-
Design by Flowers
Roses, tulips, chrysanthemums and peonies; acanthus and Irises… the grammar of ornamentation on textiles, jewelry, furniture and architecture has always included flowers. Whether they were carved onto wood, sculpted in stone or block printed on fabric, the human world has had an unceasing fascination with floral motifs. Flowers were perhaps one of the first things…
-
Punjab: an Amalgam
Famous for its scenic landscape, mustard blooms, ancient fertile lands, religious diversity and gregarious people, Punjab, despite it’s beautiful mountains and rivers was not always as blessed! Punjab has always been the center point of civilizations due to its strategic location as the entrance to the Indian subcontinent. Foreign invaders like the Persians, Greeks, Scythians and Kushanas came…
-
Avacayam – From Temple Flowers to Colors
Holi, the festival synonymous with colors, surges the sales of ‘gulal’, balloons and pichkaris (water guns) being sold at the roadside stalls and markets. While the air is filled with mischief and people are drenching each other…have you ever wondered how these synthetic colors affect our environment? As the awareness grows, more and more people…
-
Celebrate Womanhood with Jaypore
International Women’s Day: How Women Artisans are Crafting the Stories of their Own Lives She feeds her family, is nearly always the primary care-giver, works the fields to produce half the world’s food supply and contributes to nearly two-thirds of the world’s cumulative work hours – so says the United Nations. That’s what a woman…
-
In a Qila
How Qilasaaz is effecting change in the lives of women artisans of Mahmudabad. The backbone of the erstwhile world of feudal privilege and opulence was always an invisible army of skilled craftsmen/women and artisans. They ensured a splendor and an aesthetic richness that was often breathtaking. Their efforts affected every aspect of life then and…
-
Breathe New Life into your Home!
“I believe that trends must have the capacity to stay relevant for a long time; at least a few years, at any rate. Otherwise they are not worth the money and the trouble. Accessories of course, are the exception to the rule because that is the easiest way of updating a space and giving it…
-
Jaypore Upcycling Week
What happens to that pretty cotton saree when it thins with wear and washing? Those scraps of fabric that get cut and discarded by the ‘master ji’ during the hand tailoring process or on an automated assembly line? The strips of leather that don’t fit into the design of a chic bag? Most of the…
-
The Handmade Paper Trail: A Fascinating New Journey
Once upon a time, roughly in the late ’60s America, if you bought a dress and met with some post-purchase dissonance or dropped sauce all over the front, you could just tear it up. Because that particular dress was made of paper! In the 1920s London, one could buy a ‘Paper Suit’ for a tiny…
-
Ajrakh Tales – Re-Contextualizing an Age Old Textile on the Contemporary Scene
The elegant symmetry of geometric patterns, the waltz of Indigo & madder dyes, and the minor imperfections that add to its allure… this is what forms the syntax of an ancient craft like Ajrakh. Like a skilled raconteur, the standard 3 meter length of an Ajrakh print tells tales of its invigorating history, the many…
-
Mubarakpur Weaves a Success Story
When we talk of our commitment to revival of dying or languishing hand looms and handicrafts, we believe that change is happening, right now, right here and that it can only go up. Our confidence is based on many instances of craft revivals across the country; far reaching changes brought about by the collective efforts…
Storytellers of Wonder 