you. They are at peace, and you have those beautiful memories with you forever.

Remember them. Remind each other to remember all of it. 

And there they were- Kagaz Khat

I called her back, "We have something for you. We have made postcards with question prompters on your memories with your nanaji. You can give these cards to each family member. The promoters will help them remember a story between them and nanaji. "

She tried it out. At the end of the session, she had 15 special anecdotes about nanaji and her family. They read out their postcards before dinner, celebrating the man and his legacy. All the postcards we kept in a box. They were to be found on days when you miss him. 

But reading them again, you won't remember that he is gone, you would realize that he was indeed here.

So should we celebrate death anniversaries?
The answer is up to you.

23/08/2021

“I looked at the sky today. I could feel its size, from my left to the right, as far as the eye could see, I could see the sky.
I felt the pressure of its size on me. Im too small. I would crumble. Shatter.

Yet I exist. Under this vast sky, I am able to exist.
If I can do this, i can fight away my problems.Have a good day.”

Journal entry sent to us by Gaurav.

Writing just for 10 minutes a day, or a single page, or 200 words, whatever counter you want to follow, you can.

But do write. Its therapeutic.

19/08/2021

Introducing journals by Kagaz.

Journaling is one of the most effective acts of self cafe. And funnily enough, it is the cheapest one.

To give you a small push, Kagaz is making these beautiful pieces of personalised journals.

A set of 2 journals for you - with your name on the cover. Get it for yourself or someone you think would needs to start journaling.

DM us for the details.

05/06/2021

Whether you want to manage stress, get organized or boost your creativity, use these journaling techniques for any situation.

There isn’t just one way to journal.
Journaling has been used for centuries by some of humanity’s greatest minds – and the journaling techniques you use depend on what you want to get out of your writing.

We decided to do this post for all our followers who haven't given journaling a shot. Try it out for a week, and you will see the changes in your days.

16/04/2021

Books don’t change people, paragraphs do, sometimes even sentences.

-John Piper

Some lines leave you unnerved.

They answer your questions.

If there is a line that changed you, leave it in the comment section.
For you, we can print that line on a bookmark or a diary.

15/04/2021

The word is simple. But how often do we do it.
Samvaad. Simply talk. Talk to each other.

The most common feedback we have received from our clients is that they loved opening up in our interview session. It always surprises me.
Why do they feel good about opening up to a stranger like me?

Because the ones who are close to them have stopped listening.

We are so engrossed in our daily life, goals, the pandemic, that we are loosing sight of something which is right in front of us-our family.

Talk to them, or should I say, just listen and follow up. You will make their day.

Stay safe in this 2nd wave.

P.S-what are these sheets you ask? You will see it soon.

09/04/2021

Something beautiful we read today.

Extract from Ira Byock, The Best Care Possible,' A physician's quest to transform care through the end of life.'

05/04/2021

This project was very close to our heart - to illustrate a book of poems written by the client.

The design team sat down and came up with multiple themes to illustrate the book. It was challenging as we had to step into our clients shoe to understand different perspectives.

We finalized black and white bodies-a gesture/movement/expression saying it all.

The book was called to hope;to have.

Thank you so much for the opportunity

03/04/2021

What you seek is seeking you.

Begin your weekend with this thought. You might get something you are searching for this weekend. And your life will never be the same again.

Let go.

01/04/2021

We thought of following the trend with

Back when we were young and new, lbb was gracious enough to cover us.
Till date, that was the best response that we have had from a feature.

Thank you so much for the support during our initial years

26/03/2021

Finally, its ours. Kagaz ke Phool its ours.

When you will see Kagaz ke Phool from now, it will always be us.

After 6 years of working, and 2 years of application processing and rejections, on 18th March, we received the certificate of registration of Trade Mark for Kagaz ke Phool.

I would like to thank each and everyone who was with us for this journey.
We have become fearless now, moving towards our vision, spreading love and art all around us.
For everyone who follows us on Instagram and Facebook, you are very precious to us.

We get up every day in pursuit of adding value to your lives, getting a smile on your face. 

We are gearing up for big things ahead of us, and we are super excited.

Let the show begin. 

23/03/2021

Remembering Satyajit Ray

Born on May 2, 1921 in Kolkata, Satyajit Ray was an Oscar-award winning Bengali filmmaker, screenwriter, author, lyricist, graphic designer and calligrapher. Apart from being an incredible filmmaker, Ray also wrote innumerable books for children and even illustrated some of his characters. A prolific personality of his generation, Ray wrote in both English and Bengali.

The one book that we highly recommend is -Childhood Days

Ray originally wrote his memoir 'Childhood Days' in Bengali, and later it was translated to English by his wife Bijoya Ray. In this book, Ray talks about his passion for cinema, art, music, photography, and books which made him one of the most prolific personalities of his time. The stories in this memoir start from the author's early days and continue until when he began making films. Through 'Childhood Days' readers get a glimpse of the man that Satyajit Ray was.

22/03/2021

Just one of those days at kagaz

22/03/2021

Last year was the toughest year for the business.

Post lockdown, the order book was dry. So we took a step back and started waiting, waiting for the dust to settle. 

Now we know that the time we were forced to shut shop was indeed the most creative time in our journey. 

We revamped the whole brand, changed our look and feel, evolved with time, and rebuilt the whole team. 

Our 2 cents from the experience, let life happen to you. Don't resist. The universe knows where to take you. 

Here are a few covers which are close to our heart done in the so called covid year.

19/03/2021

To all our new followers here, welcome to our page.

I am Namit, founder, Kagaz ke Phool(estd 2013).
We started with the idea of preserving family stories for generations to come, writing personalized biographies, making a single copy only for family.

Why should you get a biography of your father/mother?

You feel burdened when you feel the weight of the word "biography" on yourself. I am no Bacchan or Tendulkar, I haven't done anything glamorous enough to get a biography made. And even if I do, who will read it?

"I will read it", says your son, daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law, "and my kids would love to know the story of their grandfather/grandmother. Don't you think the future generation should know the struggles you have faces for them, just so they could have a comfortable life?"

Every family has a Karta(doer/leader/visionary). He leads the family to a better life. But who is to say that your story is worthy only if you are Ambani or Adani. Your story should be preserved for your family so that they know, it was not luck but the sheer determination of a man/woman which has led them to where they are.

And that is exactly what we do. Preserve your story.

18/03/2021

We got some love
So we share some love
To find more love

A testimonial by our client.

17/03/2021

Last year we made a book cover using the sari of our client.

Look what she had to say.

16/03/2021

We’ve tried to bring something different to the table for you this time.

3 offbeat book suggestion by Kagaz

1.
The Tao of Physics is a classic study of the prominent similarities between Eastern mysticism and modern physics. The central premise of the book is that the ancient and mystical traditions of the East hold a rational theoretical skeleton

2.
Financial thriller - A Swiss bank controlled by the Mafia, an ancient silver mine rediscovered in Iran, bullion smugglers, Commodity market manipulation - it will leave you speechless

3.
When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a naïve medical student "possessed," as he wrote, "by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life" into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.

Save the post for future reference.

15/03/2021

Inside Our Books

The illustrations in our books are one of the most important component of our books.

They speak a language of their own. Elements are picked up from the lives of or clients and used as inspiration.

Like our bodies, our personalities are not similar to any other person. So when you open our books, you can feel the protagonist lives in those pages.
Each and every element put on paper points to the protagonist.

14/03/2021

A poetic Sunday morning

Have a great weekend y’all.

13/03/2021

Making priceless since 2013.

What can you give to someone who has everything already?

Time and Affection📍

We have created of 50 biographies in past 6 years as gifts and memoirs. It taught us this one beautiful phenomenon - the only thing priceless in this world are time and affection.

At Kagaz, both are combined together to make a book for your loved ones.

Imagine the smile on their face when you give them a book full of memories between you and them.
To the world it could look like a bunch of words on hard bound paper.
But for them, it is their world.

Making unique personalised gifts for you-Kagaz ke Phool.

12/03/2021

Link in Bio
The latest number added to our list on spotify. It will melt your heart.

Follow our list for more such music. If you like it and know such music, give us your song suggestions in the comment section.

11/03/2021

Information Alert: Which typeface to use?

Understanding the difference between these two categories will help you start narrowing down which one is right for you.

The answer is simply in the name.

A serif is a decorative stroke that finishes off the end of a letter's stem (sometimes also called the “feet” of the letters).

Notice the difference in the picture.

The serif font is more ornamental and has serifs extending from the ends while the sans serif font on the left has clean and very precise ends.

Serif Fonts Say Traditional, Established, and Trustworthy
Today, we see a lot of serif fonts in traditional mediums such as newspapers, magazines, and books. That’s why serif fonts are typically seen as more classic and refined and are used by companies who want to exude these traits.

Sans Serif Fonts Say Modern, Approachable, and Clean
Sans serif fonts give off a feeling of being casual, informal, friendly, and very approachable. Companies who want their brands to appear more youthful and relatable tend to use sans serif fonts.

10/03/2021

Older and wiser.

What started as an idea,a desire, late at night, has turned into something tangible today.

It took time,years to be precise. But where we are today, its hard to believe this is our reality.
Gratitude to the universe for this journey.
We will keep working towards getting better, each day, everyday.