We make things you sit with.

There are conflicting accounts of how Banya Press began. Some insist it started in a sauna, where a waterlogged copy of Meditations found itself resting beside a eucalyptus-toasted Tao Te Ching. Others insist it began much earlier, when a certain illustrator found himself naked and roasting in a Mexican prison with nothing but a sketchpad, a pencil, and a few ancient words scratched into the wall.

Whatever the truth, writers, artists, designers, and curious souls have been finding their way into the hot room ever since. Someone brings an old book. Someone else sketches. Someone pours another ladle on the rocks.

Between rising temperatures, the thwack of oak whisks, and the occasional hot take, books, art, and unexpected objects begin to emerge. Things that help you let go of things. Funny what survives the heat.

Our creative director, Robert Van Horne, has a simple philosophy: "Don't question what comes out of the steam. Just let it be beautiful."