Salams and Hello everyone. Hope you’re all well. I think it’s become a kind of tradition for me to write a blog post in Ramadhan.

Well this time round it’s not a recipe for you however it’s something that I am excited and grateful to have been gifted by a beautiful soul. I’m not one of those people who asks for things but Alhumdulillah when least expected I receive messages from lovely people.

When I received a message from Kausar of Indigo Artisans that she wanted to create a bespoke recipe journal for me I was so overwhelmed that she wanted to do this for me, this was because I knew after having followed her page for quite a while it’s something that is such hard work to make but I also knew that it’s something she’s very passionate about and she also knew that with my passion for cooking it’s something that I would cherish and utilize for years to come aswell as the book becoming somewhat of an heirloom that I can pass down to generations after me.

If anyone who knows me I am very organised but when it comes to cooking I am somewhat a ‘messy cook’ I have spoons flying about, sink overloaded, scrappy bits of paper with half written recipes or trying to read from my notes or screenshots on my phone. Oh and another thing is I am very forgetful, ask me for a recipe and it will never just roll off my tongue so this beautiful recipe book is going to be a lifesaver as I’ll be able to write all my recipes in there and like I said earlier I can pass it onto my daughters and their children inshallah.

I just wanted to share a bit about the background of Indigo Artisans in Kausar’s own word so you can all understand how she started her business. Please do read it so you can also understand her passion for what she does;

‘My business is called Indigo Artisans and you can find me at http://www.indigo-artisans.com/

I have a background in fashion and was a globetrotting designer for many years before switching careers and taking up the mindful art of bookbinding. I have a little home studio in Leicester and make bespoke books (journals, sketchbooks, recipe books, wedding guestbooks, travel journals and more) all made entirely by hand. Hand cut leather, hand folded paper, all stitched by hand without the use of machinery, only a needle and thread, to form a bespoke book. I’ve also just recently added complimentary products to do with calligraphy and hand writing like inks and dip pens.

Most of my work is custom made to order so if you have a dream book, I will do my best to work with you to bring it to life. I work predominantly with leather (its all cow hide (but I do have a small line of faux leather too) and have about 15 different leather colours and 25 different thread colours that you can choose from to create your customised book. I have a whole selection of styles on my website but I also work with clients to create totally bespoke books which I love to do.

I offer a very bespoke and personalised service and most of my items can be personalised with custom printed title pages, monograms or names stitched onto the cover, little envelope pages to slip in loose notes, charms, lined and grid printed pages, maps and more.

The recipe books especially, are lovely heirloom pieces that you can pass down to your daughters or make gorgeous gifts for a bride to be. I know they may seem a little pricey, but I use the most gorgeous pull up leather that just gets better with use and wear and develops a character of its own the more you use it. The paper is a beautiful heavy weight cartridge paper that is a joy to write on. Everything is also totally bespoke, custom made and entirely hand made so it’s a labour intensive process but a really artisan product that you won’t get anywhere else that really is made with love and passion.’

So there you go in Kausar’s own words she’s beautifully explained how much work and passion goes in to what she creates.

I personally am totally happy with Kausar’s service and would highly recommend her if you are looking for something meaningful to gift to a loved one that they will adore and love for the rest of their lives. With Kausar she offers that personal one to one service as she asked me what I wanted every step of the way, she consulted with me in regards to all the finer details, from the colour/cut of the leather and thread to what kind of pages I wanted she also offered her professional advice and opinion on what would look good or not. With her knowing that I have millions of recipes she recommended I go for the maximum pages in the book so I know that I will literally get all my recipes in there. As you will be able to see from the photos of the book the neatness of the stitching and binding is second to none (I just about manage to sew on a shirt button)

Kausar also created a contents page for me, although she did suggest whether I wanted sections I thought I’d just have a contents page so I can write the recipes in no particular order. One of my fave parts of the book is the title page which Kausar personalised with my caption from my blog. The book was delivered beautifully wrapped firstly in tissue paper and placed in a sturdy gift box with a ribbon bow so you know the recipient of this gift like I was is going to be excited as soon as they receive it. I was actually nervous to see it, not in a bad way but nervous that I am going to damage it as it’s hand stitched but the stitching on it is so well done and the book looks strongly held together.

OMG one more thing guys how can I forget one of the main features of the book, as you can see from the pictures Kausar has beautifully hand stitched ‘Hajra’s Kitchen’ on the front of the book. That is surely one of my fave parts of it.

I have always had ugly notebooks that I have written my recipes but I am now absolutely in awe and love with this book and can’t wait to start writing in it. All I need to do now is find some beautiful pens to write in ‘MY’ gorgeous book.

Please do check out and follow Indigo Artisans on Instagram by clicking https://www.instagram.com/indigo.artisans/ and the link to her website is above and will also be on her Instagram bio. She has kindly given a discount code for all my followers so please check out my Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/hajras_kitchen/ there will be more details on there.

Once again thank you so much Kausar. My Duas will be with you everytime I open those beautiful pages 💙