ECOLEA Collection

The New Eco-Friendly Upcycled Leather Collection now available at www.arkademie.com and Overjoyed Art Store.

Majulah 2020 collection sale

OUR STORY

We Preserve Your Creative Legacies

Creative ideas should last for generations.

At ARKADEMIE, we believe that design journals and sketchbooks - repositories for your creative ideas and experiences - should last for generations too.

Design and artistic contents deposited in journals and sketchbooks become valuable over time as the designer- or artist-user grows and matures in practice.  Journals and sketchbooks should last a lifetime beyond the creative lives of their users - a testimony of their creative journeys and would eventually become valuable heirloom to younger generations of practitioners.

We source for genuine leather materials and premium drawing papers for the preserving of creative design and artistic contents. Vegetable-tanned leather, being a naturally processed material, is durable to be used as covers as well as many implements and accessories.  Mould-made cotton papers of archival grade from reputable mills ensure that creative contents can last for at least a hundred years.  Each handcrafted item - like its user - is uniquely beautiful.

Timeless aesthetics, clear functionality and durability define our products because we believe that good design is not just being responsible; good design is ethical and right.

We Practise Responsible Manufacturing

We design every collection in our studio.  This allows us to have full control over the materials used and details in our products that make them unique and valuable.

We use eco-friendly and long-lasting materials so that we do not deplete the world’s valuable resources.  Our leather materials can last a lifetime when well-maintained; our papers can technically last for at least a hundred years without deteriorating.  Production is kept in small batches and just-in-time method is practiced so that valuable resources are not wasted.

We engage, train and employ artisans from special-needs communities to manufacture our products thereby providing meaningful and sustainable employment .  Every product is handcrafted, manually saddle-stitiched and finished - a time-honoured method embraced by traditional craftsmen.

The SOMERSET Leather Watercolour Sketchbook

Premium grade artist's watercolour sketchbook in B5 portrait format.   The paper block is comprised of 46-page, 190 gsm, 100% cotton-content, hand-deckled Saunders Waterford Cold-Pressed paper from the legendary 300-year-old English St. Cuthberts Mill.  The paper is versatile and suitable for water-based media sketching and drawing such as ink, marker, gouache, acrylic and watercolour.  Each signature of the paper stock is meticulously hand-stitched and bound to perfect alignment. The cover is made with natural, full-grained vegetable-tanned buffalo leather - robust and is ideal for outdoor usage and storage - and patina beautifully over time.

Ancona and the Legendary FABRIANO Paper Mill

Ancona is the Italian province where the legendary Fabriano Paper Mill is situated.  The Fabriano mill is arguably the oldest paper mill in Europe with nearly 750 years of continuous innovative and production history whose papers were used and endorsed by masters such as Michelangelo, DaVinci and Raphael. Embrace an artistic heritage when you possess an Ancona Sketchbook!

Paper is the heart of the Sketchbook

The Ancona Artist's Sketchbook uses the Fabriano Rosapina Ivory 220gsm Print-Making and Mixed-Media stock to support a wide spectrum of artists' and designers' media, including light washes of watercolour. It has a lightly textured surface with enhanced absorpbancy suitable for most dry and wet media. The tinted colour paper, which is comfortable on the eyes, makes it ideal for outdoor sketching, drawing and painting. Hand-deckled edges add to the hand-made aesthetics of the sketchbook.

Naturally Vegetable Tanned Leathers Are Beautiful Naturally.

Natural full-grained, vegetable tanned leather is unique because the process of tanning and treatment enhances the natural grain patterns and imparts distinctive characteristics and individuality onto each hide.

Leather, being a natural product, records its unique history through scratch marks, wrinkles, insects bites, healed skins and stain marks found on the skin’s surface. These markings are as unique as fingerprints and are proof of authenticity of the full-grained leather.

Over time, the leather will mature and acquire a beautiful patinated lustre that is unique of the vegetable-tanned leather.   With regular oiling and polishing, it will last for decades.

 

 

See our Leather Sketchbooks

Our Story

Arkademie began as a humble craft interest and soon developed into a dedicated facility focusing on the designing and handcrafting of journals, sketchbooks and stationery for designers, architects, artists, writers and the creative professionals. While most journals and sketchbooks depreciate in quality and structure after several years of use, we aim to produce journals and sketchbooks that last for a lifetime. We believe that the design and written contents created by our users should be preserved for and beyond their entire creative periods. The value of their journals and sketchbooks should only increase with time.

100% Handcrafted Details

Designed and handcrafted entirely in Singapore, the products from our facility represent our dedication in the quality of our manufacture and preserving the most valuable in the design and artistic work - the creative process. Just like our clients, our artisans are adament in fully handcrafting the products, paying close attention to the choice of materials - leather, paper and threads - and the finishing of the leather covers and closures.

Lifetime Guarantee

All our vegetable tanned leather goods are made from buffalo and cowhides, known for their robustness and durability, from reputable tanneries from the Asian and European regions, and are guaranteed for a lifetime of use. With regular oiling and maintenance, our leather items will be able to last many decades. Conditioning and burnishing service is also provided free for our leather goods, to ensure a lifetime of dedicated performance and protection for the creative contents they hold.

Our Bespoke Collection

Functionality is Timeless. We believe that timelessness is a quality as essential as any pursuit in excellence. Every design should endure because endurance begets character. Create your personal heritage with customization of your leather products. If you like to custom made a leather item, reach us at contact@arkademie.com and we will be most happy to chat with you on your design.