Born out of our love of travel, Paper High began as a round-the-world trip. An unexpected change in destination, an extended stay in Kathmandu, and a chance meeting with a paper maker sowed the seed of an exciting business idea.

After returning in 2002 with 2 boxes of beautifully handmade journals and photo albums, we set up our very first stall at Camden Market. Our customers loved the unique quality of our handmade books as much as we did, and our business has grown from there.

Nearly 20 years, a few more stalls, festivals, and our own warehouse later, we’re still selling our very first journals – and a bit more.

After exploring India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, we built relationships with our beloved network of small family businesses, community incentives, charities, and accredited Fair Trade organisations.

We’ve seen first-hand the impact that using a Fair Trade business model has on the families, communities, and local economy of our producers. This made it an absolute must for us that we have a mutually beneficial relationship, and we consider them real friends. We’re so lucky to have the chance to visit them as often as we can to catch up on all the news, and take our two girls along too.

It’s our promise to you that all of our products are Fair Trade as set out by the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO). Expertly handcrafted by highly skilled artisans, only locally sourced, sustainable, and recycled materials are used wherever possible, making every single product beautifully authentic. We’ve also been proud members of the British Association for Fair Trade Shops (BAFTS) since 2002 – right from the beginning!