About Us

What Is Manani?

Manani is a tree-free stationery brand creating journals, notebooks, and art books from 100% upcycled cotton textile waste. Each sheet of paper is made by hand in India using traditional papermaking techniques, without cutting down trees.

We make our books in small batches rather than mass-producing them, and intentionally keep our supply chain small. It allows us to stay close to the process and, more importantly, to the people behind it.

Our books are made for everyday life. For writing, planning, drawing, painting, reflecting, or whatever you choose to put on the page. They’re made with care, made to last, and most importantly, made to be used

What Does Manani Mean?

The name is personal too. Jyoti came up with Manani one day while sitting in her apartment and thinking about what to call the brand. Ma for mother, Nani for grandmother. Put together, it became Manani. Later, she learned that Manani is also a Sanskrit word meaning respect, honor, and regard, which made the name feel even more right

Why and Who?

Manani was founded by Jyoti, a social entrepreneur whose interest in purpose-led businesses grew during her MBA, where she led a social entrepreneurship club and worked on projects centered around social impact businesses.

But the idea for Manani really took shape during a trip to India. She spent time with artisans, watched paper being made by hand, and heard directly from them about their craft and the uncertainty around its future. What stayed with her was how much skill and time went into something so simple, and how easily that knowledge could disappear as more things move toward faster, mass production.

Jyoti has always loved nature, especially trees and forests. So when she saw that paper could be made from discarded cotton textile scraps instead of trees, it immediately meant something to her.

At the same time, she was learning from the artisans about their craft and how fewer people are carrying these traditions forward. Manani grew from wanting to do something about both: make better use of what we already have, protect the trees we still have, and help handmade traditions continue for another generation.