The Making of the Box
It began with a question: what does packaging look like when it's treated with the same level of obsession as the product inside? The answer wasn’t found in off-the-shelf solutions or generic cartons. It came from an unlikely collaboration with a European workshop whose roots stretch back over 120 years, steeped in the slow craft of bookbinding. Together, we set out to build something better.
The process wasn’t fast. It wasn’t supposed to be. We sampled over a hundred variations in form, texture, structure, and tone. Prototypes were built, scrapped, rebuilt again. Rainbow Saffron didn’t appear by chance. It was selected through trial, debate, and a lot of real-world light testing. We wanted a hue that felt modern but grounded, unmistakable but not loud. A yellow with substance.
The exterior wrap is a luxuriously structured paper, sturdy but elegant, with a textured finish that feels like cloth to the touch. Inside: an uncoated, tactile core board. The construction holds perfectly in the hand and resists warping even with changes in humidity or pressure. It is, quite literally, built to last.
Screen Printed by Hand
We chose hand screen printing not for speed or cost, but because nothing else gave us the precision, tactility, and visual integrity we needed. Unlike digital or offset printing, which apply ink in ultra-thin layers by machine, screen printing uses a mesh screen to manually transfer ink onto the surface. It’s a method borrowed from fine art and high-end book covers, and it shows.
Each logo on our box is debossed, meaning the design is pressed into the surface of the paper to leave a visible and tactile indentation. But what makes it special is how it’s done. A craftsman places a fine mesh screen over the lid, with only the logo shape left open. Using a hand-held spatula blade, called a print knife, they drag thick ink across the screen. The ink is forced through the open areas and onto the paper below, but only where the logo is cut out. This is done one lid at a time.
Because the ink is thicker than in other techniques, and because it’s pressed into textured paper by hand, it sinks into the fibers slightly, creating a crisp, recessed logo with subtle depth and rich tone. There’s no automation, no margin for error. Every stroke must be uniform in pressure, perfectly aligned, and cleanly lifted. If the print smudges or the paper shifts by a single millimeter, the lid is discarded. It’s a slow process, but one that gives each box a human signature.
Built on Legacy
The machines used to construct the boxes come from another era—originally built for bookbinding, not packaging. They require careful calibration and skilled hands, not just button presses. Many of the tools are purpose-built, single-task machines designed to fold, press, or bind with unforgiving accuracy. They were not designed to scale, they were designed to do one thing perfectly.
Each box is assembled in short runs. Corners are wrapped, not glued. Paper tension is manually adjusted. The seam of the lid must meet the base at an even tension, or the box is rejected. What others solve with plastic inserts and magnets, we solve with fold engineering and surface resistance. Every choice is invisible. But it changes how the box feels in your hand.
Why It Matters
It’s easy to forget the box. But the moment it lands in your hands, before you've touched the product inside, you already know something. The weight. The texture. The debossed logo catching a shadow. You’re holding a signal. This is not a disposable experience. It’s not rushed or mass-produced. It’s slow, thoughtful, and made for someone who notices.
The box didn’t need to be this good. But we made it so anyway.
Want to know why we care so much about the small things? Explore The Art of Being Slow