We took the long way here.

I spent the first part of my career as a chartered engineer — working on infrastructure projects across the Middle East, managing large teams, and delivering the kind of work that was supposed to feel meaningful. In many ways it was. But over time, the distance between what I was doing and why I had started doing it grew too wide to ignore.

In 2022, my family and I made a decision that most people thought was unusual. We stepped away from a conventional life in the UK and began travelling through Asia — properly, slowly, with our children alongside us.

We weren't running away from anything. We were looking for something. And we found more than we expected.

In the markets, villages, and workshops of Asia, we met families whose livelihoods depended on tourism, craft, and trade. We watched communities hold themselves together with skill and dignity. We ate at family-run restaurants, bought from local makers, and tried — in small ways — to put money into the right hands.

Nepal changed things for us. Specifically: lokta paper.

Lokta is made from the inner bark of the Daphne shrub — a plant that grows in the foothills of the Himalayas and regenerates naturally after harvest. The paper-making tradition has existed in Nepal since the 12th century. It was used for sacred Buddhist texts, royal documents, and prayer wheels. Today, it is still made by hand, in small workshops, by people who have learned the craft from their parents and grandparents.

When we found a producer with a certified Fair Trade supply chain — one that supports growers, pays makers fairly, and invests back into the local community — we knew we had found something worth building a business around.

88East is named after the geography of eastern Nepal, and the number 8 — considered lucky across much of Asia. It is a brand built on the belief that things made with care, in the right places, by the right people, are worth more. Not just financially. In every sense.

We still travel. We still look for the things that matter. And we still believe that how you wrap a gift says something about who you are.

        — James, Founder, 88East

 

What we stand for
       

Fair Trade first. Every product we sell comes from a certified Fair Trade supply chain. This is not a marketing claim — it is a verified commitment.

Sustainability without compromise. Lokta paper is tree-free, plastic-free, and made using natural vegetable dyes. It is also reusable — many of our customers use the same sheet for years.

Craft over convenience. We will never sell something that could be made faster, cheaper, and worse elsewhere. If it isn't worth making properly, we won't make it at all.

Origin matters. Everything 88East sells connects to a real place, real people, and a real story. We will always be able to tell you where your product came from.