Linen journals embroidered stitch by stitch and bound by hand at our Hop Handi workshop in Vietnam since 2022.
My background is actually in mechanical manufacturing engineering. At university, my days revolved around technical drawings, metal parts, and strict measurements. Still, I always loved things made by hand. When I graduated, instead of taking an engineering job at a factory, I applied to work at a small handmade bookshop.
Working at that bench every day made me fall in love with bookmaking. I learned how to fold paper sheets into neat sections, punch holes along the spine, and sew bindings by hand. My engineering training turned out to be surprisingly useful. It gave me a sharp eye for structure, making sure every cover sits straight, every spine opens flat without strain, and every notebook holds up to years of daily use. After a few years of learning the trade, I felt ready to build something of my own. In 2022, I opened our workshop along with three small shops in Da Nang and Hoi An, Vietnam, under the name Hop Handi.
Most of the notebooks in our shop start as plain linen stretched tight across a wooden hoop. Embroidering fabric for a book cover is trickier than it looks. If our artisans pull the thread too tight, the linen puckers when we press it onto thick hardcover board. If the stitches sit too loose, they can snag inside a bag. Our embroiderers spend hours splitting cotton threads and stitching tiny petals, leaves, and knots by hand, keeping an even tension from the first stitch to the last. Once the embroidery is finished, our bookbinders wrap the linen around solid boards and sew the pages inside. Because real hands make every piece, you will notice subtle variations from one cover to the next. That is how you know a person made your book, not a machine.
Over the years, I have put all my dedication into this craft. What makes me proudest is working alongside the same team of artisans who stood with me in our earliest days, sharing our skills and motivating one another through every season. We love knowing that a notebook from our table in Vietnam might travel across the world to hold your daily notes, sketches, travel memories, or words for someone you care about. Writing on paper slows life down a little, and we want the book in your hands to feel worthy of what you write inside it.
On behalf of all the embroiderers and bookbinders at our Hop Handi workshop, thank you sincerely for visiting our shop and choosing our work. Your support keeps local handcraft thriving, provides steady livelihoods for our team, and has helped us survive and grow sustainably to this day.
Working at that bench every day made me fall in love with bookmaking. I learned how to fold paper sheets into neat sections, punch holes along the spine, and sew bindings by hand. My engineering training turned out to be surprisingly useful. It gave me a sharp eye for structure, making sure every cover sits straight, every spine opens flat without strain, and every notebook holds up to years of daily use. After a few years of learning the trade, I felt ready to build something of my own. In 2022, I opened our workshop along with three small shops in Da Nang and Hoi An, Vietnam, under the name Hop Handi.
Most of the notebooks in our shop start as plain linen stretched tight across a wooden hoop. Embroidering fabric for a book cover is trickier than it looks. If our artisans pull the thread too tight, the linen puckers when we press it onto thick hardcover board. If the stitches sit too loose, they can snag inside a bag. Our embroiderers spend hours splitting cotton threads and stitching tiny petals, leaves, and knots by hand, keeping an even tension from the first stitch to the last. Once the embroidery is finished, our bookbinders wrap the linen around solid boards and sew the pages inside. Because real hands make every piece, you will notice subtle variations from one cover to the next. That is how you know a person made your book, not a machine.
Over the years, I have put all my dedication into this craft. What makes me proudest is working alongside the same team of artisans who stood with me in our earliest days, sharing our skills and motivating one another through every season. We love knowing that a notebook from our table in Vietnam might travel across the world to hold your daily notes, sketches, travel memories, or words for someone you care about. Writing on paper slows life down a little, and we want the book in your hands to feel worthy of what you write inside it.
On behalf of all the embroiderers and bookbinders at our Hop Handi workshop, thank you sincerely for visiting our shop and choosing our work. Your support keeps local handcraft thriving, provides steady livelihoods for our team, and has helped us survive and grow sustainably to this day.